We are six weeks into the semester and it is going by so quickly I can’t believe it (but I say that a lot.)  I am really enjoying my clinical rotations this semester, more than I thought that I would, and of course I am learning so much.

We have a lot more freedom this semester as we work directly with the nurse assigned to our patients.  Before, it was taking baby steps into the role of the nurse and now I feel as if we are taking giant leaps.  You really only learn the skills by performing them.

For instance, this past week at UPMC Hamot the nurse I was working with asked if I had ever started an IV before; I hadn’t so she let me try one.  I got it on the first try but out of my excitement I let go of the needle and then pulled it out of the vein.  She was super calm and kind of giggled to herself because I was so excited and even the patient told me, “Nice try.”  It was a very good learning experience because as the nurse told me, “If everyone could do these things then everyone would be a nurse; you must continue to try and just learn, which is the beauty of nursing.”  The nurses I have worked with thus far this semester have been wonderful and they remind me every day why it is that I want to be a nurse.

The future of being a real nurse is quickly creeping up on me and as much as I am excited, I am terrified at the same time.  I am not terrified to be a nurse but I am terrified for the new changes that are soon coming my way and the fact that I will no longer be a college kid anymore with just the responsibility of going to school.  It is time to start being a “big kid” and taking on much more responsibility.

I have always been responsible and pretty independent and being a nursing major also makes one grow up pretty quickly.  I am still exploring a wide variety of options all over the eastern side of the country and more opportunities keep appearing. I just learned in clinical from a nurse I worked with that the Cleveland Clinic takes new graduate nurses and she herself worked right out of college in an ICU at the Cleveland Clinic.  I would love to work there because it is a world renowned hospital and it isn’t too far from home.  I also learned that there is a good possibilty of openings at the VA hospital in Buffalo if I were to choose that route.  I am still strongly considering the Big Apple and all of the possibilities there so, I’ve been doing some extensive research regarding all of the hospitals and housing options.

The beauty of nursing is that it is a profession of continuous learning and no day is ever the same.  I am finding this to be more and more true every day that I have clinical or work at the hospital.  I love the endless possibilities that nursing has to offer and I hope that in the future I will continue to see this positive side of my profession and enjoy it every day, no matter how rough it is.  I love the fact that I can make someone’s day better by giving good nursing whether it be explaining a procedure to a patient or helping to perform that procedure or even simply holding their hand to make them feel better.  I have to say my decision to pursue nursing was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I am very excited to see what the future has in store for me.

Stay tuned and check out my next blog to see if I am any closer to figuring out what my next step will be!

Nursing can take you down many career paths, this video shows which path Dr. Carolynn Masters took.