I’m starting a new grad residency after almost 2 years of doing community nursing. What preparation do you recommend for returning to acute care nursing???

Hospital nursing can be overwhelming, even for an experienced nurse. Try to keep positive and don’t be too hard on yourself. It will take a year to feel comfortable. Ask a lot of questions, keep note cards, try to be very organized and just keep plugging away, you will get there. Most importantly, take care of yourself… get plenty of sleep, exercise, eat healthy (try to avoid all the junk food at work). Take all your breaks and go outside and walk to clear your mind and regroup. Try to leave work when you leave the building and enjoy your other life.

Get out the books and do a good overview of med surg nursing. Get any study guide you can on med surg nursing. Ask to shadow a nurse in med surg.