It’s been about two months since my last post. Where I left off, I was just beginning the RN Residency program and having an absolute wonderful time transitioning into my new career. As weeks have flown by, many things have changed, but one thing remains the same– I LOVE MY JOB! Although my one day on, on day off schedule has been hard to get used to, I wake up tired, but still pumped for the day ahead. I love my days with my preceptors. They allow just enough freedom for me to conceptualize the day-to-day workings of the intensive care unit, but still fill in the gaps. I love being able to pick and choose the way each nurse does things and make it my own.
For the most part, I have been getting high acuity assignments with my preceptors, assignments that do not reflect ones that I will have when I have graduated the program. I have had amazing learning experiences during these shifts and have been able to practice skills I will be able to perform without a preceptor. This last week, I asked for assignments that are more like the ones I will have on my own, just to see if I can handle it. On Friday, I worked with a more seasoned NICU nurse on a tripled assignment of “feeder-growers.” Although these babies mostly require work on their feeding, weight gain, and parental education, the challenges include time management, charting pretty much everything you do on every baby, feeding them when they cue you, educating and supporting parents, and supporting your team of nurses. When I found out that all three babies were cue based (meaning I feed them when they signal to me they are hungry (pretty much every 3 hours or less), I was a little anxious about being able to complete all of my assessments, feed them, and chart. However, once I got past the first round of assessments and charting the day was really nice and relaxing. I did the whole assignment by myself, really only asking my preceptor to run and grab breast-milk 😛 It was actually one of only two days that I have been able to bottle-feed and just hold a patient. It’s nice to see the difference in the really critical patients and the patients that our team has been able to heal, and even nicer to watch parents that have bonded with their babies. There hasn’t been a day in which I haven’t had to keep myself from spilling the tears filling my lower lid. What we do every day is amazing. I can’t wait to be back on the unit. 🙂
In addition to growing increasingly more in love with my job every day, Robert/Justin and I have welcomed a new purr baby, Tigger, into our home. We loved our family (Robert/Justin, Printz, and myself) the way we were, but when my friend showed me this kitten we couldn’t resist. He has made us feel more like a family. We love watching him and Printz wrestle, chase each other around the house, and groom each other. Printz has gracefully stepped into the big brother role, sharing his food with Tigger, letting Tigger gnaw at his ears/tail, and snuggling with Tigger at night. They’re just so darn cute!
Preemie Donna 