It has taken me all morning to catch up on what I wanted to write on my blog,  including making some changes to the visual style etc. I just can’t believe how busy I have been with work and career stuff! I have been going to bed thinking about nursing, and waking up with nursing on my brain. Frequently, I dream of taking care of patients. This career really can be all-consuming!

Last week, I wrote my cardiology assessment exam. This was a doozy! It’s tough to have ECG interpretation and hemodynamic monitoring (amongst a million other details) thrown at you all at once, to learn in two weeks.

Now, I have about a week and a half to learn the renal unit and write the test. On top of that, I need to learn the approximately two-hundred paged pharmacology unit for my actual ICU orientation that starts two weeks from today.

I guess the good news is that I will have a huge head-start when we do the hemodynamic monitoring, renal, ECG, respiratory units when I do my orientation. I will be feeling lucky that I have a fairly good grasp of the theoretical components. The tough part will be getting a strong, confident grasp on the hands-on skills.

My other fear is meeting new people. I’m not looking forward to being the new person that knows nobody and isn’t known by anyone. I hate the idea of being the “student” after finally getting used to being the “go-to person.”

But, what the heck, challenges and change is what makes life interesting!