It’s been about three months since
I had my ankle surgery and I’ve finally started working. YAY! Two years and
five months after starting nursing school I’ve finally started to put my skills
and knowledge to use. But I have to be
honest, I still feel like I go in everyday and have no idea what I’m doing (don’t
tell my patients that!). Apparently,
that’s common in nursing and especially for new grads. I mean, they can’t teach you everything
you will need to know in two years of schooling, but Hopkins did try its
best. I’ve been on the floor for six
days now. I’m slowly getting into the
routine of floor life, but let’s be honest, nothing ever goes as planned. Every morning I start I have a nice sheet
printed with times of the day and tasks needed to be done. I fill in some gaps as I listen to the
morning report and afterwards I move to a computer to check any other orders,
meds, vitals, etc. This sounds lovely,
doesn’t it? Calm, organized and low-stress….yea right J It’s like as soon as
patients know report is over and the new shift of nurses is ready, the call
bells start ringing and everyone needs their medicine. At the same time. Until nurses can clone themselves we just
have to prioritize and do our tasks in order of importance. Not that every patient isn’t important, but
if one patient is having an allergic reaction to something and another patient
is in pain, pain might have to wait because an allergic reaction can be
fatal.
I’ve learned this and many other
helpful pieces of information from my wonderful preceptors! (Shout out to
Double A and Big C). These may sound
like bra sizes to you, but to me they are fantastic, super helpful, calm and
patient experienced nurses who help me navigate the crazy world of
nursing. For about the next eight weeks
or so I’ll be working with my preceptors before I’m given patients to take care
of on my own. Maybe at the end of
this week I’ll have some amusing stories to share, but for now, it’s just been
shits and giggles (literally. I work on a poop floor). Until next time!
