I have seen a few people do a month-to-month recap of their life in 2006, and I have been loving it! I really want to see more people partake…so hit those old blogs and start summarizing!

JANUARY

This is the month I started my Community Health Nursing clinical. My team was placed at a homeless shelter for teenagers. If only I had known what was in store for me in this clinical! Lets just say I became much more comfortable with conflict, and with standing up for what I believe. Our group was strong, and some of my strongest friendships in nursing were formed. However, every day was a new struggle with our instructor. She made our semester a living nightmare in more ways than I can describe. The entire event was so horrific that I have literally (and I mean literally…not that thing where people say “literally” but actually mean “figuratively”) blocked out many aspects of the semester.

What I did learn was confidence in my own abilities to work academically, that I can achieve a hell of a lot when I force myself to push my limits, and that no matter how rough life is…if you’re working with people you trust and like, you can achieve near miracles.

FEBRUARY

This month was INSANE! Amongst the hell and chaos of my Community Health Nursing semester, Richard and I moved to our new apartment. Nothing else happened because there really wasn’t time for anything else!

It was sad to say goodbye to the old apartment, even though I hated it. After all, it was where Richard lived when we first met. There were a lot of good memories there.

MARCH

This is the month I walked out on my job at Starbucks, appalled at the way they treated me (both the management and customers). One day, while working, I told them I wasn’t coming back, and I left. It was a great feeling that arose from a new found sense of confidence. I decided that I deserved better than what they were offering, and I left. I have yet to regret the decision at all.

I remember being greatful that I wouldn’t have to work for the rest of the semester, since Community Health was kicking my butt! I believe it was two days later that the hospital called and offered me a job as an Nursing Attendant, leading to a job as an Undergraduate Nurse for the summer. In thispost, I describe my first days in this job.

This is the month I started my now deceased podcast. I could never decide exactly what I wanted to focus on, barely anybody listened, and it was just too much work for almost no reward. I loved it though, and if I can find something with more direction, perhaps I will take up the challenge again.

APRIL

Not a lot happened in April (at least that I can remember…or that I posted about). I continued to publish podcasts, and community health nursing was finally coming to an end. While I was glad to say goodbye to the nursing instructor from hell, I was sad to say goodbye to some of my team members who had become extremely close friends.

MAY

This month, it was back to adult med/surg for a month. I worked on a medical teaching unit, something I was dreading, but eventually loved. I thought I was a surgical nurse through-and-through, but during this clinical I discovered that medicine can be very interesting and fun. It was during this clinical that I began IV initiations…something that I’m still horrible at. I can’t seem to start an IV on the biggest of veins. But, in May, I had one successful start.

This is the month that a man jumped out of a sixth floor window of the hospital, landing only feet from a crowd of people at the entrance of the hospital. What a scene that was! If you think lots of doctors run to a code blue, you should see how many run to a mangled body on the ground. The broken window didn’t get fixed for days, and every time I walk past that spot, I can still vividly visualize the pair of shoes sticking out from behind the bush that concealed his death.

This was, of course, the month of the Waterton retreat. It was a beautiful and refreshing weekend that was filled with joy. In my mind it will represent the best of the final times spent with my friends before we were shattered to the core. Plans for the doomed Sunlit Grove were just beginning, and bonds between everyone seemed strong. I didn’t know it then, but looking back, I think the seeds of things to come were already there.

JUNE

This is the month I became an almost real nurse. I started working on the surgical oncology ward as a paid nurse with my own patient assignment. I hated every minute of it. I was not emotionally, physically, or intellectually prepared for what laid ahead of me for the next three months. I hated the nurses, doctors, and patients. The experience made me bitter and truly had me questioning my choice of careers.

JULY

There’s not much to say about July. I continued to struggle with my job on the surgical oncology unit. Every day was such a struggle that I just wanted to collapse!

AUGUST

Finally! I had a bit of a break when Richard and I went to Victoria for a short four-day vacation. Richard and I made the decision to eventually move to Victoria after We fell in love with the place instantly. We also headed down to Waterton for my B-day, and I took up the guitar again.

SEPTEMBER

This is the month that marked the beginning of the end of my nursing student career. I began my final clinical practicum on a urology unit, which I loved! The nurses were kind and accepting, the patients were infinitely less acute and “scary” compared to the surgical oncology unit, and I actually felt respected as a nurse and human.

This is the month I finally took the plunge and bought my own domain! YAY! I officially own nursesean.com

OCTOBER

This was one hell of a stressful month. Sunlit Grove was destroyed, and so were friendships. I’m still convinced that it all could have been avoided. Miscommunications occurred, people made assumptions that just weren’t true, and tempers ran high.

I learned that when given the choice, humans will choose to see the bad side of people rather than the good, and that they will create negativity where it doesn’t exist. Furthermore, I learned that this negativity only serves to create more negativity. I learned that private conversations are never private because there will always be someone trying to listen…so always talk about people as though they are eavesdropping. I learned that I am OK with conflict, that I have a large capacity for forgiveness, and that I can be humbled. I also learned that being disappointed in someone’s behavior doesn’t stop me from caring about them or being their friend.

More than anything, I learned that sometimes something that is broken just cannot be fixed.

NOVEMBER

This was a month of hard work and reflection. Amongst the numerous hospital shifts and papers, I desperately tried to piece together my thoughts and feelings regarding my spirituality and the fallout from Sunlit Grove. I decided to stay with Spira, but I feel very alone. I am the “odd man out,” not belonging to any group. To be honest, that’s exactly where I need to be. I don’t have the emotional or time commitment to be a part of a spiritual group at this time. I am drained in that department.

I also had to decide where to work following graduation in December. As much as I hated my summer in surgical oncology, my gut instinct was that it was where I needed to be. So, I took an RN position to start on December 11th.

DECEMBER

DONE! I finished school! I didn’t really have time for emotions. Two days after my last shift on the urology unit, I was starting back on the Surgical Oncology unit. On my very first day after graduation, I was in charge of two students! So surreal!

There was an incredibly different vibe on the unit compared to the previous summer. The staff were kinder, I had more freedom, and I didn’t feel so lost all the time. I realized just how much I had learned over the last several months. I am extremely happy with my job there, and I find myself excited to go to work. Every day is infinitely fascinating and exciting. More than anything, I love being considered an “equal” amongst the nurses, rather than an annoyance.

I am looking forward to the new-year, imagining it as a beautiful blank slate. I am free to stretch my limits both in my new career and spiritually. I have laid the groundwork, and only now am I free to truly grow as a person.

I think 2007 will be an amazing year!