First Semester

It's almost over! This semester has been full of up and downs. I've had issues with some of my friends, issues with money, issues with patients, and issues with college administration.

All in all though I've done fairly well. I passed most of my check offs first time, kept a B average on my lecture class, and the most important thing of all... I didn't hurt any patient!

I have 2 weeks left of classes, then we have finals, and we have 6 days in between semesters. It's lovely. I now have two patients each week at the hospital. I've grown used to being there and the nurses are very helpful on my floor. However there is one thing that I haven't been able to do. My clinical instructor can never know this. I am terrified to do assessments in the morning. I have done it once and that was because my instructor needed to check me off on it. I just feel like such an idiot going in at 7:30am to bug them about it. I understand logically that it is such an important nursing thing to do. I just can't bring myself to do it. It makes me very uncomfortable to have them grasp my fingers, have them turn so I can listen to their lungs, lift their gown, ask them about their last bowel movement. But I have to suck it up and do it. My goal for next week is to do it shortly after 8am meds, maybe right before depending on my instructors availability. I'll try to pick nice, good patients so I'm not as terrified.