One Year...

The new year began with my annual evaluation at the hospital ~ and it was a great one! Hard to believe that I've been a working RN for a full year now, but I can say with joy and contentment that working with moms and babies is everything I had hoped it would be and more!

It has been a year of learning. I started off with a good knowledge base, and though I had great nursing training in nursing school, I wasn't terribly confident in my skills. As the year progressed, I found my skills and confidence growing. The New Grad training program at FMC was the perfect program for me. It provided the extra knowledge and the right amount of one on one orientation to nursing that I needed to become an excellent nurse!

Throughout the year, I've been able to expand my training still further, by completing the NRP (Neonatal Resucitation Program), ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), and by becoming a CBC (Certified Breastfeeding Counselor. I not only can care for all the patients (both moms and babies) we get on the Postpartum Floor, but I am able to care for antenatal patients (pregnant but not in labor), and do vaginal delivery recoveries in L&D.

It's nice to know that I can handle the routine patients as well as the ones with unusual and sometimes very critical conditions, whether it is a baby who is having difficulty breathing or a mom that is hemorrhaging, or even a family dealing with domestic violence or an unanticipated delivery hundreds of miles from home and months too early. It gives me enormous satisfaction to work with new and growing families!

So what comes next? In the coming year, I hope to expand my skills to include working with newborns in the SCN (special care nursery) and to be able to do C-section recoveries in L&D. I'm also looking at the possibility of acting as a preceptor for new RN's to the unit before the year is out.

Beyond that, it's hard to say. My contract will be up by this time next year. At that time, I'll start thinking about other possibilities such as travel nursing so I can experience other parts of the country such as the Seattle area, Vermont, Maine and Cape Cod. Or I may consider a move back to Colorado so that I can be nearer to my parents and kids. So many possibilities!

In the meantime, I'll continue filling my spare time with painting, spinning, knitting and other handcrafts and enjoying the time I get to spend with my sister!