Day one was an unreal experience. I spent my first day in the NICU assisting in caring for subarachnoid hemorrhage and organ donation patient. Stepping into one patient room, I could not believe all the invasive lines and subsequent vital sign monitoring. The nurse informed me that on this floor nurses look out for even the minute changes in vital ...

After picking up the girl I babysit from camp, I witnessed a very serious car accident. As I ascended up a hill on one of the main roads in the Del Mar/ Carmel Valley area of San Diego, I saw three cars totaled ahead of me. The accident had clearly occurred moments before. There was a Toyota Prius in the middle of the busy intersection totaled ...

It was the first week at work -- wow two years and what seemed like 100,000 lectures, I am finally in the work force. In previous positions, I never felt completely at ease when I started. I associated these feelings with being the new person and not knowing who set the work tone in the office. At orientation I felt I belonged and was a little ...

Here is something to ponder:  What do you do as a nursing student (or a nurse) when one of your parents is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease? Such was the case for me in early 1998 when my dad was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I was in the first year of my practical nurse schooling, and I didn't know how much of a ...

My summer has been going quite well so far. I have been babysitting from 9am until 4pm Monday through Friday-give or take an hour or two on each end--and I can essentially dictate my own hours. I guess you could say I'm living the ultimate ''employed'' summer life. It is very thought-provoking to spend a substantial amount of time with a nine-year ...

This is my last week of vacation before I start orientation. On Monday my practice permit arrived via the mail and that is the last piece before boards. I'm studying as much as I can with my kids hanging over me. Three years seemed to go slow and, as I stated earlier, I relish every moment. I hope everyone has a great 4th.

With the summer in full swing, my Mr. Mom duties are coming to a close. Even though I say picking up, dropping off, bed making and separating Thing 1 and Thing 2 (as I lovingly call my children) from their sweating drives me nuts, I know I will miss these duties. This career change has provided me with an opportunity to spend some long quality ...

With one year of nursing school under my belt the question of how to spend my summer arose. I am faced with a few challenges in regard to working a job or internship that is nursing related. The first challenge is that I have no clinical experience as of yet because Villanova's nursing program does not begin clinicals until the second part of ...

As I study for boards and prepare for July, I began to get fidgety and anxious hoping the days go by faster so July arrives sooner. After this weekend, I will not wish the days away. Following a round golf, I sat with two friends discussing distressing news regarding a fellow golfer. This fellow golfer was diagnosed with a degenerative ...

Well I finally obtained a nursing position and will start in July. Meanwhile, I will spend my days preparing for boards. This includes a board prep class. I will not give you the name as I am not a paid spokesman. What I can say it has provided some great strategies to answer questions. Thanks for reading; time to hit the books.