Finally something to show for it

After two years of classes and clinicals I finally get to see a little payoff for all my hard work. Nursing students can be hired by hospitals as nurse technicians. Which is just a fancy way to say paid intern. Our job descriptions are the same as the CNA or care assistant jobs, but once we've mastered that, we can do any skill we've demonstrated proficiency in except administer medications.

After weeks of anxious waiting, I start as a Care Assistant/Nurse Tech in the critical care unit at St. Joe's next Tuesday. I'm doing day shift until Christmas break, then nights starting in December. I'll probably try to stick with nights for Winter quarter. Spring quarter is my preceptorship, where I work full time with another nurse. So I'll probably just do one shift every couple of weeks to keep my status active at that point. Once I graduate and pass the N-CLEX, I can apply for a residency program and move on from there.

I'm anxious about the scheduling and the burden it will place on my family, but excited for the learning experience and the paycheck. Living on just Mike's income has been a challenge to say the least. And after paying to care for patients for the past year, it will be nice to finally have someone return the favor. Wish me luck.