After my last clinical
Elizabeth got a rose for each student and said something personal about each one of us and how we impacted her year. (Notice she had little baby Jack halfway through the program)
This has been a wild ride. 44 graduates. 15 classes. 7 clinical rotations. 6 hospitals. 756 hours in said hospitals (not counting many, many more hours arriving early, staying late, and prepping the day before). 486 cups of coffee. 97 redwood trees worth of printed powerpoints. 3 bicycles(1 stolen, 1 crashed, 1 still rolling). 2 non-school related trips to the Emergency Department. 211 days of my alarm clock quacking at me in the 5 o’clock hour. 422 snooze button pushes. All of that funneled into a couple short lines on a resume, a “BSN” after our names, and the opportunity to take a nail-biting, ulcer-inducing exam in the coming months.
Is that all this past year and $xx,xxx.xx was for? Not to me. This has been the most productive year of my life. I’ve learned about the body, about diseases processes, about medication and how they work. I’ve learned how to communicate with coworkers and other professions in the hospitals. I’ve learned how to organize and prioritize. But most of all, I’ve learned how to care for patients. How to assess, anticipate, comfort, intervene, and laugh with my patients. When I applied to nursing school I didn’t know the first thing about what nurses do day to day. However, everyday I went to clinical I was further confirmed that this is the right career for me. After 3 shifts in a row, tired, hurting, hungry and missing my wife, I still smile on my bike ride home, thankful for the place I’m in, what I was able to do and experience that day, and for the people I met.
Someone had the idea to draw a heart and have some people write/draw anything they wanted about nursing.
As I reflect on this last year, well, 2 days shy of 1 full year, I couldn’t be happier with my choice to go to Regis. This is a HUGE THANK YOU to: Professors. Lab Instructors. Clinical Instructors. Nurse Preceptors. Fellow Students. Study Buddies. Administration (who work their butt off to keep the machine working). Cleaning Crews. Hospitals. Patients. THANK YOU! You all have made my experience a memorable and positive one. Because of all of you, the bar is set high and other nursing schools are continually striving towards your standards.
We had about a week and a half or so between finishing school and our pinning ceremony. It was not a wasted week. Myself, Colin, Dylan and JJ took a trip through Utah and a quick stop in Nevada. I didn’t know any of these guys a year ago, but our friendships are a testimony to the closeness and camaraderie of the ABSN program!
Calf Creek Falls
This is NOT the end of my blog… I’ll be posting until Regis tells me to stop and gives me the boot! I’ll be keeping you posted as I study for the NCLEX, take the test (hopefully only once), apply for jobs, and maybe even get hired! I’m still here to answer any questions you have! And I actually met the future ABSN blogger, ran into her at St. Joe’s…. I’ll just say this…you readers are in for a treat, she’s awesome!!!
That’s all for now. Time to go to a BBQ with the graduates, pick up my parents, and get pinned!
Four future nurses
Congrats on your completion! I have enjoyed your blog throughout the year. Good luck to you in all your endeavors.
Hi Brett,
I’m considering applying for the ABSN program, however I have heard so many negative things about the job opportunities in the Denver area for new grads. Do you have any honest insight on job prospects?
Hi Brett,
Congrats! I’ve an interview with Regis on 8/12, and I would like to know what kind of questions do they ask you during the interview. Why you pick Regis vs other schools? I live in SF, so I also would like to know based on the curriculum, is possible to come home to visit my husband often? Thanks! Congratulations again.
Heather: I just posted about job prospects…check it out. In my opinion, no metro area is dying to hire new grad nurses. If you will be looking for a job in Denver, being a Regis grad would be a major plus in the eyes of hiring managers. Also, you would make some great contacts at many local hospitals. I wouldn’t let new grad job prospects deter you from nursing… because over time you WILL get a job, and you WILL love nursing!
Naomi: Congrats on getting an interview! I’m sure they ask different questions for each interviewee, but I would say treat it like a job interview. Know why you want to go to Regis. Do you know what a Jesuit school values and believes in? Can you articulate why you want to be a nurse? I would say relax, be honest, be yourself and have FUN!
There were a number of people in my program who had family in other states. Getting back to SF would be feasible, though not as often as I’m sure you would like to. Direct flights DEN>SFO on United and Continental will help things a bit. You both would just need to be super flexible, and understand that you may see each other twice in one month, but maybe not again for a few months. The aBSN schedule changes every 5 weeks, so it would be difficult to buy tickets much in advance. You may have class and clinical Monday-Thurs and have 3 days off a week. Or you may have class Mon, Tues and clinical Thurs, Saturday…which wouldn’t leave much time for travel. There are a couple breaks where you could get away for a couple days…as long as you can study on an airplane!
I am of the camp that just about anyone can do just about anything for a year if they really want to!