TGIF

... and i thank Him that it's not just any friday, but The Friday that we have been looking forward to for a long time. today was my very last day of clinical for this school year. and it was also R's very last day of his practicum EVER. i'm so excited for him. as of right now, he's on his long-awaited - and definitely well-deserved - spring break. and tonight we're going out on a date to celebrate! between the two of us, we've learned a lot in our practical settings. and i'm glad that i wasn't the one in the classroom with 30 random teenagers who complain that everything is gay and would rather be doing drugs with their mothers (i'm proud of you, hunny!). and i think that R is very glad that he is not the one that has to empty bedpans and drains and pack 3-inch-deep wounds that are goopy and pus-y. and of course, measure it and chart it all.

i really liked my surgical rotation, even more so than my medicine ward experience at children's hospital (but don't tell that to all the students who wanted to get into children's, but didn't get in). i started to enjoy giving meds (needles are fun!), i can see how dressing changes on surgical incisions can be enjoyable with more experience (but not so much with those pressure ulcers), i like cheering for my patients when they have their first poop after surgery. could i see myself doing this after grad? yeah, i could. i'm still thinking about obstetrics, however the word on the street is that in rural hospitals it's the same nursing staff on the labour & delivery ward (if they have it) as on the surgical ward. i still have lots of time to decide this, so..... we'll see. i've spent one day in the OR, which was fantastic, but i don't like the lack of patient-interaction. today i spent the day in Day Surgery, shadowing one of the nurses who does pre-op prep stuff, post-op assessments, discharge teaching, etc. i did some vital signs, some IV meds, and some teaching. very interesting, very busy. they don't usually take new grads, and i don't think i'd want to do that straight out of school anyways. i want something that uses more skills.

thanks for all of your words of encouragement and your prayers. thanks especially to my man and to my parents - you've been SO supportive and i love you! and also to kimberly - without you, i never would have survived this semester!