First day as a nurse....in the ER!

  ER pic

Ok, so I have to admit my long standing love affair with the tv show "ER." I think I possibly watched every episode. I loved the characters and the amazing and crazy stories they came up with. Even as the cast changed (I will always hold a place in my heart for Dr. Doug Ross & Nurse Carol Hathaway) I always tuned in to see what would happen next.
So you can imagine what theme music was playing in my head as I worked my first shift as a nurse and I was in the ED!! The Critical Care Internship includes a rotation in the ED and mine just happened to be my first rotation. Now, the U of U ED is a wholly different place than a fictional tv ER, but it was crazy just the same. EMS & LifeFlight crews were continually bringing patients into the trauma bays and it was like a finely choreographed ballet watching everyone work together. I just tried to keep my eyes and ears open, ask questions of my awesome fellow, Farrah, and by the end of the shift, I was caring for one patient on my own. Very exhilarating!! Back tonight for more fun.
Speaking of the internship, the first week consisted of ALOT of orientation (which means sitting and listening all day). But I did enjoy meeting the rest of my cohort and there are some really interesting people who moved from all over to be here. Georgetown, Dartmouth, Connecticut, Ogden :) and then little ol' Emily, Utah girl. I know this is going to be a great experience getting to know them as well as the fellows who will be training us.
Stay tuned!

What a lovely way to start a job

http://presentoutlook.com/quote-images/

So tomorrow is the big day, I start my new job!! In reality, today was my "start date" but because I am already a hospital employee, I didn't have to sit through that orientation again. So, I spent my first day as a working nurse sleeping in and going to brunch with my friend, Lisa. It was lovely. Tuesday and Wednesday will be the hospital Nursing orientation, Thursday computer training, Friday CCI meeting and we'll find out how all of this is supposed to work.
I put this quote up because I wanted to remind myself how I got to this point. Now, because I have reached that goal, I need to set myself another one. Maybe it should be the finish all the things and situations that I have left undone because I have not had the time or energy to devote to them. I think that would be a good place to start. Also, I will try and take my lunch to work. Really try.

It's not goodbye, it's I'll see you later

So I didn't think I was going to be as melancholy as I am today. I'm leaving a job as an HCA (aide) that I've had for five years for a new job as a RN. While I've been so excited for what adventures lie ahead of me, it's just been within the last few days that I've been thinking about everything that I'm leaving behind. This is the longest that I've ever had one job and I've really grown to love and respect my friends and coworkers.
Some of my favorite memories are of 2 East, the unit that once was. I remember talking to the baby fish in our fishtank, decorating for seemingly every holiday, Christine and I putting on a Christmas pageant for an antepartum patient who was feeling down, avoiding the practical jokes the CF boys tried to play on us, being excited to see what theme Somer would decorate her room in and making cookies in the toaster oven. It was so hard on the whole staff when we merged with the maternity unit. Many staff members left for other jobs and the ones who were left, we all felt like orphaned step-children. The last day of 2 East, I defaced University Hospital property for the first (and only) time by writing on the ceiling of the nursing station "Emily was here, 311 4 life."
In the two years since the merge, I've also grown to love many of the maternal-newborn staff and have made wonderful memories with them. I really feel like I wouldn't have made it through nursing school if my co-workers hadn't been so supportive of me. That is one truly amazing thing about nurses, is that we really take care of our own.
I wanted to do something for my co-workers to say goodbye and give them something to remember me by. So I folded oragami stars -- A LOT of oragami stars. On the inside I wrote quotes from songs, poems and anything else that I find inspiration from. That way, whenever they're feeling down and I wasn't there anymore to say something silly, they could open their star and smile.

So it's not goodbye, it's I'll see you later. Love you wonderful, amazing and caring women!!