Precepting - Day 5?

All my days are flowing together. One thing I have learned is that when I work, I need to schedule myself for consecutive days. It's hard to do a 12 hour, go to bed and not wake up to your alarm that you set so you would get up early in order to go to bed early for the 5 AM alarm the day after. No matter how hard I try, I sleep through my alarm and wake up late - then I can't go to sleep early enough for the working the next day. So. It's decided to work back-to-back and have more consecutive days off. If I was more of a morning person, one on and one off would work. But with family and boyfriend both out of town, consecutive days off would be nice.

The precepting has been going well. The ICU has been a little slow lately but I'm sure it'll pick right up. I'm starting to feel like a nurse again! :) Hopefully I will hear about a job opportunity tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed and say a couple prayers for me! I'm excited and nervous!!

Off Day

Okay...so I mayyy have not done the practice tests for the predictor exam like I said I was going to do...BUT I did manage to put in a new workout, go: tan, walmart, dry cleaners, and I went to turn in paperwork to my teacher an hour away. Plus doing laundry. Gym, tan, laundry - your own nursing guidette right here!

I discovered that while I am precepting this weekend, it is over April Fool's Day. My LEAST favorite holiday. I'm so incredibly jumpy and gullible that I will fall for any and all tricks in the book. Let's just hope that everyone decides to leave their saran wrap for the toilet, at home where it should stay.

Precepting 1 & 2

Well my wish was granted - I was able to ease into the precepting in the ICU. The sad part: we watched the cardiac monitors all day. It was weird doing my job as a student, but it allowed Teresa to discuss with me about the different documentation that needs to be done with the patients.
Today was a day full of wound care checks - to see if any patients have any hospital acquired pressure ulcers. Another informative day on documentation, which is really about 60% of what nurses have to do.
This weekend will be a hands on experience that I am looking forward to experiencing. Tomorrow I plan on studying for our last exam - the ATI predictor exam. It is to see how prepared you are for the NCLEX boards exam that I will take in June after graduation. Yay for studying!

Spring Break

It's official - in class school is OVER!!! I just need to write my Capstone paper and finish precepting hours. Then I am done!! it is crazy in how just a few short months I'll be on my own with no school as a crutch.
My parents and I are enjoying my last ever Spring Break. It's crazy to me that after 19 years I won't have a break anymore. I don't necessarily like it because I love to travel and have an excuse to get out, but I understand the importance of embracing the "real world".
Ready to graduate but not ready to grow up.

2 Weeks Left

As of today, there is officially 2 weeks left of class in my senior year of nursing school!! Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance!! There is only 2 presentations, 1 conference, 1 quiz and 1 test left!! I am so excited!!
I was able to travel to see friends and the boy the last two weekends. It has been a great time to relax. Although the next two weekends will be full of school, it was a great break!
After Spring Break, I shadow an ICU nurse for 13 12-hour shifts. After that = GRADUATION!! Yay!!

Valentine's Day

Thankfully, Valentine's day is over! Not because of the loving holiday - I'm a hopeless romantic and my wonderful boyfriend completely fulfilled my daydreams. It is because the biggest anxiety-producing-by-just-looking-at-the-schedule day was over. It included a 20% of our grade paper, presentation and midterm. Plus having another class to sit through. This day had been looming over us since Day 1 and we knew it was going to be a hurdle. Thankfully, everything went really smooth! I was very proud of my presentation group (even though we lost everyone's attention after 3 minutes of our 30 minute presentation, ha!) and the exam went very well. The paper was done before class, but the day was still THERE. Now all we have to do is our Evidence-Based Practice presentation for local hospitals, and our Capstone paper - plus several smaller projects. I am so thankful that it is finally coming to an end.

I am so ready to be in the ICU, not as a monitor tech like usual, but as a student nurse. I will have to tell Teresa, my preceptor RN, that I will need a day to ease back in to health care. I haven't cared for a patient since November. And I can feel the details of skills just freely flowing out of my brain.

It is almost time to start sending my resume and apply for the boards exam. Finally becoming a big kid! I am so ready to start that chapter of my life - to continually learn and just immerse into caring. Ready, set, go!

It Would Happen Eventually

Well I had my first family be infuriated with me today. As the monitor tech, if any family member calls, you must get a passcode from them before you are able to give any information on the patient. This helps protects the patient's confidentiality and is the hospital protocol. As many times as I have disappointed callers by saying that they would need to have a passcode before giving any information, I knew that one would eventually erupt on me. And one did.

Now that I have been through the attacking and spiteful event, I can put it behind me. It was a learning experience to be more confident in knowing that my stance was correct. Emotions are high in the Intensive Care Unit and they can explode in a mere minute. It was an important event to be through, and will be stronger in the events after.