The End...or is it?

I’ve been absent from this blog as of late. It has been a very busy semester. Never-the-less, it has come to an end. I am proud to say that I have completed nursing school! I passed all of my tests with a solid B. I took the HESI exit exam and made a descent score a week and a half ago. Tonight my dear readers, is my pinning ceremony.

As I reflect back on the previous two years, I recall that there were many times of stress and insecurities. There were many times when I felt a sense of accomplishment. Also, to this day, I ask myself, “What have I done?” It seems surreal somehow. As a graduate, I feel adequately prepared to begin learning how to become a nurse. Yep, nursing school simply teaches you the very tip of the iceberg. It certainly doesn’t seem that way when you are trying to read through 5 chapters in one week. It doesn’t seem that way when you have a paper, a presentation, a test, and a required professional meeting to attend. It doesn’t seem that way when you are trying to understand concepts that physicians spend a lifetime studying. Nurses have to learn a lot about a lot of things. It’s not easy. However, even with a family and a job, nursing school is not impossible to get through. It seems that way sometimes, but eventually you make it through. Well, most of us…

I have met many friends in nursing school; many of which are the type of people I never thought I would be friends with. We each have our story…that’s the really interesting part. We come from all different backgrounds for the common goal of caring for other people. Some of the people I met in foundations are long gone. They dropped out for one reason or another. Nursing school is a big wake up call for some people. It isn’t just going into a room and talking to people, cleaning up after them and passing out meds. You have somebody’s life in your hands and you are directly responsible for that life. It’s a bit intimidating to say the least. Some of my friends are going through divorce directly related to the stress, and time away from family that nursing school causes. This makes me very glad that my marriage was very strong to begin with, and that I had never-ending support from my wife and family from the beginning.

The job market for new nurses is extremely competitive right now. I am officially unemployed now, but looking. I had an interview with a local hospital a couple of weeks ago where there were 15 GN positions available and nearly 400 applicants. I’m still waiting to hear from the nurse manager. Fortunately, I don’t need a job to survive (my ever supportive wife is still taking care of that). I have faith that God will put me exactly where I need to be in his own time.

To my readers…thank you for following me through nursing school. I haven’t posted as much as I wanted, but blogging was put on the back burner many times. There are at least a few more posts to come…

-DV