"Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood..."

Tonight Mike, one of the Nurse Managers in the ED, caught up with Susan and I. You see, this is the seventh week of the Summer III program, which means only three more left. One of the program requirements is a meeting between myself, my preceptor(s), both Nurse Managers, and our Nursing Education Specialists--some of the key players for nursing staff within the ED. The goal of the meeting? Predict my future.

No, not really. In reality, they'll talk with Susan and find out her opinion of me: have I been growing and learning? What are my strengths? my weaknesses? And essentially, after I graduate, will I be the kind of nurse Mayo wants to hire?

During our group meeting, they'll share their perceptions and ask me for mine, and then we'll talk about my options--the ED doesn't hire new grads, but if they think I'm a good fit, they'll arrange for me to work a couple years in one of the ICUs, at which time I would then transfer to the ED. Or, if I don't think the ED is right for me at this point, they'll explore what I might be interested in, and get me connected with those floors.

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. Susan has been reminding me that I don't have to give a "yes or no" answer tomorrow--I have time to think and make a decision. And in reality, I came into the program having already done some serious thinking and with my decision almost made. But now I have to follow through on it, and I wonder--am I doing the right thing?

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could...

Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back..."

[Robert Frost]