I had my first day in the Emergency Department and I think I'm in LOVE!!!!
There are a lot of things that happen in the ER, some you can never un-see and some you can never un-smell -- but to really shed light on how sick and twisted I am -- I just want to go back for more! The hospital I am in does not have a trauma center, so we really don't see anything super serious from an injury standpoint - no gunshot wounds or serious car accidents - but there can be serious medical conditions (strokes, heart attacks, etc.) I did not see any of those yesterday, but what I did see/experience had me thirsting for more!
My preceptor was amazing - she has been working in the ER for 35 years and had a lot of experience and knowledge to share. She let me draw blood!!! This is my first human blood draw (I have drawn blood and place IV catheters on countless dogs and cats in the Veterinary ICU) and I didn't even flinch! It was an elderly man who had really bad veins too. My preceptor even remarked at how good my technique was and how well I did. Love that! She tried to get me an IV cath but all the patients that came in were really really sick and needed access quickly so she didn't want me to do those being that this would be my first human IV! I was a bit disappointed but I know it'll happen. Needle sticks (blood draws and IVs) were always my favorite in the Veterinary world and I was always the "go to" person when everyone else had tried to get access and couldn't. So needless to say, getting to draw blood was a real treat. Remember me? I am the sick and twisted one.
I can't wait to go back next week, despite the fact that I felt like I had been hit by a bus by the time I got home. A lot of running around all day and moving patients and doing stuff was a little tough on my almost 40 year old bones. Next week should be interesting as I am doing it all over again only to come home and host a sleepover birthday party for my daughter and four of her closest friends. I am looking into that "5 Hour Energy" because frankly I am not sure how I'm going to manage that. Maybe I can just turn the girls into my minions and make them take care of me!
As I reflect back on each of my clinical rotations in nursing school (there's been 6 total, all at different facilities) I can only remember instantly loving all of them, except one and that was Psych. The only reason I didn't like Psych was because it lacked the clinical aspect of things. The only way I could help a patient was to talk to them, and dont' get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy talking to my patients, it's just that I want to do more for them. I like the tangible aspect of making someone feel better, beyond just the helpful communication. So during this reflection I have come to realize how much I love nursing. I love everything I do in a hospital to help sick and injured people feel better. Over the summer I realized what a void there was once the semester was over and I was no longer headed to the hospital each week. I missed being a nurse. I truly believe that the desire to be a nurse is imbedded in my heart, it's a part of my soul. It's too bad I had been too preoccupied to realize it before I did. God wants me to be a nurse and He has made that so evident to me by His presence during my nursing school journey. That's really overwhelming to me when I stop and think about it. It's pretty intense. Being a nurse belongs to me, and I belong to being a nurse. I'm fairly certain that too many people go through their life without knowing what belongs to them. When you find that "thing" it's like magic. Like sparks inside your soul.
How can I ever begin to express my gratitude for that?
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