On My Own

I was really nervous going to work last night. I was finally going to be off orientation, which means that I would no longer be paired up with another nurse to make sure I didn't mess anything up. For the first time, I would be assigned my very own patients and I would have sole responsibility for everything that happened to them. Yikes!

I told myself, "This is what I've been working towards for so many years. I'll finally be the independent nurse that I've wanted to be for so long." But I was still scared!

The night ended up going really well. All of the nurses working with me were so helpful and I felt comfortable asking any of them questions. They all knew it was my first night alone, so they kept offering to help in any way.

I was only assigned 3 patients, so I didn't have a full load. They were all easy and it was going really well, but then I had to admit one more patient. She was really sweet, but she needed several blood transfusions, which takes a lot of time to set up and close monitoring to make sure there's no reaction. That made my night a lot busier, but I was glad to get the practice. Now I feel like an expert at giving blood!

All in all, the night went very smoothly and I am proud to have successfully completed my first shift on my own!