Soooo stoked that my first week on the floor is O-V-E-R!!!! Its all down hill from here (hopefully)! Now that its all said and done....I can honestly say....I have learned SOOOOO much over the past three days! I have accomplished things I would have never in a million years thought I could have ever done....and I have over come challenges beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I know I have a long road ahead of me.....but this first week (and the next few weeks that are to follow I'm sure) have been the most exhausting, most insane, and sometimes traumatizing times that I could have ever imagined having!
So this is how my week went:
Tuesday: Day 1: Marathon day! After going to both of my morning classes, taking a bio test, and then reporting to work was definite madness! I basically just followed around the NA who was training me....she walked me through everything I would be doing on a daily basis and sort of oriented me to the floor. With that said let me just say....I felt completely lost....every time I walked out of a room I had no clue which closet was where, which way was up, or where to find ANYTHING. I would have gotten frustrated, but I had to keep reminding myself that everyone probably feels this way and with time it would all be ok. Everything was pretty low key and seemed pretty routine....nothing to insane...which was DEFINITELY a good thing.
The highlight: getting to prep a patient for a procedure....and I'm sure you've ALL heard this story by now :-P
Wednesday: Day 2: Thank goodness for adrenaline! I had to wake up and go to my lab....which wasn't too bad, and even had time to relax a little at home before day 2 on the job. For the most part I was still just a little duckling following around my momma duck NA....I did take my first blood sugar which was pretty exciting!!! :) and got lots of experience transferring different patients to different labs and procedure areas around the hospital. By the end of the shift I felt a little more confident on where things were on our floor and learned a few new shortcuts around the hospital.
The highlight: One word. Enema. --- For awhile now I have heard that every nurse has a "thing"...and its the one "thing" that he/she just can't get over and has trouble dealing with. I thought vomit would be mine...I was wrong. Poop is my thing. After having to assist the nurse with a doctor ordered enema I learned this. (a milk and molasses enema no less---which looks as DISGUSTING as it sounds). I started feeling light headed, I got INSANELY hot, and dizzy. I had to sit down...and eventually had to leave the room. (I have spared the details on the events that led up to this feeling...because I KNOW I will never forget them...and I KNOW nobody reading this blog wants to hear them).
Thursday: Day off: Thank goodness! 8am class---was TORTURE!!! I have a new found respect for the phrase "slow as molasses" ... and I don't think I have ever felt this exhausted in my LIFE!!! After class I napped...and it felt so good!
Friday: Day 3: After the events on Tuesday---I was VERY anxious on my way in to work. As I was sitting in my car (b/c I get EVERYWHERE early and everyone here gets EVERYWHERE late) I couldn't help thinking ---What in the hell am I doing?!?! I felt nervous and probably had a small panic attack. I couldn't stop thinking about alot of things---the biggest being how sick I am of feeling nervous/anxious ALL THE TIME. Everything is a first here...everything is new...and I'm just ready to feel normal!! I'm ready to feel comfortable (which is the #1 reason why I'm super stoked that bff Jillian is coming this weekend!)
After I sucked it up and walked in ---everything turned out even better than I could have imagined. I was with a different NA (who was super super nice and also in nursing school---the other NA was older and really hard for me to relate to/connect with...which probably contributed to my not so great experiences the first 2 nites). So this NA explained everything she did, her routine, how she handled handoffs and lots of little details that I don't think I would have learned until I was overwhelmed on my first day on my own (which is in a few weeks). She basically let me do everything while SHE followed ME around...helping when I needed her to...which was soooo incredibly helpful! I took all the blood sugars, dealt with all the admits (hooking them up, taking their vitals, etc.), and everything in between...finally handing off to the night shift NA! (one of the things I was super confused on)
The highlight: combative patients who wanted to pull out NG tubes, catheters, flexi seals (i.e. poopie bags) etc etc----ending in restraints. I can already tell there will never be a dull moment in this place!
After the night was over....I felt so much better about EVERYTHING. I felt like I had made a friend, I felt like I could actually do the job...and it felt great! :) Hopefully this feeling will stay with me on Tuesday when I'm sitting in the car waiting to go in again!
Until then...I'll be enjoying my weekend off....preparing for Jillian's visit....and studying up for my chem test!
2 comments:
aww sorry you're having a tough time, but it just takes some getting used to things! starting a new job is always scary, but add what YOU'RE having to do!...well I think anyone in their right mind would be scared as hell!! And I know there's no way on god's green earth that I could be doing the things you are! haha I've been telling Barbs about what all you've been doing and she kept going, never in a million years did I think Jessica, out of all your friends would be doing this stuff...and I agreed...so I have to say that I am super super UBER proud of you! You're learning and accomplishing SO much!!! You're doing what YOU want to do and not letting anything(and I mean ANYTHING) get in your way! GET IT!!!!!! oh and keep the funny stories coming for me! LAUVE YOU!!! :)
Aw twomom the beginning sounds rough but it sounds like the week ended so well!! Look at how much you have learned in THREE DAYS! You are going to do awesome when you're on your own! I'm soooo proud of you!!!!! And I def. want the enema details because I'm sick and twisted like that :). I was going to call yesterday afternoon but you and your mommy were out shopping so I didn't want to interrupt. I'm free all day to talk except church 12-1 and we may be doing dinner out... but if you want to catch up, I am def. ready for some crazy stories! Love you!
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