So if you've known me for any length of time, you know I'm uncannily good with remembering dates. Like last week Rick and I rented a movie for a "night in" and as we got in the car I happened to glance at the date on the dashboard and blurted out, "Today is my ex-fiance's mother's birthday." He laughed and asked, "How do you do that?!" It's not like I sent her a card or anything, I just can't help remembering these useless things!
So of course I remember that today is my three year anniversary of starting my very first grown-up RN job on 5 West at South Georgia Medical Center. It was the day after Easter, I wore a kelly green top oddly matching with the new ID tag, and the nurse that sat next to me couldn't understand why I would move from Metro Detroit to small-town Valdosta. I so fondly remember that job. All the things I learned, the leaps and bounds I made in my professional practice that pivotal first year, and I still often think of my colleagues and even some of my frequent-flyer patients.
MPCU I may remember a little less fondly. The rough transition, not only to the new job but also to my new way of life back in my parent's home. What I will remember is how this job has challenged me, forced me to learn new things, made me more assertive, and to a degree, tore down and rebuilt my confidence as an RN. This profession is one of constant learning and change.
I've spent equally 18 months on 5 West and on 4 Center MPCU. Today I reflect on all the changes and growth I've endured in these three years. Both in my professional and my personal life. Some very painful, some obviously very exciting. I am so grateful for where God has walked me and probably more frequently carried me through. I don't think I need to go into great details on any of that. :)
On this anniversary I'm bursting with anticipation over one particular bit of news: this week I accepted a transfer offer to the neonatal intensive care unit at Beaumont. I have hoped for this kind of opportunity since second semester nursing school when I took to my pediatric rotation "like a duck to water." These opportunities do not come around everyday and I cannot describe how excited I am.
In 18 months I had interviewed twice at DMC Children's and once at St. John's. This was my first potential transfer interview within Beaumont. I knew that from MPCU I wanted to go to pediatrics in some form or another. When I got the call for this interview I was hesitant to be honest. I wasn't sure if I was going to be cut out for premature sick babies. If I would be smart enough, strong enough, or stable enough. I breezed through the questions before she offered a tour of the unit. When I walked through the doors to the first set of rooms and saw the isolate with the smallest patient I had ever seen, the monitors, the ventilators, the layout, I fell in love. I knew I wanted to work here.
But I had to wait. It felt like God had dangled a carrot in front of me. I finally allowed myself to get "comfortable" with my situation on MPCU. Like, "Fine God, if you're going to stick me here for a while, I may as well put my name on the list for days and settle my jets about leaving." No sooner than the following week I received the email from the NICU manager saying she got the green light to fill positions. Two days later I got the phone call. This is my desire, what I believe I want to dedicate a significant amount of my career to. And by the grace of God, I have the opportunity and the potential to fulfill it.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. Psalms 37:4-5
