Did I REALLY sign up for this??

Finally a break!! Whew.  For the semester that was supposed to be "all down hill from here" let's just say that those nursing students before me either lied, or their version of "down hill" is WAY different from my version.  Of course it could just be the rotation I was handed.  In 4th semester we have CC and Peds, but what the clinical intstructors do is divide up the rotations.  So there are three rotations.  You either have Peds or you have CC going at one time, not both.  So for me I had Peds first.  Then I have CC immediately following.   Now, while this is a CRAPLOAD of stuff at the very beginning of the semester, I do have the relief of knowing that I will have NO clinicals at the end of the semester so that I can soley focus on studying for the finals.  And the way that my grades are going this semester, I'm going to need it.  Yesterday was our first "grand rounds".  We had to do it as a group and I am SOO glad that i...

  So tomorrow is my last day of Peds clinical......While I am VERY happy to have a little break from clinical to breathe & get caught up ( and not have to get up at 4 am ), I have to admit I am TOTALLY going to miss this clinical.  I wish I could just skip all the rest of these classes & get to working in pediatrics already!!  I am so happy to have found my niche.  I have to be honest.  Up until this point I was kind of wondering if I had made the right career decision.  Of course I never wanted to be a floor nurse anyway, but even so I was really worried that I had made a bit of a mistake by choosing nursing.  Up until this clinical nothing has really sparked my interest & I had just been waiting for this clinical from the very beginning of nursing school.  I kind of knew that I would like it, but I never thought that I would fall head over heels in love with Peds.  And the cherry on top is that there is a fabulous Pediat...

So yesterday was my first day of Peds, the clinical I have been waiting for since I started nursing school was finally here.  To say I was nervous was an understatement.  I was TERRIFIED, and honestly I have no idea why.  Maybe because it was the tiny human population?  Maybe because it was VANDERBILT, maybe because I didn't get enough sleep the day/night before.  Maybe because my best friend was no longer with me in class?  Honestly, I don't know why I was so skittish but seriously I felt like I could cry at least 3 times that day.  Ok, here's a recap of how it went & why it was so terrible & wonderful at the same time. Worked 7p-7a Saturday night.  Slept on Sunday until about 1:30 then got up because I knew I had an 36 strip EKG assignment due on Tuesday & I knew I wouldn't be able to do it Monday since I had Peds clinical.  Worked on my strips for as long as I could but then I was just totally exhausted by 6 pm.  ...