Ready to be a night owl?

I'm finding it a little hard to believe that I'm actually halfway through my orientation. On Thursday I officially start on night shifts, where I'll be staying for the foreseeable future. And then, in just over a month I'll be officially off orientation and will no longer have a shadow nurse that I can just have go run do something for me if I need it. In some ways I feel ready, and in others I feel nowhere close. Some days I feel completely comfortable handling my assignment on my own, and others I feel like I just barely keep up. But it's a learning process, and I definitely won't become an expert immediately. I'm very grateful for the support around me in the staff on the floor. I know there will always be someone close by to answer my questions or give me a hand if I need it.

I have seen a variety of patients, some with really bizarre cases. One day when I had two patients from out of state, it really hit me that I'm working somewhere that other hospitals send the people they don't know what to do with. And that's pretty cool!

I'm still getting used to the ebb and flow of my schedule. When I work three days in a row, the time goes by quickly, and I hardly have time to do anything but work. But then, when I have a stretch of off days, I kind of have to search for things to do- because it's not like I have tons of tests to study for and books to read... I'm still trying to figure out some regular things to fill my time with... though, seeing as I'm about to switch to night shift, I feel like it's going to take a little while longer before I start figuring out what my "real" "regular" routine is going to be.

Some things that I have settled into include a church- City church of East Nashville, and a neighborhood group within that church. I'm excited to begin plugging into the community there more.

I am also amazingly grateful to be able to tell you that we just found out my Granddaddy is officially in remission from his Leukemia. Considering that when we first found out about the cancer, I wasn't even sure he would make it to my graduation, and the statistics of this type of cancer in his age range, this is miraculous! I feel so blessed that God has granted us more time together, and it does make me a little sad that I'm not closer and can't spend more time with them.

Well, that's a brief summation of life. Still getting used to Nashville, still working on getting more plugged into community here, but I'm definitely on the road towards it. And I know God is definitely with me here within all the changes.