The Long Day Is Over

Alright, here I am: collapsed on the couch in my apartment, physically and mentally exhausted, but I made it! I'm done with my first day of employment at the Mayo Clinic.

The day started bright and early with a bus ride downtown and a lovely breakfast along with a welcome from the director of the program. We were seated with the nurse educators from our different departments, and I met Kristi, the only other Summer III student in the ER with me. We speculated on how in the world we wound up in the ER out of over 140 nursing students, and didn't come up with any good answers!

But after meeting the nurse managers and some of the staff nurses, I am glad to be in the ER. Scott, one of the nurse managers, took us on a tour of the ER, which was intense and a little intimidating. They had had a busy morning (two car accidents and another trauma patient) and the afternoon was bringing little relief. The nurses were busy and a little stressed, but they all took the time to say hello and ask us a few questions.

The rest of the day was packed with classes and information and schedules---my roommates and I spent the evening going through our stacks of papers, sorting out what needed to go in the planner, be signed and returned, etc. Tomorrow morning begins even earlier, so I'm definitely planning on hitting the sack soon.

-Later-

There is absolutely nothing like a conversation with a friend to cheer you up and encourage you. My recently graduated suitemate and dear friend also started a new nursing job today, so we compared notes, and reminded one another how good it is to be working in "real life" rather than clinicals! So wonderful--friends are blessings, and I think mine are some of the best :)