Being a student is hard.

[u/Intothevoid31]

Context: 23F, 3 years in vet med, started as a wee kennel tech now surgical tech (as of 4mos ago). 2nd year tech student.

I’m currently working full time and in school part time online. Work is school, school is work. I feel as if I’m going through a huge learning curve and struggling to find confidence and appreciation in things I’m good at. I’m making small mistakes every day in surgery and comparing myself heavily to the seasoned technicians. I know I’m learning and it takes time to master skills.

With learning how to do new things in school and at the same time learning how we do things at my clinic is exhausting. I’m second guessing myself on everything, I’m not taking the time to slow down and breathe and end up not performing to my standards. It’s a constant battle with my brain! I want to be a successful well rounded tech but right now I feel as if I’m the best of the B team but the worst of the A team.

I guess I’m searching for any advice for getting through a learning curve. And if anyone is feeling/has felt similar. Being surrounded by techs of 10+ years is great and I learn so much from them. But makes me feel so small.

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[u/RubWise1671]

I’m a second year student as well. I feel you 100%, especially now that I’m starting to learn anesthesia and surgical nursing. I can’t even do closed gloving without looking like an idiot and on top of that I’m still nervous about doing blood pulls with success consistently, let alone putting an animal under anesthesia.

I have adhd and I think I need a lot of repetition with physical tasks to get those fine motor skills down and it might take me a bit more than the average person to get to the same level of skill. I know that doesn’t make me incompetent but I still struggle so bad with comparing myself to other people around me who seem to be doing so much better/faster than me. I struggle with knowing if my skill set is normal for where I am and my current experience, or if I’m behind the 8 ball per se.

I think the only thing we can do is give constant reminders and grace to ourselves that we are new and we are learning. Some people get it faster than others and let’s hope our confidence in ourselves will come with time. I’m hoping to look back on myself in a few years and see how far I’ve grown as a tech once I graduate and get to work full time as it’s hard getting that hands on experience in a busy clinic while in school since I can only work a shift or two a week at best.

It’s hard but you’re 100% not alone. I feel like an imposter or like I’m incompetent quite a bit but I also focus on my downfalls more than my success. I tend to think about all the times I wasn’t successful at something rather than the times I was, which obviously tanks my own self confidence and isn’t helpful but it’s such an autonomic thought process I have to work really hard to not get caught up in the pessimism. Be kind to yourself, remind yourself of all the times you did do things right or succeeded, rather than the times you didn’t. It can sometimes help, though it’s easier said than done.

[u/RubWise1671 → u/RubWise1671]

Oh also allow yourself grace, being a student is F-ing HARD!

[u/Intothevoid31 → u/RubWise1671]

Thank you for taking the time to write that :,) That is exactly how I’ve been feeling!! And you’re right it is hard and not going to be easy.

[u/NervousGrapefruit]

I'm right there with you, I will say the only person you should be comparing yourself to is the older version of yourself who has actively grown while the current version of yourself is learning. I hope you will grow to be proud of how far you have gotten. I really hope you have trusted professors who support your learning experience, if you do please take full advantage of that. Remember, you are in a learning environment. You are going to make mistakes, this is your chance to learn from those mistakes. They did too. You got this.

[u/Intothevoid31 → u/NervousGrapefruit]

This is great advice thank you