12 hour shifts

Holy moly!  Yesterday I completed my first 12 hour shift as a nursing student!  I told Tyler that after yesterday I only had 11 more shifts to go ... then it dawned on me that duh June your going to be a Registered Nurse ... with about a million more of these 12 hour shifts.  Lol ... there goes the easy school days ... which I know I will miss!

To my readers, sorry I haven't blogged in awhile.  Seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately, so please bare with me as I catch you up on the last year of my life! :)  In the last 365 days I've done the following:

1.) I FINALLY got accepted into a Registered Nursing program at Highline CC (March 2013)
2.) The lover...aka Tyler ... moved back home from Bellingham to be with THIS girl!  Woot woot I'm such a lucky girl!
3.) Tyler and I took one step forward together ... we moved in together :)  We are living in an adorable place in North Tacoma.  Perfect area for us, school is nearby and the area offers so much culture and nightlife!
4.)  As if applying to an Associates in Registered Nursing program wasn't enough, I decided to further torture my brain and apply to the University of Washington Registered Nursing Bachelor program!  (Still awaiting if I get in!  I have to be tortured and wait until April 2014 before they tell me the good news or really upsetting news!)
5.)  For some you are just reading about my acceptance into the RN program at Highline; but I actually graduate THIS March 20th!  Holy crapola!  Can you believe it!  It's as if the last year was only a minute long!
6.) As if I'm not already busy enough, I volunteered to be on our graduating class "pinning committee." Basically, this committee consists of me and 3 other fine ladies who literally have to plan and orchestrate our entire graduation.  The college doesn't do this .... shocking right?  Lol I do have to add that I've put in about 50-60  hours of work on our graduation and I do believe that our graduation will surpass anything that the college could have done for us even if they did the planning!  Toot toot .... thats the sound I'm making as I toot my own horn! :P
7.) What are these 12 hour shifts I am referring to?  Well, I have just started my very last clinical rotation with Highline CC, I have landed a preceptorship at Mary Bridge Hospital in their Med-Surg unit.

Phew! Busy year!  Its incredible to me to think about the fact that I set out to complete a goal, become a Registered Nurse, and I am almost there!  I graduate March 20th!  That is in 36 days .... 36 days!! Amazing!  All I have left of my last quarter is to complete my rotation with Mary Bridge, which so far I'm loving!  I love being in Pediatrics and I hope that when I graduate my luck continues and I'm able to land one of their few treasured residency positions!  Fingers crossed!

I have so much respect for the nurse who is working with me right now, Karen.  She is what I strive to be as a nurse; she is respectful, loving, and on her A game 100% of the time.  That woman has more energy than me and she is 15-20 years older than I!  Our 12 hour shifts just zoom by, and I am desperately trying my hardest to keep up with her and not get in her way.  For being in a nursing program for the last 2 years, I sure realize just how much MORE I need to know.  As a student nurse it is frustrating to not know everything and not be able to help out to the extent my mind makes me feel that I should.  I look forward to the days where I am confident in my abilities and it comes naturally. :)  Until then I may have to increase my glass of wine volume at night!

So today, I am naming it accordingly as my "day of rest" after my 1st 12 hour shift. I'm exhausted and it's only just begun!  I'm looking forward to the days where my body  and mind gets used to these days! In fairness, I do need to add I've had a sinus infection for over a week now.  My body is just hanging on to this gunk ... which is probably contributing to my fatigue.  Garh!!  Awe the joys of having sinus issues!

Well, thats as far as the update you will get for the moment ... I'm going to do a little studying for a little thing I call the NCLEX because that's the next hurdle I need to jump over to become a Registered Nurse.  That test date will be sometime in April ... lol don't worry you will hear me talk about that issue so much more ... but for right now that will have to be on another day!

Besos!
XOXO