May 2011

After my last clinical

 

Senior practicum is over.  Capstone presentations have been presented. Exit interview is completed. The only thing left for Regis University’s Accelerated BSN May 2011 cohort to do is to get pinned on May 6^th, 2011, and graduate two days later!

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

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May 2010: Time to Celebrate!

It’s graduation time! And unfortunately, time for my final blog entry. Since I’ve come full circle from when I started the program a year ago, what better way to end than to reflect on my very first entry?

Friends

One year ago, I packed all my belongings and moved to Denver from California. I anticipated the start of an intense, yearlong program that would challenge me and test my commitment to this career change. My excitement allowed me to take charge of the year ahead and ensure that I would overcome this challenge with a sense of accomplishment and success.

Looking back on the last year, I’ve gained both professional and personal growth from Regis’ program. I’ve developed relationships with multiple nurses within the community through my clinical rotations, found invaluable mentors amongst the nursing faculty, and built friendships with my peers who will now be my colleagues.

Above all, the accelerated nursing program taught me the importance of taking care of myself and ensuring my physical and mental well-being. The program can be exhausting at times, but my clinical experiences have showed me that the nursing career can be just the same. In the end, I’ve become so much better at living a balanced life, one that meets both my professional and personal needs.

Fun at the Colorado Rockies game!

The Regis curriculum gave me a solid foundation to build on for the rest of my nursing career. A year later, I’ve successfully earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and am only one mere step away from starting my nursing career…I still have to pass the NCLEX!

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