This day, however, I have been very reflective of how I have evolved as a nurse in these past 2 years. I am particularly partial to the friends I shared my very first clinical rotation with because we all broke that barrier of fear together. We entered the floor with our eccentric nursing instructor, whom we followed like a row of ducklings and met our first 'primary nurse' who would be the RN who we would essentially shadow throughout the day. Our first assignments were to get signed off on doing vital signs (I laugh as I type this, because I could now do this asleep while standing on my head and juggling oranges with my feet,) and having a 'therapeutic conversation' with our patient. The conversation would basically consist of, how are you feeling? is there anything I can do for you? But at that time, it felt like the most daunting task we would ever perform. Now it is an organic occurrence that we do not even consider in our daily work.
Today, we stand as strong, confident *almost* RN's who think nothing of preparing medications, giving injections and making decisions that can change outcomes in our patients' course. We took a standardized comprehensive exam last week in preparation of our upcoming boards, and I am very proud of how much I have learned in such a short period of time. Even though I do not have all the answers, I have the tools to figure it out. And even more importantly, I am confident in the care I provide.
For me, I am looking forward to beginning an intern program which will even more prepare me for my role as an 'all by myself' nurse. To my friends whom say goodbye to those nasty 2 year-old polos and navy scrub pants today, I wish you all the best. If you have made it here, you will make it anywhere...
Just please don't start pronouncing words funny when you become RN's...it's a CENTI-meter :)
No comments:
Post a Comment