The Nursing School Honeymoon Phase is Most Definitely Over

I know I just have the mid-winter "blahs".


Having finished psychiatry, I can say with relative confidence that this is most probably not an actual case of SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder, as it doesn't quite impair my ability function. So I think its a lesser case of SAD, just called the "blahs" and "I'm really sick of winter -- an unseasonably cold winter that just won't let up".  Yes, I'm quite sure that's the technical/mental health terminology for what I have.  That being said, regardless of the actual diagnosis, I know for certain that a trip down south to visit some palm trees and sit on the beach would be *the* perfect antidote!  I promise myself that as soon as I graduate this degree, that will be an annual ritual to combat the February "blahs". :-)


On a brighter note, my first week of classes is finished. My final exam went OK and I finished overall with a mark that maintains my A average (whew!). My "dark cloud hanging over my head" nursing theory paper is now half written, and the second half is well mapped out.  That fact in itself is already lifting my spirits greatly.


My dear husband is only away for two more nights, and then I can go back to my role as full-time student and part-time mom, instead of full-time both roles. Ever since I became a mom and realized just how difficult it was for two of us to cope with a newborn, have I had a special place in my soul for single parents. I wish I could be of more help to my friends who are currently going through this nightmare experience that third year nursing school is, yet I'm barely keeping my own head above water these months. I will somehow make this up in the future when I graduate, as it really is a section of the population that I have a very tender and empathetic spot for. I'm a big believer in that "it takes a village to raise a child" philosophy, and I plan to put that belief into action as soon as I possibly can.


I have my first med-surg shift early tomorrow morning. We are to show up wearing "professional" clothes, not scrubs, so it remains to be seen just how long the day will be, or what exactly it will entail. But I do know that starting on our Friday shift, it will be all work and learning.  Our clinical instructor is an ER/trauma nurse, and she seems absolutely fantastic. I can see that this rotation will be probably the most difficult thus far, but with the instructor we have, I can also see this rotation being the one where I learn the most, and maybe, just maybe, will finally start to feel a wee bit like a nurse. I can but hope.


Off to make lunches for everyone for tomorrow, and then try to get some sleep before the 5:20 am alarm goes off.  And they're calling for more snow overnight.  It might make for yet another interesting (aka white knuckle on the highway!) drive to the hospital....


Cheers,
Future-nurse Kate