Whatever you do, DON'T laugh

I apologize for the lack of blogging. It has been a rough first of the semester for me. I had my first nursing school breakdown (which I swore would NEVER happen to me). I was very sad. BUT, I have since then bounced back and am feeling motivated, and ready to do well.

Tomorrow clinicals start.

It's always an uneasy time. Everything is unfamiliar. The place. The people. The terminology. It's just plain scary.

Tomorrow I'll wake up before the sun to work my first 12 hour shift on my first psych unit. Thankfully this summer I got plenty of experience with psych patients. The difference? Now I'm actually supposed to know what to do. This summer I could just laugh and think "man, this dude is CRAZY!" but now I have to come up with some "therapeutic response". Laughing at the patient, according to my mental health nursing instructor, is not therapeutic.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I honestly cannot see myself working as a mental health nurse. Ever. But that's what I said about the NICU, and I loved it.

I'm just praying that I won't laugh.

I swear, if a patient barks at me like a guy did this summer it's going to take an act of God to hold it in.