Day 7

Today was a long day, but in a totally different way than the others have been. I was floated to a floor I had not been to yet. I spent the entire day proving myself to this new set of ICU nurses that I was not an idiot, something I have not had to do in a long time.

To put it simply - entering a new ICU is like walking into a try out.

How willing are you to help others? What is your clinical knowledge? What is your background? How fast do you pick up on things? Do you ask stupid questions? Are you too arrogant to ask questions? Are you easily intimidated? Are you a pushover? The judge is almost always the head nurse, which is sometimes the designated charge nurse or the unspoken alpha.

I am very serious about all of these things. Just ask any nurse!

They gave me an easy assignment, because of course they did not trust me with their more critical patients yet. I took care of my patients and played the game. Finally, towards the end of the shift, I was out of sight in the supply room when I overheard two others speaking about me. They deemed me as competent enough to take take a normal assignment. I took that as a win for the day.

In the ICU you need people to have your back and know that you have theirs. That type of relationship is built on the trust you earn from initially gaining their respect. So, I'll take what they gave me today and run with that for the next five weeks!

Britt.