Comment on my job skills.....

So I have been working at my job for over a year. Go me! They say the first year is the hardest but I didn't think it was as bad as I expected it to be. Maybe that's because I love my job or maybe doing hours in the NICU during school helped-I don't know, but it's been good.



Now that I've been here long enough AND hit certain education requirements I can precept-and so I am. I've wanted to precept since I started because I want people to have a good orientation experience just like I did. Granted, I still have so much to learn and this precepting thing is definitely going to teach me more than I can teach someone else but it's a good experience.



I started precepting a new grad last week. She's so much smarter than me, I think what I'm going to be teaching her is that it's ok to ask for help, which is what I'm doing, all the time, during our shifts, double checking that we're doing things the right way. I've also been reflecting on the things that I am comfortable doing now that used to freak me out back in the beginning-so I decided to make a list:



1. I no longer go to work in fear of what assignment I might get

2. I can get report without needing to write down every little thing-therefore report goes a lot faster

3. I can give report without having to refer to my sheets constantly

4. When an NNP asks what I think we should do, I can answer and sound like I know what I'm talking about (at least in some situations )

5. I can give a bath in 5-10 minutes (not an hour like it used to take)

6. I understand what the vent settings mean

7. I can turn an intubated baby's head without the help of an RT

8. Suctioning is not as scary as it used to be.

9. I still hate flushing Anderson tubes because gastric fluid mixed with mucous makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

10. I'm not scared to change lines even though I hate to do it

11. I love to do new and post-surgical admits-it's a great adrenaline rush

12. I'm not afraid to advocate for my patients

13. Bagging a baby isn't as scary as it used to be, but it's still one of the rare times that I may swear at work (that can also happen when I find out I'm on the code team and well, there's a kid going on ECMO who is close to coding, or when a kid turns her head and her trach falls out, or the ENT doc is at the bedside to intubate and I keep dropping the suction catheter on the floor and having to get replace it with new ones, I mean no big deal)

14. I love drawing blood off of an art line-it's kind of fun

So anyway that's all for now until I can come up with more stuff, maybe when I'm actually a grown-up nurse and can take oscillator kids or something.....