so far so good

Thus far I have completed 3 nights out of 8 in my preceptorship.  It has been a wonderful experience and I am truly enjoying my time there.  I have an amazing preceptor. She is smart, kind, funny, and just a wonderful person all around. 

My first night there, we were assigned a patient with HELLP syndrome.  In case you don't know what HELLP syndrome is, it stands for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelets.  It is a severe form of preeclampsia/ eclampsia.  In a women who has high blood pressure, they can get eclampsia or preeclampsia and HELLP can develop.  As the hemolysis develops, the liver gets congested causing it to fail. You can read more up on it HERE.

My second night I had a patient with a fetal demise.  She was 30 weeks along when she stopped feeling the baby move, came into the hospital and no fetal heart tones were there. It was absolutely heartbreaking watching that mother cry and seeing her pain.  It was hard for me to not know what to say.

My third night was a bit better. We had a new mom who ended up getting a C-section because of multiple reasons. Baby wasn't tolerating contractions well, mom got a fever, and she wasn't progressing quickly enough with being on Pitocin, and baby ended up being in a transverse position.

I did have this huge post with more details to my nights, but I decided that it's not appropriate for public eyes.  I am just grateful for this opportunity to be in the Labor and Delivery department right now.  I am grateful for the experiences I have received.  Not very many students get the opportunity to see what I have seen.  yes the fetal demise was so sad, but I am grateful that I had her.  I was able to watch my nurse and see how she explained things (paperwork) and listened to what she said to that devastated mother.  I didn't know what to say.  I know I learned from this experience.

Happy deliveries happen all of the time.  the c-section was happy delivery, but I know the Mom wanted a normal delivery, but things happen and the ultimate goal for her was to have a healthy baby.  I've said this before and I'll say it again, after seeing that major surgery, I hope that I NEVER have to have one.  Yes it's quick and you can plan when you have your baby, but man! the trauma that puts on your body.  No thank you. 

I am looking forward to my next 5 shifts and I hope that I will be able to get a job in that department.  I am going to be sad when this is done. I really have enjoyed the girls I have met as well.

It's finally here

I am happy to announce that I am done with nursing school!!! I took my final exam on Monday and I received a 65 out of 75! That is an 86%!! I received an 85% for my total test grades and I believe an 89% for my overall grade. You must receive a 76% in order to pass the semester with just proctored exams.  I am so relieved and I feel light as a feather as I no longer have this stress on my shoulders.  These past 2 years went by super fast and I am so blessed and grateful that I was able to achieve my goal.  I am not an official RN yet. I still need to finish my preceptor, which if you remember, I will be going to the Labor and Delivery unit at Chandler Regional hospital.  I will complete this last portion over the next few weeks and then have my graduation on May 14!! I am elated! I can't believe it's here already.  I studied my booty off for the past 3 weeks getting ready for my third test which I took a week ago, and this final which I took yesterday. I believe my tailbone got shoved up my back somewhere from sitting on it for so long. I spent almost everyday at Barnes and Noble from about 9AM to sometimes 4PM with my fellow classmates studying away.  We would take a lunch break and a chit chat break every now and then, but it was mostly spent studying and I feel that it truly paid off.  I worked very hard this semester to get good grades and for the first time out of the 2 years I was on top of the tests. I didn't have any doubt that I wouldn't make it.  I couldn't afford to not pass again.  You may remember a year ago, I had to retake my block 2. I was so sad/stressed about that, but in the end it was a blessing because I believe it really helped me become a better test taker and I feel I will be a better nurse because of it.  

I gained a lot of experiences these past 2 years and I have made some great friends. I made a new best friend over the summer, Misti. She had to retake block 2 as well with me.  We became close instantly and I am so grateful for her for studying with me and always being positive.  I am grateful for Amber, Keri, Jen, Mike, Kym, Maria, Jess, Erik, Jackie, and Rocki and pretty much all of my classmates for their support and encouragement through everything.  My class has always been there for each other. When you spend that much time with these people you really become close. I will keep these friend for a long time and I hope to work with at least some of them in the near future. We care about each other and each others families.  We became our own little family.  I know I can count on them and they can count on me. 

I am so grateful for Kole for making this possible!! If it wasn't for him I would not have been able to come this far.  He made sure that I had ample amount of time to study when I needed to. He would take Kody to the park, pet store, his grandparents, wherever just so I could have the house to myself. He sacrificed so much for me so I could study. Even when I would ask him last minute if I could go study with some friends, he made it possible.  I am grateful that Kody has been as understanding of how much time I had to spend away from home as she could possible. She was sad when I had to go to school/ clinical days in a row, but when I told her I had to go study, she was so sweet and would say "okay momma. I love you!"  She is the sweetest little girl and I'm glad I was able to complete school while she was young. I feel like I missed the last 2 years of her life in a way. She was 2 when I started and now she'll be turning 4! I just can't believe it. She amazes me everyday with her knowledge and her language skills. Kids minds are amazing!

I am so grateful for the support that I have received on here from friends and family.  Giving me encouragement and nice words on my posts.  It really has meant a lot to me that people care enough to read these posts and leave nice thoughts! :) So thank you everyone!  

I will be taking my boards sometime this summer. I cannot wait to become and official RN and get a big girl job and help others. That is something I have really enjoyed about my clinical experience. Yes some of the work is gross and smelly, but being in the hospital sucks and If I can make a positive difference in someone's day, then that is all that matters.  I am happy.