End of Days

Today was the last clinical day as a student nurse. All in all, it was a great day. I was assigned to a great nurse who was also precepting a newly orienting graduate nurse. For reasons I didn't think worthy at the time, he was impressed to talk to his nurse manager about me. She, in turn, wanted to speak with me about possibly coming to work for her unit in the Respiratory ICU. She asked me to send her my resume (which I told her I would do tonight) so that she could pass along to me the job posting number she is going to list in May. She advised me to take the NCLEX as soon as possible as she would like to be hiring in June to replace the 3 nurses leaving the unit at the end of summer.

How freaking awesome would that be? RICU is not my first choice of employment, but a job in critical care would open MANY doors for me down the road, and not even in the too-distant future. This would enable me to really do wherever I wanted to go as well as really prepare me well in nursing, unlike a regular med-surg floor nursing position would do. The staff at the RICU are the most companionable of the ICU's that I experienced, which really sets the overall tone of the unit. Anyway - it's not the only position I would apply for, but if it was my 'in' for IHC so that I could eventually go where I wanted with the advantage of in-house job listings and what-not, I'd be a fool not to go for it.

Otherwise, this is the last time I have to wear these darling blue scrubs. Though I love the color, I'm happy to repurpose them. Some people burn then, throw them away, donate them. I am going to cut it up and make a pot holder or small blankie or something. Add it to the swatches of other 'loved' fabrics that I can make into a quilt, perhaps. I'll do something with it - just not wear it ever again! :)

Looks like I'll be getting a B in high acuity (critical care) and A-'s in community and managment. *sigh of relief* It was an intense semester, but it's been a good one, too. I feel like it really came together this semester, and though it makes the end of the term somewhat hectic, I do enjoy having our clinical days at the end, rather than the beginning, when I feel like I know what I'm doing somewhat.  Now for the last careplan to submit and three final exams and onto the NCLEX prep and test itself. The end is so near. I can feel it!

22 Days and a Wake-up!

Yay! Almost there! Two more class days! Two more weeks! Two more ICU clinicals, one of which is in the ER! Super fun!!! Two more OB days delivering babies and feeling more like a real-life nurse than I will post-graduation given the terrible job market for new graduate nurses! My parents all coming to Utah to see me! Yay!

I am blessed.

Gosh I hope I can find a job fairly quickly.

Holy Cow

38 pages later, and I finally have all unit 6 notes printed out. Not the whole unit itself... no... just the NOTES for this test.

Thank goodness for the High Acuity Magic Notes. Thank goodness I didn't have to write them. Now all I have to do is buy a new ink cartridge ;)

Holy Cow!

Wow time flies by

It's officially my older/younger sister's birthday, it being 12:15am on April the 7th. I can't believe she's THIRTY-TWO!?!?!? what the heck!? *sigh* this means, that for sure, I'll be thirty-five on my next birthday. I remember when my dad was 35. At the time, it seemed so far away. Now, when I look back, I wish I could be half as good-looking at my 35 as he was at his 35 haha!

Well, Happy Birthday Sambo-wambo, spaghettio-lipso, presto-changeo, neato-kapeeto, wish-my-name-was-guido, from Puerto-Rico, eating-a-burrito, wearing-a-sombrero. You're officially for surely in your thirties and welcome to it. *mwah!*  <---- that, is a kissy sound (for those who are unaware). And, you're welcome talcum powder chowder head.

As for other items of 'time flying by' nature, it's already well into April!? What?! This is the month I'm using my little cleaning coupon? The last month of my nursing program? I have only 4 exams or so before the finals?  I've had my car now for two whole years? My younger/younger sister is also having a birthday and will be something like 28 for the love of pete!? What What WHAT!?!?!?!?

Where has life gone?

HESI, ICU, and other musings

Ok, so I thought having to take the HESI exam so soon after my little Frankie's passing that I would do terribly and need to retake it AND that my first ICU day would be terrible.  Not true for either! I rocked the HESI doing waaaaay better than I did last year (1121 this time - 927 last time) and my ICU experience was pretty anticlimactic. I did see some wicked cool wounds, but nothing dramatic happened. Which, probably was a good thing for my fragile nerves.

So, onto another week of awesome activities. Test tomorrow after Jamie sees the orthodontist. Our resume and cover letter is due in management (I hate that class) and then I get to go back to the orthodontist to pick up Jamie's newest retainers (which hopefully she'll keep at least 2 weeks before losing this time - geeze louise that girl). And then onto reading up on material for High Acuity on Tuesday.  Crazy to think that there is less than a month of classes left, and our final exams are 5/2, 3, and 4 with graduation on the 5th. CRAZY! I hope to take boards on May 16, if not sooner. I can't afford Kaplan ($350 with our discount!! Holy cow!) for test preparation, so I figure I better get in there while it's still somewhat fresh in my brain.

The sting of Frankie's untimely death is already fading, which I'm surprised at and both alarmed and grateful for. The main thing that still gets to me is the memory of finding him and the tragedy of knowing that it was so preventable. I did paint a little ceramic tile to put as a marker in the flowerbed - and that's what is portable so that when we move from here, we can take that little piece along.  I also stuck a solar-charged light out there. It's strangely reassuring to me to see that little wink of light out there in the darkness of the flowerbed.

Did anyone see Saturn tonight? It's viewable without a telescope tonight and tomorrow night (4/3 and 4/4) in the East sky. So, that's three planets (Mars and Venus, the other two) I've seen without a telescope, which I think is pretty neat.