2019-2020 is my first official year as Registered Nurse! Hence this is my first official Nurse Week Celebration! Wow, what a time to be alive! & especially to be working in healthcare… This picture below was taken after my first day working on my own off of orientation, a huge victory & I’m all about celebrating the small wins! (a photo worthy day)
The first year as a new graduate nurse is challenging, everything is new & everything is hard! Besides the fact that you’re doing everything you can to keep your patients safe, alive and well… there is a lot to balance. Random things I encountered at the beginning felt impossible but now it feels like second nature doing it?! I’m currently 9 months in… so to all new nurses HANG IN THERE!
Getting familiar with your unit, learning tech support skills, knowing how to get your needed supplies as fast as possible, understanding how to trouble shoot on the fly, memorizing all of your passwords, remembering to chart everything, administering all medications on time, paging providers, signing in/out patients, getting familiar with “your” own report sheet, interpreting labs, etc etc all while remaining totally calm & collected with your patients 🙂 makes for a QUICK 12 hour shift! for sure!
Basically, I am continuously amazed by my Senior nursing staff, they know so much & are capable of so many things! The entire healthcare team are all stars! but the nurses definitely spend the most time with the patients & are the true jack of all trades. I have appreciated their guidance so much during these past few months… they’re so smart & brave!! I never had any clue what ALL I would do as a nurse & every day is a new adventure, you never really know until the shift unfolds. Ahh!
The Duke Athletics Department painted this signage outside on the front yard to show support, I think it turned out so well! Image via Duke Health.
