This past week has been a blur. I was so busy nursing – and happy to be nursing- that I completely forgot to pick up my paycheck on Friday. (Direct deposit doesn’t kick in until the second paycheck.)

Almost everything at my hospital is done by computer. Each room on my unit even has a bedside computer to scan meds and wrist bands for the electronic MARs. All of my log-ins haven’t been processed yet, so I was pulling meds and charting assessments and rounds under my preceptor’s name. Hopefully this next week I will be in the system.

My preceptor Debbie seemed impressed with my assessments and documentation. Yesterday I made out all our report sheets for the oncoming nurses. (Here they write everything out for the next nurse and then go over the sheet verbally.)

What I haven’t done: called doctors, taken verbal orders, and taken patients completely on my own. I won’t be expected to for a while. My orientation will last a minimum of four months, so there’s plenty of time for more responsibility. I will be attending some critical care courses later this month and get ACLS certified. Included in the curriculum will also be classes specific to the telemetry unit, such as an intense EKG and rhythm interpretation course.

As for skills new to me, we had a trach patient for two days. Debbie wasn’t too happy to hear in report that the patient was a bit OCD about suctioning (wanting it every hour though unnecessary AEB the lack of secretions suctioned). Debbie talked to the family and patient, and she convinced them to decrease the frequency to avoid trauma to the throat. She was also more than happy to let me take over suctioning, and I was happy to do so since I’d only performed it once over a year ago in front of an instructor and 10 nursing students lined up around the bed. Two days of suctioning later, I’m ready to go pro.

Side note: There was a young, male nurse that I thought was cute before, but not so much anymore. It could just be first impressions, but he comes off somewhat lazy. So now I’m completely disinterested. I guess a bad work ethic = no crush.

**Reality vs. Nursing School
In school, you’re taught to use a fenestrated drape when placing a catheter. In reality, it is difficult to use and maintain sterility when inserting a female foley. Also, unlike a mannequin, female urethras aren’t always where textbooks tell you they’ll be. During my first female cath a few years ago, I couldn’t find the urethra of an elderly woman. Neither could the supervising nurse. It took three other nurses and a flashlight to find the urethra buried deep inside the vagina. So, if you’re having trouble locating an old female urethrea: check the vagina. Years of living and birthing can make for some interesting anatomical shifts.