On My Own

I started on my own last Monday, Sept. 29. I was VERY nervous, but with the help of some very nice nurses I made it through. By Wednesday I had 6 patients and was doing pretty well on my own.
I've learned to realize that the good days & the bad days come and go whether you are an experienced nurse or not.
In just one short week I have become so much more comfortable. I'm learning how to deal with new situations & that makes them not so scary. Like today, I had a patient who was post op day one for a right total knee replacement. Physical Therapy got her out of bed and she was sitting in a chair. Previously I had hung her last antibiotic then took down her fluids as ordered. Well, while she was sitting up in the chair she became diaphoretic and dizzy, almost passing out completely. Our amazing patient care tech came flying out of the room calling for the physical therapist and grabbing the DinaMap (our blood pressure machine). I ran back to the room with her to find the patient sweating profusely and her eyes kind of rolling, as if her head was spinning. Fortunately, another nurse came running as well. The tech, the other nurse & the pt got the patient back in bed and laid her flat, the nurse put on the O2 and got some fluids to start. (In the process the patient was saying "Where's my Jamie?" -- it was really sweet, I guess she knew I would take care of her) Eventually her blood pressure went back up and she was fine. Amazingly I stayed very calm & learned exactly what to do the next time this happens, which is very common. I loved it b/c I had the support I needed. My greatest fear has always been that people would not be willing to help.
It was a good day & I'm looking forward, finally, to tomorrow.
On a side note...this past Monday I saw students from my alma mater on another unit. They looked so sparkly and crisp in their school uniforms. I bet they would never imagine that the nurse down the hall from them was in their same shoes just 5 months ago!