Day Fore

Don't even tell me - I already know! I did it on purpose.

Ok, so today is day 4 of week #1. We had our first "lab" class today. It was pretty fun! We're learning: IV Piggybacks, IV Push, IV Flushing, and IV D/C (discontinue). We will get to IVDC this quarter on our own after we check off in the lab AND do it in clinical in front of our instructor. Like a real REAL nurse!! I'm so excited!
Now, no worries... We won't get to put an IV IN until at least next quarter, if at all (during nrsg school). I assume we won't have the chance - just like with many other procedures. You know, it's like this: There are hundreds of opportunities to give insulin in a given hospital each day. There are lots of opportunities to add additional meds to an IV. So, students have plenty of opportunities to do these things. But.... How many times to they have to put a trach (pronounced TRAKE) tube in? And are they really going to let a student do that? Well, they don't particularly love to let us START an IV, either. We just HOPE that we are "the exception" for any particular day, like I was last quarter when I got to put in a catheter!! I was one of only a couple of students last quarter, and the only one in my clinical group, who got to put one in!

Gee, was that a soapbox? I didn't mean any of it in a negative way, just as an explanation.

Tomorrow is our clinical location orientation. We go to the hospital (I'm at Southwest Washington Medical Center this quarter) and have some computer training. Then we have a Treasure Hunt, and then have a hospital tour. Yay!

Ok, so blah, blah, BLAH! I'm blabbering.

The REAL reason for this post is because of pure excitement... Each day, I am so much more excited about "what I want to be when I grow up!" For years, I have wanted to be a NICU nurse. That's "neonatal intensive care." Part of me still wants to do that. But..... (but, but, BUT!)... But there are so many other things that are increasingly exciting to me! Labor & Delivery, trauma, surgical nursing (??)..... It's so much more than NICU, now, that gets my little heart going a pitter-patter. I'm sure that more specialties will be added to the list, but I'm most excited to see where this experience takes me and where I actually end up!!

Cheers!