Senior Practicum coming to a close :-(

Ok so working back to back hard 12's is kinda hard on the feet but I love what I'm doing. I started out in NICU, went to L&D, and now I'm catching babies right after they're born and taking care of them in the first few minutes of their life. So far (knock on wood) all of the babies are getting really decent APGARS and I only had to give one baby oxygen. Just a blow by to help him out. But I LOVE it!!!! I think I'm going to add NICU to my list of nursing jobs I want to apply for.

I felt so good at the end of my second 12 hour in a row the other day when my faculty liason came by. I was walking down the hallway when I heard her ask the nurses at the nurses station how I was doing. They all said I was doing really good and one lady even thought I was unit ready! Awww that made me feel good. I'm supposed to shadow my preceptor but even that isn't enough sometimes. I butterfly to all of the nurses! I attend all of the deliveries and help out with the laboring mother and then switch over to the baby in the warmer getting APGAR scores and all that. The doctors and midwives have even been real supportive of me! One of the midwives I know really well on a personal level and I ran into her last week. I hadn't seen her in AGES!
I think this hospital has a hiring freeze going on, but I would love to work in this particular department. I hear it's real rough working there on other units because they don't have techs. Just RNs. (Don't they know how invaluable techs are to an RN?!)

But I did great on my evaluation. Better than I thought I would have! There haven't been any issues so far but you know there's always something. Nope, not this time! At least not according to my preceptor. I thanked one of the nurses the other day for allowing me to help her out and told her she was a great teacher. I learned so much from her. But she turned it around on me and said that I seek out the knowledge and I want to learn. I go way above and beyond what they would ever expect out of me. Holy heck working at this place makes me feel so much better about myself and my skills (as I'm learning them).

Being the ultra-sensitive type I know I will get teary eyed walking out my last day (Monday). I will never forget what I learned here. I've had great clinical experiences before, but never as great as this one. The whole staff has been wonderful and we've all gotten along great. I need to find something for them this weekend. I know how they love sugary stuff so I might just load them up with chocolates. Maybe something else that I can think of. Too bad I can't afford to get them a foot massage gift certificate at one of my fave spas here in town. If I win the lottery I will! LOL

Anyways, I know that was pure rambling and I don't mean to "toot my own horn" but for once I really feel good about myself as being a nurse. One thing I really lack is self-confidence. It's funny, if someone talks bad about me it really doesn't bother me. But I will tear myself down on things. Hmmm, shouldn't it be the other way around? HAHA! But nursing has given me some incredible self-confidence.

Like I always say: "I'm loving it!"