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 ...

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 ...

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.

How's this for your first day as a student nurse on clinical ... You are rounding with your instructor and enter a room to find a patient crying. His doctor just delivered some bad news. The patient looks to you for explanation and comfort. Welcome to the jungle. In another room a patient is begging for a sip of water. She's about to go into ...

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 ...

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.

Although the school year has come to an end, I want to relate a few more experiences I had as a freshman student nurse. As a big portion of my second semester grade in my Introduction to Professional Nursing class (my only true nursing course my freshman year) was scenario testing. Scenario testing was a demonstration of how a student nurse would ...

  Well, I passed and you cannot believe how good this feels. The work was tough and demanding. I will not miss the work but I will miss many of my classmates. Granted our age differences were significant but their energy and exuberance provided a huge energy boost. Later on this week I will burn my white uniform in a small ceremony. Next ...

We entered critical care as our last clinical rotation and I am absolutely loving it. I come home each day exhausted from running around and speaking to numerous specialties. On my first day, I walked into the room of my first patient and find the patient's SPO2 in the high 80s with the nasal cannula near his ears. After I adjusted the nasal ...