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Last semester: The first 40-hour week!

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, March 3, 2008

Since the last time I wrote, I have had some really busy days. This past week, I worked 40 hours! Now I know what it is truly like to have a full-time job and other responsibilities (like classes!). It kind of puts things into perspective as to what I am going to be doing as a real adult. I was tired! Twelve-hour shifts make for long days, especially when you have to wake up and do it all again the next day.

Let me tell you a bit more about my week:

I had two patients of my own with whom I became really close. It was a new feeling to be their care provider and not just be a CNA (certified nurse assistant) who gets them water. I was the person they called to talk, the person who answered their questions, the person who got them medication. This is what I am going to be doing in only four months! These past couple of weeks have been so fulfilling that I can't wait to start.

My favorite day of work so far (in case you forgot, I work on the maternity floor at a hospital in Boston) would have to be the day I spent in the newborn nursery. At first, it was kind of boring because I didn't really feel all that comfortable seeing as I hadn't been in there yet. But as the day went on, I became very relaxed and I was admitting babies and doing their newborn assessments. This is the first thing they do to newborns. I got to give the newborn medications, such as erythromycin for their eyes and vitamin K for clotting.

It was really scary to have to give a newborn baby an IM (intramuscular) injection. I was lucky though, as the first baby I did it on didn't even really cry. Before the day was done, we had admitted three new babies and I had done most of the work. It was a great day.

Later that week, I had one challenging day where I wasn't really sure how to respond to a situation.

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