Life in the Airforce has given me plenty to think about career-wise! This week i've had plenty of opportunities to discover all the fabulous options that i have to further my career. I am really excited about everything available to me. I'm definetly going to be working on a med-surg floor for at least a year-possibly two, but after that, i can apply for a critical care 1 year school at Lackland (trauma center) and it will be paid for by the Air Force. I can also concurrently obtain my masters through AFIT and it will be paid for and will not cause any extra years to be added on to my commitment! That being said, if i decide i'm going to stay in anyway, i can go to school full time, have it paid for as well as a stipend for books, and also continue to receive all my pay. It's all really interesting and exciting...There are so many things i could do! I've met so many nurses who are captains/colonels/majors who are all nurses but all have taken different paths with their careers. Very cool.
Interestingly enough though..i may not want to be a flight nurse like i've said i wanted to be. I still may go through with it, but as i learn more and more about SERE (survival escape resistance evasion) school that i must attend, i wonder if i'm strong enough to do it. I don't mean physically, SERE school is all about creating a vile, hostage environment and doing everything possible to get you to crack. The things they do are quite graphic, classified to a point, and really not something to discuss in a blog. I know i'm an incredibly strong person and COULD do it, but am not sure i really want to subject myself to something so emotionally and mentally devastating.
on a brighter note..i finally had my first day of DOING something. Today i was in the lab for 8 hours and did venipuncture on about 40 people. It was great! I find it ironic how i'm extremely comfortable with critical patients on ventilators and multiple drips and lines, but you stick me in front of a healthy person and ask me to draw their blood and i get butterflies! I now feel extremely comfortable with the skill, and love the fact that MOST of my patient were healthy young adults. I stress most because we also have a lot of retirees and families that come in and with that comes the usual health problems, fragile veins, etc. All in all, i felt great with how easy it was and how confident i felt.
Tomorrow i have a day off! I'm going to be researching my finances, car options, etc..and just relaxing and getting caught up with everything. Life is good, and i'm so happy i got to catch up with my lovely Heather. I miss all my girls and the family of course!
No comments:
Post a Comment