As a nurse just entering the workforce, she provided insight on the fears, anxieties, and successes of her transition. Now, with a little experience under her nursing belt, our contributor Chelsea is starting a new column where she’ll be providing weekly insight to help new nurses get a glimpse into their futures and to help experienced RNs and managers learn about their newest generation of colleagues.

Q: It seems like a lot of new nurses are asked to be preceptors pretty early in their careers. Have you been a preceptor? If you have, were you intimidated to do it so early in your career?

A: I actually have gotten the opportunity fairly recently to be a preceptor. It was only for one shift and it was with a new nurse who had been on the floor for a little while, so I haven’t experienced the real thing just yet.

But it is a pretty nerve racking thing because you want to give the other nurse his or her autonomy, but on the other hand, you want to know what they are doing at all times so that the work gets done and gets done properly. I still double- and triple-check at the end of the night whether or not I have given all medications and charted on everyone, so to be responsible for someone else is a completely different feeling. I wanted her to do the work mainly by herself, but I also didn’t want to seem like I didn’t care or that I was overbearing; it’s a tough line to walk. With me being still considered a new grad, I think that I understand more or less what the new nurse is going through, maybe a little better than an experienced nurse.

I think that I have set a secure foundation [for my career] and that I would be able to be a beneficial preceptor in the near future. I’m very organized and I think I could teach a new nurse the proper way to approach their day and, if a problem arises, how to deal with it. I have faith in what I have been taught in both nursing school and my real life nursing experience and would love to be seen as an example to a newer nurse.

Still, I think that maybe nine months on the job is a little early. I am unsure of myself at times and I need to continue to work on that before I can show someone how to care for patients. I think one year of experience may be a good place to start because it also allows me to sharpen my skills all over again—this time, by teaching them. I look forward to becoming a preceptor in the future because I have learned from some amazing nurses.

What are you thoughts on the topic? We’d love to hear them.

Have an inquiry for Chelsea? Leave it … and she’ll answer it.