First post from my new home

I bought a house almost two weeks ago, and I got the internet set up on Monday. I just finished working a twelve hour shift in the ER (which I'm enjoying a lot), and now I'm sitting at my computer. Most of the time I forget to post until my sister reminds me that I haven't written anything in a good month. I'm not sure if I'll get pictures of my new place anytime soon, but I'll post them if I do. Today was a crazy day, I did my second shift in the ER, and it's actually a really fun place to work. The only problem I have is actually getting used to the controlled chaos, which can feel a little uncontrolled at times. There's a lot to learn, and that's exciting, but very intimidating at the same time.

I weighed the pros and cons about working in the PACU (post-op) and the ER. Both units have their ups and downs, and I like the staff in each place. I spoke to the ER manager today and found out that she would probably start me off on nights because it's easier for me to learn with a preceptor, as days can be a little more crazy. I could either do nights or day swing shift (12 to 12). So it's a bit of a draw back, because even PACU would start me out at 10am to 10pm. Either way I can kiss part of my social life goodbye. Also, ER requires you to work three weekend shifts a month. I could do a full weekend and a half weekend and get it overwith. PACU doesn't require as many weekends, infact you might not have to work them at all if they have enough staff to cover it. ER also requires you to be on call once every two weeks, and PACU isn't as much (I think once a month?). So the upside to ER is the experience, the learning, and the fact that you'll seldom get bored. PACU can be a rather monotonous job, and you're forced to watch the clock all day because of how much you chart on your patient. The shifts in ER seem to go by faster, and I get to practice a LOT of nursing skills. I think I started about 12 IVs on Tuesday. It's a tough decision, but I went ahead and made an appointment for a peer interview in the ER. We'll see how it goes, and I hope the Lord's answers to my prayers for the right direction get a little less confusing and a bit more clear.

In the end, I'm a nurse to treat my patients and to care for them with the best of my ability. No matter where I work, I pray that God will always keep those thoughts in my head. That's what matters most.