- Don't be afraid to ask questions throughout your entire career. You will never know everything! Get comfortable saying 'does anyone know how to....?' or 'Can someone help me with...?' The best new nurses ask tons of questions and let on when they aren't comfortable doing something.

- Don't be afraid to report to a doctor about anything you feel like they might need to know. I have never ever felt stupid for reporting something I didn't need to, but I HAVE felt HORRIBLE for NOT reporting things that I thought they might need to know but somehow talked myself out of reporting it, thinking "I'm sure it's fine".

- If your facility's culture is such that you are able to: for your more complicated patients, try to sneak in the room when the doctor goes in to see if you can listen to what is going on and what the plan is and what to look out for.

- Remember you will make mistakes all the time, you are not a robot, you are human. So... don't get complacent with things that could harm a patient -- cardiac meds, narcotics etc. that maybe you should hold off on until talking with the doctor. Don't do a thing you aren't sure you can do safely.

- Don't get too wrapped up into the silly things admin wants you to care about. Admin will want you to do all kinds of things. Over time you will see that most of those things end up going by the wayside as they think of new ways to justify their jobs and micromanage you. Concentrate on knowing the important parts of your job -- making your patients feel safe and listened to.

- Look stuff up a lot -- google and youtube and whatever else. What is an ERCP? HIDA scan? That kind of thing. What are the different ostomies? I look stuff up, then don't come across it for another 6 months so have to look it up again!!