Mary’s Pad

a student!!

My senior elective, the last thing needed to meet the requirements for graduation, ended yesterday, and that officially marks the end of my nursing school student days. I worked three 12-hour shifts in the ER on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I had two wonderful preceptors who challenged me, pushed me, and allowed me to build my skills as much as I wanted to. It was really a wonderful experience, and I got to see how the ER works on a day-to-day basis. On Wednesday and Thursday I had the same preceptor, and we were assigned to the Trauma rooms and the critical care rooms, which meant that we got to deal with some pretty heavy duty cases. It was pretty intense, and I loved it.

To crown it all, I got a formal offer of employment from the ER, and I accepted. I mentioned before that there was stuff brewing in the “where shall I work” pot, but what I didn’t mention is the intense period of talking, and thinking, and meeting with managers and picking my instructor’s brains that I went through for a few days, trying to decide what to do. I was torn between the ICU and the ER, and both were actively trying to recruit me, with informal offers being put on the table. I talked with both managers, and emailed back and forth a few times. I talked to Mary, who I knew would support me no matter what choice I made. I also spent a lot of hours talking to both my critical care and ER instructors, who were both wonderfully supportive, but I made my final decision after talking to my mentor, who even though she is an ER nurse, and has been pointing me in that direction for a while, was very objective and solid in the advice she gave me, helping me see all sides of the equation, and see where I would be more valuable and what would benefit me in the long run. I also talked to a few friends, and to Mary’s mom, who told me that the ER position “felt right.”

So I accepted the informal ER offer that had been put on the table, and both the ER manager and my instructor instantly found me preceptors and arranged for my senior elective to be shifted from the ICU to the ER. Yesterday HR called me to make it official that I had indeed been hired in the ER.

I think that I will second-guess my decision for a while, and will always wonder if I made the right choice, but in my gut, it feels right. I definitely enjoyed my three days working down there this week, if that’s anything to go by. I’m exhausted, and spent all day today sleeping, which is why I’m posting this so late in the day, but it’s a good exhaustion. I ran into my critical care instructor yesterday and we had a long talk about my decision, and as always, she was supportive, and pointed out to me that nothing is set in stone, which made me feel profoundly better.

What’s pretty cool is that a few of my friends will be working in the ER too! So it’s pretty exciting.

So… assuming I pass boards, I am now an ER nurse… scary huh?