It's The Beginning of the Rest of My Life

Or at least the next couple of years.  Here are a couple of quick take aways from the last 10 weeks:

"I appreciate you, your help, etc."  Just a few simple words can make your day go much more smoothly and get you tons of good brownie points.  It is also nice to be on the receiving end of that phrase as well. 

Getting in 10,000+ steps: Recent studies have shown that Americans walk fewer steps than other people around the world.  For instance Americans walk an average of 5,117 where Australians come in at 9,695.  During school we heard that nurses walk an average of 5-6 miles during a twelve hour shift.  Although our unit is fairly small, I do hit over 10,000 steps consistently.  

Student Nurses:  As everyone starts to head back to school, student nurses are arriving on various units; ours is no exception.  Immediately I was brought back to my second semester when I had my "very own patient" and would do everything from the assessment to medication administration.  While I am the first to admit that I do not know everything and am the first to ask questions, it is remarkable to see the transition from level one to level four, from the first week of orientation to the first week on my own.  I also had a great time working with the students and started to think about teaching in the future.