See You on the Battlefield

Ten days left of playing video games all day before I officially begin my first job as an new grad RN in the emergency room. Here are some of my final thoughts.

What Success Looks Like

Starting my career, I thought it would be fitting to set goals for myself:

1) Incorporate the nursing process into my practice

2) Hone my technical skills

3) Don't kill any patients

4) (and most important of all) Succeed!

With all the shiny promises recruiters say to bait prospective nursing students, I started to think, "I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad, buy all of the things I never had. I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the queen" ...to quote Bruno Mars. Is that what success looks like at the end of my career? SWEET! Let's get cracking!

Nursing Process Step 1: Assessment

Assessment is what a good nurse should do before embarking on any such endeavor while on the job. What kind of area is my hospital situated in? What are my patient demographics? Unfortunately, I sold my Community Health book last year so I could have money to take a trip to Vegas buy nursing books for the next semester, so that's all I can remember on community assessment questions. But anyway, let's start with those.

I looked through the Inglewood demographics: majority Hispanic 51% followed by African American 43%; Families with income below poverty for 12mo is 16.3% (vs. CA 9.8%); Adults with a Bachelor's degree is 17% (vs. CA 30%), Adults without a high school degree is 29% (vs. CA 20%). Basically a lot of non-white people with less income and education than the rest of California--which really just sounds like back home in the Philippines to me. I couldn't find any comparisons on the city being less safe, so I don't know what my family was trying to warn me about, or what my future co-worker meant, after I told her I got the job, when she told me to "put on my running shoes."

I do understand the challenge posed to me as a fresh new grad in this environment. Actually, given that the last time I was in the hospital was back when I graduated six months ago, I'm not even "fresh". I'm just "new grad." Which is worse. Anyway, in the unlikely situation that I'll run into an emergency in the ER, I at least have several qualities that I can turn to: the vast nursing knowledge and experience shared to me by my wonderful professors, my knack of adapting quickly to new cultures, people and situations, strong critical thinking skills, and when all else fails and what I'll probably be counting on most, God's divine providence.

A Purpose Driven Life

Before nursing, I really didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid. I wanted to be a writer, a businesswoman, or a lawyer when I first got to college, but I ended up becoming a dancer and a bartender. I wanted to travel the world. Literally I was scatterbrained all over the place.

Then I went through nursing school and got to take care of patients, of families, of people. I wasn't there to make money for myself, a name for myself, or anything for myself. That's when I realized that nursing wasn't about getting that new Coach bag or Mercedes-Benz that I saw all my preceptors own. Nursing is one of those unique professions that allow you to serve and give back others, the community, and to God as your job.

Happily Ever After

I know that I have no job experience as a new grad. I know, on a scale of 1 to 10, my patients are going to be an 11. I know I'm going to be running around the ER the second I get on the floor until my shift ends 12 hours later. There are probably going to be days I'm going to cry and think I'm not a good nurse. Hopefully there won't be too many days (knock on wood) when I get hit, yelled at, cussed at, or urinated on by patients. I know this job is not going to be easy in any such manner.

However, if I make it, if I succeed, my true success will not be in fame or fortune, but rather in the success of my patients--touching their lives and the lives of their families, helping them heal and be whole, getting them through some of the worst moments in their lives. President Barack Obama once advised, "Find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Think of their needs" (2009). My only real goal as I start my career is to address the needs and raise the hopes of my patients. If I can accomplish that, and then some, then I know I have truly been successful in my nursing career. Making the front cover of Forbes will just be a bonus.