It's been awhile since I last wrote so I suppose it's about time to post an update... Lets see, August was filled with birthdays (my roommate's and DJ's) and weekend trips. Of course, it started out with my road trip to SC, which apparently I'm going to have to do again soon seeing as 2 of the Ocho now live there!! Woot! The weekend after was my roommate's bday, which was properly celebrated in a drunken state down in Adam's Morgan. The following weekend, C., L., and I flew up to Boston for the weekend. I went to Fenway for the first time (YAY!) which was everything I imagined it would be. Greatest place on earth. :) We went shopping downtown and saw a man shooting up in the street (literally - needle in his arm.) Went to the Harpoon brewery, an improv show down at the north end, Faniuel Hall and Quincy Market. It was fantastic. But I think I'm over the whole 'I totally want to live in Boston for a few years' phase. Dont get me wrong, I loved it and its a great city -- to visit. Being there just made me realize that if I'm going to live in a major city I think it's gonna have to be DC.
Work is going really well. There are definitely still days when all I want to do is cry and/or punch my patients in the face, but I guess that's all part of the job. :-P I had my annual evaluation (my first as a nurse) and everything was really really good. My manager said I'm doing a great job and that I had a really good first year! So yay! :) I am charge nurse capable now, which is pretty exciting. It's kind of nerve-wracking to think that during those shifts I'm suppose to know what to do; I'm the one people will turn to for help/advice. As scary as that may be, I think the hardest part about being Charge is having to diffuse situations and deal with angry, irrational patients/family members. Its so hard to advocate for a patient when they're screaming at you because of a situation you had no control over. Oh well. I am also precepting a new staff nurse, which is also kind of scary to know that I am responsible for teaching this person how to be a good transplant nurse. It's my job to make sure she can realize what's important, knows how to respond to certain situations, anticipate what to do next, and of course make sure the doctors are ordering the appropriate things. But its been a really good experience. You never know how much you know until you have to teach it. Plus I've realized that I LOVE teaching. So we'll see if maybe teaching will have a role later on in my career.
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