Rotations, Applications, and Uncertainty

As of Wednesday, I have accomplished two things in my path to nursing. First, I finished my first rotation at the hospital. Second, I submitted another nursing program application, which brings me to 4 out of 5 completed applications.

The last day of my first rotation at the hospital was this past Wednesday. Looking back on my first rotation, I can say that I enjoyed my experience on the medical pulmonary floor but I am glad to be moving on. One drawback about the floor is that it is notorious for having patients who are in isolation. These are the patients whose visitors need to put on a special gown, mask, and/or gloves before entering the room. Because I am a volunteer, I am not allowed to go into those rooms. This meant less helping the staff and less patient interaction. I did get to see many things that I will probably be seeing as a nurse. I got to help with dressing changes, physical therapy, IV and vital sign checks, blood draws, and of course discharges. On my downtime, I would restock isolation carts, glucose monitors, and visit with patients. Many patients were happy with how their hospital stay had progressed despite being in a hospital. Good patient care makes for happy patients. Next week, I move onto the telemetry/cardiac floor. This floor seems like it will be more fast-paced than the medical pulmonary floor. I'll be glad to be busy since it will make the time go by faster and it makes me feel more useful.

I have one more nursing program application to go. I've applied to 4 schools so far, all in the Southern California area. I will be applying back to Saint Mary's. The fact that by next month I will be receiving notification letters is mildly terrifying. Since all of the programs start at different times, I don't know where I'll be going or when I'll be starting as of now. My ultimate fear is that I don't get accepted anywhere. My top three choices are UCLA, Concordia University Irvine, and Saint Mary's. UCLA's program is ranked in the top 10 in Southern California, if I remember correctly which means more job opportunities and lots of clinical hours. If I were to go to CUI, I could live at home and possibly keep going to my Sunday ballet class. One thing I know is that I want to be do some type of dance wherever I go even if it is only once per week. Going back to Saint Mary's would be fun for me. I have friends who would be in their senior year (shout-out to Molly, Patrick, and Nicole!) and I know I would have no trouble feeling at home there.

As soon as all applications have gone out, it will be in God's hands. I will go where He leads me and will have a great outcome no matter what. Let the praying begin...or continue.