Fast forward 14 years and 3 months

In June of 1998, I graduated from nursing school.  I graduated on a Friday and began taking classes to complete my BSN on the very next Monday.  I started working on the infamous "5th floor" at St. Francis Hospital (which no longer even exists under that name).  As a 22 year old brand spanking new nurse, I decided to dive right into the specialty that I loved...psychiatry.  We only had, I believe, 8 or 10 weeks studying this specialty in school but after a few minutes on the unit I knew I wanted to be a psych nurse.  Lucky for me, I had some kick-ass experienced psych nurses to share their knowledge, experience, and skills with me.  I remember looking up to the nurses who were 5-10 years older than me and wanted to be just like them.  There was a quadruplet of girls (Michelle, Carolyn, Lesley, and Jill) that I remember specifically orienting with that forever helped mold me into the nurse I am today.  Each with their unique personalities, sense of humor, phenomenal nursing skills, and no-nonsense communication skills, they each taught me what I use every day at work.  Lucky for me, I was able to reconnect with Michelle and Lesley on Facebook, saw Carolyn at church this past December (while home in PA), and briefly reunited with Jill via Facebook before she passed away (which by the way I bawled my eyes out when I learned of her passing).  I hadn't seen her in over a decade but that is how much I loved and respected her and what she has added to my career.  In fact, it was Jill that went with me while I called the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing to see if a nursing license had been issued for me (meaning that if it had, I had passed my nursing boards---and since you all know I am a nurse--Yes, I did pass)!  These girls made my crucial first year of nursing such an awesome experience. 

I have oriented many nurses, myself, throughout my career, but just recently I have had the opportunity to train a few young, new graduates that allowed me to reflect on my early days as an RN.  One day it just hit me, that every nurse that I train takes a piece of me with him/her for the rest of his/her life.  Because I had such a great experience, I want him/her to look back on the experience with me favorably as I look back on mine.  Now, I am the one who is 5-10 years older (at least) and imparting my experiences, knowledge, and skills.  Hopefully these "kids" (hahaha) will remember the fun times they had in their early, novice days.  I remember learning so much but having a blast while doing so with my mentors so I aim to recreate that environment for my orientees.  My quick wit, no-nonsense communication, intuition, and the ability to laugh amongst the ever-present chaos of a psychiatric unit are the greatest gifts that Michelle, Carolyn, Lesley, and Jill could have given me.