Only two more weeks!

Well, the end of the semester is upon us folks. Only two more weeks and then I'm FREE for about a week and then summer school starts. Don't get too excited..I'm only taking one class and it's a theory type class for which I have to write a 5,000 word paper about a clinical case I had. I get the feeling there's going to be some creative license taken with this one. But anyway...

The good news of the day is that clinicals are finished for this semester! Had my last day in OB last night in the L&D unit. I saw one vag and one C/S...I have to say I prefer watching the C/S than the vag births. Let's just say I'm one of those people who is very sensitive to odors. I really have to get over that...anyone have any good tips? And no, breathing through my mouth does not work because then I can taste it. Or at least I think I can.

What else? Oh, I have my meeting today about preceptorship and I'm pretty sure I've come up with a game plan. I don't think I'm going to go with the ICU and there are a few reasons for this. 1) I need to go to the unit that will make me the most marketable for the highest number of jobs. M/S wins that one hands down. 2) I really feel like I need to learn the basics before I jump into the complicated stuff. I am serious when I say I am a baby stepper...if you saw the way I learned how to do a backward dive, you'd understand (I stood on the pool ladder and dove back from there, gradually going up each step of the ladder until I could do it from the side of the pool)...that's pretty much how I approach big scary things and so far it's worked well for me...i could do a backward dive like nobody's business!. M/S definitely wins on that one as it's a great way to get a solid foundation in nursing. 3) I feel that if I do M/S first I can branch off from there and go anywhere, and at this point I am very undecided about what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe ICU, maybe ER, maybe a transplant unit. Sigh...I wish there were three of me. 4) I seriously need to learn how to be more organized...I honestly feel that learning to juggle a full patient load on a busy unit will be one of my greatest challenges...If I can do that, I can do just about anything!

Ok, small confession...I sometimes wonder if I like the ICU because it doesn't make me feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off. Yes, I dig all the complicated pathophysiology, nifty gadgets and the ability to watch my patients like a hawk...but I also like not running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I kind of feel like I need to get past the chicken head stage before I'll feel confident enough to move to more critical patients. Does that make any sense at all? Besides...who's to say I can't read my text on Critical Care Nursing regardless of where I work? Hmmm?

Meeting today at 3:30...stay tuned to see where I've decided to go!