Feeling great!

I feel awesome. It's a great feeling to be starting to feel comfortable in my new RN skin. I've had full care of some quite compromised patients the last couple of days and it's a really good feeling to have been able to meet their needs without quite as much second guessing as I had done in my first week.

I also now have full autonomy with pulling meds from the Accudose ( a locked, pass-worded and recorded system that allows us to pull out necessary meds.) Having to go seek out another RN to pull my meds for me always put me and the other RN behind because I had to wait until they had a free moment to go to the Accudose with me each and every time I needed something from there, which is often.

It's nice to have standing protocols (and be able to use them at my discretion) so that I can enter med orders myself for patients who need (certain) meds immediately so that I no longer have to wait for an ER doc on the floor to read my assessment, evaluate the patient and then go enter med orders so that I can finally give the meds that are so desperately needed right now. I applaud our hospital for having these standing protocols.......it does wonders for the health and well being of our patients.

Even though it feels great to know that I can actually pay my rent this month without having to wonder where the money will come from..........I get more satisfaction from having the resources and clearances necessary to care for my patients in a timely fashion. Don't get me wrong...........being able to pay my bills for the month is an awesome feeling, one that I do not take for granted....... but being a nurse and being able to care for the peds population in our community, to be able to do it well and feel good about what I am doing on a daily basis is absolutely priceless. I could not have chosen a better career.

Sure........some days I feel aggravated at the types of things (completely preventable) that we see in the Peds ER but the feeling I get from not only a job well done but a job that truly serves those in need and leaving work and knowing that I really, really made a difference is someones life. There's nothing that compares to it! If you are even thinking that a job in nursing is down your alley.........GO FOR IT! It's awesome.

Yay! I actually get to pay bills tomorrow. It's a great feeling! It can only get better from here.