1-2-3, oops

1) buy a bunch of junk food from the hospital cafeteria at one in the morning.

2) eat your heart out all night long.

3) really wish you had also gotten nachos.

I don't know what happened to me on my graveyard shift last night, but I was an eating machine! Most of the time I go all night without eating anything, but last night was a different story. I couldn't get enough. Gross!

I gave away one pack of the m&m's. Does that make up for it?

the circle of life

This was me the day after I found out I passed the NCLEX (RN licensure exam). Hallelujah I passed on the first try, because it's really quite awful. You are finger printed, have photos taken of your palm veins, must rid your pockets of everything, and are filmed the entire time. You get anywhere from 75-265 questions. What an ordeal!

My mom and I were co-camp directors for our ward this year at stake YW camp. Having to be up there waiting for my results was the longest 36 hours of my life. I left camp and drove down to Salt Lake just to look up my name on the licensing website. I have to tell you, I have never been so nervous. I thought I had failed for sure.

Seeing my name listed as a Registered Nurse was awesome. What a relief! I passed! I called Granite bakery the next morning and had these American Red Cross-inspired cookies made up to bring back to the girls at camp.

That was in July and this weekend I had an experience that made me question my career as an RN. I had my first code. The circumstances were random and unpreventable, but I thought my life was over (Am I ever dramatic?). Things went as well as they could have, and the patient was just fine. It's not an experience I would wish on anyone (because it's so dang scary), but I have to say that it has made me a better nurse.

I love my job. And more than that, I love where I work. My unit is the best one in the entire hospital. I feel so lucky to have found it and I'm pretty sure I'll never leave until I become an old lady patient myself.

So how in the heck does this post tie in with my title? Well, I also went to the Lion King with Margaret this weekend. Incredible, it was! I felt about five years old, with eyes as big as saucers watching in awe of all the costumes, music & scenery. It was amazing.

And I was reminded that when life gets you feeling down in the dumps, you pick yourself up again and move forward. I believe it was Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture, who said, "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted".

How true it is.

My day at work today was wonderful. Busy, fast-paced, and perfect. I wouldn't have it any other way.

you've got a friend in me

Last week I bid farewell to one of my best friends from Nursing school. She left for an LDS mission to Ecuador where she will serve as the mission nurse. I am going to miss her a bunch, but she will do such an awesome job in her new calling.

I made so many outstanding friends during my two years at the College of Nursing. The stories of how I met each one are all unique. Maybe one day I will write about them individually here. One thing I know for sure is that it wasn't just happenstance that our paths crossed. That's a definite feeling.

It always happened at just the moment I needed it to. The dots were perfectly connected and we all helped each other get through school.

Here we are as newbies just starting out.

This is me and Nicole. We met in assessment lab because I overheard her talking about how she had a U pass to park up at school. I had no idea where the correct U lot was, so I asked to follow her to it after class and she showed me the way. We were instant friends and we made the trek to and from the parking lot together a million times after that.

Three of my greatest friends: Wrandi, Nicole, and Jerica.

At a farewell/happy birthday facial courtesy of Wrandi. Thanks!

The day before Sister Rodgers reported to the MTC. See you in 18 short months!

To learn more about the church I belong to, click here.

hi, my name is rachel

One of my favorite rotations in nursing school was my psychiatric clinicals at the VA hospital.

And not because I learned a whole lot, but man alive we sure had fun.

I was shaking like a leaf the first day thinking that I was going to be attacked or something crazy would happen. After spending a few hours on the locked down unit, I learned that even though there were some looney tunes, it was better to be their friend than to be scared.

There was one patient in particular who only took a liking to half my clinical group. And I was one of them. The first time he met me, he asked what my name was and acted super disappointed when I told him. I asked why and he said, "your name isn't Julia. It's Rachel and you're from the Biblical times, not the modern world".

And thus, Rachel was born.

I went by that name for the entire rotation, and even my fellow classmates called me Rachel. "Rachel, may you do this? Rachel, will you be on my team? Rachel, you're so Biblical. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel".

It was the funniest thing ever.

I wish these pictures from my phone were better but they were illustrations he drew for me. The message says "my little Indian girlfriend with the sky blue eyes".

If only I could have all the funny moments with him on video. He would do exaggerated tai chi exercises, stare at you to no end and say that if he couldn't touch, he'd have to show his love in another way (I know that one sounds totally creep worthy, but it was so funny). He also made a list of 8 girls (4 from my clinical group; 4 random names) paired with 8 people from the Bible (including him) and wrote 8+8= forever.

During graduation, we voted on senior superlatives. I was chosen "most likely to get hit on by a psych patient".

And I couldn't have been more honored.

Gotta love all my friends at the VA psych ward!

time for meds

Sometimes nurses need meds too.

This is what we do on night shifts in the wee hours of the morning.

My friend Joni and I went around and passed out peanut butter m&m "meds" to everyone on the unit. We were laughing so hard carrying around paper plate trays and distributing the goods.

And yes, that is me in all my glory at 3:20 in the morning. What can I say.

happy feet

Here are my feet this morning after coming home from a night shift.

And let me tell you, they were happy.

I'm orienting as a nurse now and some days I leave the hospital feeling totally inadequate. I felt so proficient working as a tech. I knew the job, and I knew how to do it well.

Now I have a whole set of new tasks to complete, more responsibilities, and a different role to adjust to.

Wouldn't it be great if you could go from novice to expert with a snap of the fingers?

My shift last night was just what I needed though. I worked with an awesome nurse and we had great patients. We were really busy and I had the chance to work on so many different skills. I loved it.

And even though I know the learning curve will be steep for the next five years, bring on the lifelong learning.

I love being a nurse.

(And my fun socks helped too. Thanks to my mom whose white socks never see the light of day & makes sure my sister and I always have a good supply of bright patterns . Love it!)