CELEBRATION!

So I just got home from my very LAST CLINICAL DAY! And it was a wonderful uneventful day in which I actually knew all the medications I was quizzed over and got all my paperwork done before I left! Tonight (although I should be writing my speech) Megan and I are going out to Logan's to celebrate. And then we're thinking of doing something crazy like painting our nails - which is strictly forbidden in all of nursing clinicals!

For those of you who don't understand just how wonderful it is to be done with clinicals, let me explain. Clincal days consist of 11 to 12 hours providing total patient care to 2 patients. This means that we do what their RN would do, as well as what their CNA would do. That means that not only are we running around being quizzed on drugs, giving medications, changing dressings, inserting/removing catheters/IVs/etc, hanging IV fluids, and doing full head-to-toe assessments, we also get to give their daily baths (most can't get out of bed), change their bed sheets (keep in mind they can't get out of bed), and clean up any messes that happen along the way - which can be quite interesting! It's a LONG day and you're on your feet all day except for lunch. So now you should understand why I am SO happy to be done!!!!

Job status: I just heard from the manager of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There's some nurses that currently only work a few shifts a month and don't receive benefits, so the hospital pays them an increased salary for opting out of benefits. The management has decided that this isn't cost effective so they're discussing getting rid of those positions and giving them the opportunity to become full time employees with benefits. The manager said that if this happens she will have eight baylor position nurses becoming full time, which will fill up any positions that she needed, so there will not be a position left for me. She said that we should know for sure in the next couple of weeks. I'm not too concerned, because right now I could really use a couple of weeks with no responsibilities!