6 Months?

August 31, really? My last post?

It's hard to believe that 6 months has passed since I last looked at this site. I'm not surprised, just shocked at the visible passage of time. Apparently, I should just admit that I'm a horrible blogger. Done.

Life, for me, has continued. As a nurse, I feel increasingly confident. I've passed my year mark and am nearing my second anniversary. I sought out an advanced certification (ACLS), and am working on taking the CCRN exam ( a test that certifies my as a critical care RN). I've joined the AACN, and am running a monthly journal club out of my unit with a goal of publishing some research in the next year. I'm enjoying my work, my co-workers and looking to the future with good feelings.

For my patients, things have stayed the normal course. A repeat-patient that I took care of over the course of the past year and half, a pretty little lady with a bad pair of lungs, passed shortly after Christmas. It was sad to see her sisters, who I had gotten to know during my care of her, so distraught at the eventual realization that she just wouldn't pull through this infection, this time. I miss them, even though I know that death was the only, better option for her painful struggle.

I've had a few significant sickies...a GI bleeder I fought for who got to surgery too late, an overweight, but super-sweet woman who fought (and beat) sepsis, and a pair of ARDS patients whose families both decided to withdraw care, during the same shift, within 15 minutes of each other.

These are the people who make it through the cluttered memory of my 12 hour days, and the exhaustion I feel afterwards. Families and patients who, for one reason or another, keep me running, and yet make me smile days later. The ones who I remember, and mourn with, and yet, encourage at the same time.

All in all, it's good to be a nurse right now. I haven't spent a stray thought on the economy, I've grown in my role on the unit, and I'm thrilled to be spending extra time giving back to my co-workers, and my patients.

Will try to stay in touch more frequently...:)