The last of the beginning

In one way, today was very uneventful; in another, it was pretty momentous. Katie, Erika, and I finished our last day of our first year of nursing school. Escaping relatively unscathed, we all agreed we're glad we have 1 year left. AHHHH! Katie, cover your ears. It's funny but seriously, scary, that next year at this time we'll be interviewing for jobs and studying for the NCLEX.
Since I'm super behind, I'll just give a quick recap of my semester. We started out on peds of course, which we finished up far too quickly. Then, moved on to Dorothea Dix. I actually enjoyed the first few weeks there and established nursing relationships with a couple patients in particular. It was really enlightening, because every time I walked out of the building I thought, "If I had to stay there, I'd go crazy too." It's a balance. Yes, that population is unstable; but just remember, environment really does make all the difference, and I and everyone reading this have been so so so blessed to have grown up the way we did and to live the lifestyle we now lead. That's one thing I love about the nursing profession; we are constantly reminded both in the classroom and in the clinical setting, of how terribly blessed we are. It's a shame too though, because I always forget that some how; I let things like 2 hours spent in pointless information sessions and hard tests discourage me. However, I do hate pointless info sessions... and hard tests. Luckily, I always had Katie to remind me (with the tests), "You don't even know you're grade yet." hahaha the face that followed is one of my favorite memories of nursing school. And, now, all the memories Katie, Erika, and I have shared are flooding back. Bahaha LOVE IT! By the way, for those of you who have not seen Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging... watch it! Other than clinical (if you want stories, just ask), the Research project went well, as did Genomics, and final exams ended today. Also, my job at the Yogurt Pump is still great as well, and I'll be back there next year.
I learned so much this year, academically and otherwise.I gained insight into pathology, patient care, empathy and understanding of mental illness, and confidence and independence in the work force for myself. Actually, it was probably one of my greatest years of growth and when I reflect on it, I can't believe how far I've come. I thank my second patient on 3A, who I called "Angel," for teaching me about the fragility of life and the imperative to be grateful for each day. I thank my first clinical instructor, Louise, for her breadth of knowledge and patience in guiding us through such an intimidating process. I thank "Danny" at Dorothea Dix for showing me how extremely fun and interesting even those with disorders like schizophrenia can be. I thank Dr. Grimm for calling a couple of my flaws to my attention; I'm working on it. There are so many stories I wish I would have shared, but I'll just say, with each experience I've learned so much, and I've enjoyed most every minute. I hope to do better with this blog in the future and will be updating it in the summer. I'll let Katie and Erika fill you in on their plans but as for me, I will spend this summer at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem working as an extern in labor and delivery from 7 p.m to 7 a.m. 3 nights a week. I'm actually really excited but of course, would greatly appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers (I'm sure Erika and Katie would too!). So, essentially (that's for you E!), I'll be better about writing in once a week to give you a glimpse into my extremely un-glamorous life. Thanks for the interest. A separate blog will follow that is to my dear friends. I am writing it on the wall to make it easier for them to look back on - scrap booking of sorts. Feel free to read it though because without these 2 girls, my first year of nursing school wouldn't have compared.
Looking forward to the summer and hope you all are too! <3 MK