Gearing up for the new term

I'm just about done my winter vacation and about to start on my final term of nursing school.

School... alas, I have been in University for 8 years straight, and this is the cumulation of a lot of work (and a lot of debt!).

I'm proud to say that I finally finished all my thesis work needed to complete my MSc. As per previous posts, I defended my written work, and after that I submitted my final copy of my thesis just after I found out that my mentor had passed away. I figured Dr. T would have kicked my butt if I hadn't completed my MSc last term, especially if I was spending my time mourning him. He wasn't one for pomp-and-circumstance, and he would have encouraged us to go get a beer at the bar and enjoy ourselves rather then mourn him.

So now that my graduate degree has been completed, I can focus solely on finishing the BScN. I have been working on this degree for 5 terms straight since September 2006. Its the accelerated program just started in Canadian schools, so instead of a 4-year degree, the 50+ of us study our butts off (after some prerequisite courses, and minimum 2 years of another degree) and be RN's 20 months later.

The combination of the MSc and the BScN has been exhausting, so I'm looking forward to a term where I just can focus on working on nursing- specifically my clinical and assessment skills. As mentioned in a previous post as well, we have 1 final placement for which it is my ONLY course. I have been selected to work in the Emergency Department, for which I'm thrilled, yet it happens to be in a smaller town about a 40 minute commute from where I'm currently living.

I'm nervous and incredibly excited to be placed in the ED. I have about 8 years of pre-hospital volunteer advanced first aid experience, and have been involved in resuscitation and trauma, and I'm excited to see how the patients are treated in the hospital. I have read a lot of ED nursing blogs, just to find out what a day in the life of a nurse in the ED is like, and even though I have read some very brutal stories, I still feel that the ED will be the right fit for me.

I start next week with orientation, and then do the same shifts as my preceptor. Hopefully I'll start having some interesting stories to write about! I realize my posts have been really dry and fragmented recently. I guess that's what happens when you're over-extended and dont' even have enough time to sit down let alone write! Wish me luck! To the Emergency Department I go!