Halfway There

Welp, this weekend marks the end of week 5 of my summer at Mayo. Time doesn't just fly, it travels at Mach 5- maybe even maximum warp.

When I was home this week, I was asked a bunch of questions and many of them were similar. Here's some of my answers to the FAQs :)

What's the highlight so far? 
Praying with a patient's wife while the patient was coding. In the single most scary moment of my life, God was there. Although it was terrifying, it was definitely the most powerful.

What's the hardest thing? 
Night shifts. Hands down. There's a wall that you run into headfirst around 3am. It's not a soft wall either. It's made of brick.

Are you  happy with your floor? 
Most definitely. I think that I got really lucky with my placement. My floor has a wide variety of patients and nurses play a key part in their care. I've learned how to think like a nurse. (Obviously there's still a long ways to go) The people on my floor are really considerate towards me. If something exciting is going on, they'll invite me in to watch. I have great clinical coaches. Also, cardiology is extremely important. If something is wrong with the heart, it can affect the rest of the body. There is so much to learn.

Have you learned a lot?
Yes.

Is it hard being away from you family?
Yes. I miss them, but I'm not homesick. I think that's a good place to be.

What do you do with your free time? 
I blog. I do Spanish lessons. I read. I sleep. I eat. I bike places.

Would you go back to Mayo after this summer?
Tricky question. I'm loving it here. I love Mayo and I love my church. Roughly 80% of Summer III students get hired back. It's tempting. But I know there are great hospitals in Chicago too- this would let me be a lot closer to home. We'll have to pray, wait, and see.

Would you go into cardiology after this summer? What's next? Nurse practitioner? 
I'd definitely be open to the possibility of going to a cardiology floor. I've learned a lot and I truly enjoy it. There's this part of me that is ambitious and wants to get a masters or doctorate degree because I can. But there's this other side of me that really just loves being a staff nurse at the bedside. I love my patients and developing relationships with them. You don't need a masters to do that.
 Another thing that has sparked my interest is oncology. In my amateur opinion, it seems like a good mix between the technical side of nursing and the emotional side of nursing. Once again, we'll have to pray, wait and see.

What are you going to take away from this summer?
I'll tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to be super cocky when I get back to school because I've had this amazing experience. If I've learned anything, it's that I know nothing. I'm going to take back my patient stories, my highs, my lows, my tears, my smiles, my days that went by quickly and the days that dragged on. I'm going to take back what I've seen other nurses do, what I've seen doctors do, what works and what doesn't. I'm going to take away the frustration, the amazement, the joy, the pain, the accomplishment, the confidence, and the awe that I've experienced this summer. And that's the condensed version :)

Here's to the next 5 weeks!