an update

I love summer. It's not quite summer yet in Calgary, but i finished my LAST EXAM nearly a week ago, and i am so happy to be done! Both exams went reasonably well, and i'm enjoying not having a 1000 things on my plate. After my last exam, i napped, then reunited with a long lost friend and my boyfriend for the first stress-free dinner and movie that i've enjoyed in a long time! The next day we went rock climbing together, and we even allowed my little bro to tag along. After some blessed Peters to cool our sore hands, we went back to my place so i could freshen up, then to Devin's to watch House and LOST. Another amazing night! Wednesday was another awesome day with my good long-lost friend, he made me butter chicken from scratch! THEN, Thursday was my first buddy shift at my new job. I'm now an Undergraduate Nursing Employee, which means i'm basically a nurse, i have my own patients, and i'm responsible for their medications, vital signs, assessments, hygiene, tests, bloodwork, procedures, and any other concerns with them. It was fun, we didn't do too much, i mostly just became acclimatized to my new unit and the new expectations of me! (It's nice to work somewhere and not be expected to answer the phone every time it rings.) I'm working 12 hour shifts running off my feet, so it's different from sitting behind a desk. For my first shift, i pretty much just shadowed my nurse. It was a tiring day, but i was still fit for poker at Devin's that night! This same long lost friend of mine allowed me to practice IV starts on him! I've been threatening to do this since the very first day of nursing, so it was a real milestone for our friendship! (i'm proud to say i got it on my first try, but my technique still needs some work. Shandell will let me be her next victim :D) The NEXT day was extremely different...the nurse i was shadowing was very used to having students, and she's an amazing teacher! She let me do ALOT; it was a busy day, so i basically took on anything she asked me to. I ran off my feet, multitasking to the ^ 10! I got to see a cerebral angiogram, i got to start two IVs, hang IV meds, give narcotics and insulin,did a discharge and received an admission on IVIG... i did more in one day than i usually see in a semester! Now, you know what the funny thing is? I felt like i could handle it! I didn't feel overwhelmed, i was just busy and running everywhere, but i enjoyed every minute of it! But i handled it! This was affirmed by my nurse, who said i did awesome! She said towards the end of it that she wasn't sure if she was overloading me or not, cuz it was a really busy day, but she saw that i was doing alright, and i just went to it! I think my time in ICU has really inspired me. I see all these amazing nurses handling so much and keeping everything in order, and i just think to myself "they can handle that, i can handle this!" It looks as though i've made a positive first impression, though i can admit, i was nearly comatose after the second 12 hour shift. but Devin sweetly picked me up from both shifts and listened to my very animated reinactments and stories, and let me snooze as he played video games.

In short, life is good, but i'm gearing up for an intense summer. But i'm thinking this is gonna be one of the best summers ever!