3 AM Musings

It's three in the morning.

I don't have a sick baby, I haven't been partying like a rock star, I'm not studying for a test.

So you ask, "Why, Beckie? Why are you awake at such an ungodly hour?"

I'm getting myself ready for working nights. While it's just my practicum (*scoffs*-JUST my practicum), I am thinking that this is going to help me prepare for the inevitable night shift that I will have as a new graduate after taking the NCLEX next month.

Next month? How the hell did that happen?

Yeah, nursing school (at least the associate's degree part of it) is over. I finished my last ATI test Friday, had my last final the Friday before that. Now it's onto practicum on the Labor and Delivery floor.

The hospital that I'm going to is 45 minutes away. And it's night shift. But I'm so freaking happy that I'm getting to work L & D that I don't care what the shift is! I don't care that I have to work until 0715 on my birthday, I get to help bring babies into the world! I am really hoping for a good experience, and for a chance to see that this is what I really do want to do with my life.

I'm pretty sure that it is. I went into nursing school knowing I wanted to deliver babies. I'm leaving nursing school knowing that I want to deliver babies. Granted, I've picked up some other loves too - like pediatrics, oncology and that infatuation with how much a patient craps (seriously, it's an amazing assessment).

I've made friends, I've lost friends, I've moved on, I've found myself. I've accomplished something that's pretty damn hard, with a husband and two kids depending on me.

What's upcoming in the future? I don't know. I'm hoping that I will be able to get a job here, but thanks to the 8 different nursing schools in the area, I don't know if that will happen. Thanks to compact states, I can practice in 21 other states with my South Carolina license... New Hampshire being one of those states. I'd love to get my bachelor's degree ASAP, so I'm enrolling for two classes for the spring, just English and Spanish. There's an Assessment class I'd like to take over the summer, and depending on where I end up, I'd like to start my BSN work in the fall.

My ultimate dream is to get my Master's at the University of Michigan (go blue), maybe even my doctorate- Dr. Young, anyone? I know it's a long way off, but my goal is by 35. My goal is to be out of college by the time Lindsey goes into college.

Funny how time flies, right?