Now that I'm in my 4th semester of nursing school I've found that I am commonly asked for "any good stories". Every nursing student has a few great stories that they will never forget and that they are always ready to share. I have found, however, that it's hard to remember everything that happens, so I've decided to create this blog as much for me as for everyone else that wants to keep up with what's going on with me! I'll be graduating May 16, 2009 with an Associate's Degree in Nursing from Freed-Hardeman University, in June I'll take the NCLEX (RN licensure exam), and then I'll return to Freed in August and graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing next May. It's crazy to think that in three short months I will officially be an RN!
A couple of weeks ago I applied online for a job in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital working nights after I graduate. I had a meeting with the general nursing recruiter there. The interview went well, and she told me that if the NICU was interested I would hear from them in about two weeks from then, and if not I could call her after three weeks and apply for another position. I heard from the NICU nursing manager after just five days! I had my second interview with her on Monday and I think things went pretty well. She didn't really ask many questions other than why I want to work with critically ill neonates. I told her it was because I'd had a passion for NICU nursing since my sister was born when I was eight and spend a couple of days there. The nurses were wonderful, and I will never forget the one nurse that explained to me what everyline did and why it was there. She really took the fear out of seeing my baby sister that way, and I would like to be "that nurse" to someone. She spent the rest of the hour answering my questions, explaining what would be expected of me and telling me about anything and everything on the unit. Including thier super-cute uniforms! She then took me through the unit on my own personal tour. She told me that she'd let me know for sure about the job in mid-April because she has two more people to interview for it, and that's the soonest she can get to interview them. We seemed to get along well, and she told me that I was highly recommended by Dr. and Mrs. Guthrie (Mrs. Guthrie is one of my nursing professors who works part-time in the NICU, and Dr. Guthrie is her husband - who is also one of the neonatologists on the unit). YAY!