New Title: RN, BSN, BAMA ALUM!!!

I have DONE IT! On May 8, 2010, I became a proud graduate of The University of Alabama, Capstone College of Nursing! Four long years culminated in a two hour ceremony...but it was worth ever second!

I am so excited to be graduated and move on to the next phase of my life, a full time career. I am still looking for a job. I am certain that God is trying to teach me a lesson in patience and how to lean not on my own understanding. Let me tell you, I am very uncomfortable with the unknown, and not so great with patience. So now I am just waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and, oh yeah, waiting. Luckily I have parents who have let me come home to live. I don't have any bills to pay or dependents to support. Keep me in your prayers as I am looking for a job.

Before graduation, my nursing friends and I took some pictures around campus. These are some of my favorites! These ladies are so special to me and I can't wait to continue growing up with them!

What a wild, wonderful, stressful, fantastic experience I had at The University of Alabama!
ROLL TIDE!

An overdue update

As I was thoroughly engulfed in my preceptorship, I didn't have much time to update. But now, I AM FINISHED! The experience that I gained in the emergency room is beyond value. I will take things I learned there with me through my career. It was in the past 6 weeks that I really got my feet wet and feel that maybe I can be a nurse without someone holding my hand. And now the only thing that stands between me and graduation is 13 days and one presentation!

I did have some fun. The spring A-Day game was a blast! My sister, brother, and brother's girlfriend drove down for the weekend. We had a great time at the game. This was the last time I will watch my TIDE play as a student!

Three Pearce Kids

Anna-Leigh, Whitney, and I have taken a picture in front of this bush almost every home game!

Jen's first Bama experience as a student

Pearce kids plus Mallory!

In two weeks, I will be a college graduate! I am still in the process of searching for a job. I have a few seemingly-promising leads, but nothing to get too excited about yet. I know that God will take me where He has me to go. If I have learned anything, anxiety does nothing except make me more anxious, so that's about enough of that. All that is left are prayers for guidance. I will be a nurse!

My baby brother is not a baby anymore...

I am the oldest of three children. My sister, Katie, will be 17 in May, and my brother, Luke, will be 16 in May also. I love my little siblings! We always used to refer to them as "the babies", but as you can see, they are no longer babies! And we reached a milestone yesterday...Luke went to his first high school prom!

He looked so HANDSOME! Luke rarely wears anything other than gym shorts and t-shirts, so a tuxedo was a HUGE change! I think he cleans up pretty well, considering he walked in the door from a baseball game 45 minutes before we went to take pictures! Luke has a wonderful girlfriend, Mallory. I love her! She is so sweet.

And don't they make a cute couple?!

Luke and I are very close. We have always had a close relationship, but a few years ago we were able to grow closer. Some of you know what happened to Luke a few years ago, but it is a God story worthy of telling again.

Luke is an avid baseball player. He eats, sleeps, breathes, and above all, plays BASEBALL! And he's really good (I'm not just saying that because I'm a proud big sister, he really is talented)! But, almost 2 years ago Luke was hit in the head with a baseball. He was crossing the infield (behind the pitcher) at practice. The pitcher, who didn't know Luke was there, threw a ball and it was hit...into the side of Luke's head. Down went Luke, and that won him a trip to the emergency room. He showed none of the classic signs of a severe head injury, and never did. The night of the injury all the doctors could see was a skull fracture and a small amount of blood around his brain. Nothing to be alarmed about, but he would spend the night in the pediatric ICU for precautions, and he would have another CT in the morning. The night came and went and we all waited for the next CT scheduled at 8 AM. Come 5AM they came to take Luke, who is still showing no signs of a head injury, to CT. After Luke got back to his room, the doctor came and got my mom (she stayed with him overnight). The doctor was going to give it to her straight: Luke was bleeding in his brain. He had to go to surgery NOW or he would die within the hour. In shock, Mom called everyone. I was in Tuscaloosa about to take a final. Graciously my professors understood where I needed to be. I FLEW home. Glad no cops were out that morning! The best feeling came when I got the call that Luke was out of surgery and TALKING! He had many hurdles to overcome and things were so uncertain. But as the hours passed and we saw improvement, it was great encouragement. So 6 skull plates, 40 staples, and 2 years later, Luke is a perfectly functioning teenager. He is back playing baseball just as well as he always did. The only way you would know something happened is the little bit of scar you can see when Luke cuts his sideburns too short. What a miracle! If God had not urged the doctor to move up Luke's CT and to work so precisely, The Pearce Family would be very different now. Praise God from whom all blessing flow! Luke is such a special young man who strives to walk so closely with the Lord and knows he was spared for a greater purpose. I cannot wait to see what it is!!!

When you wish upon a star...

I just spent four WONDERFUL days in the Florida sun...and I have the lobsteresque coloration to prove it! Three of those days were spent at the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH! I absolutely L-O-V-E Disney World! As notes in a previous post, I was given a trip to Disney for graduation from my future-in-laws...and this was the week!

The first day we went to Animal Kingdom. There isn't a whole lot to do there, but there are some really cool animals!

Driving in to the park

Sleeping kitty

I love Merekat Manor (it's a guilty pleasure). Can't get enough of these cuties!

Roll Tide!

Giraffes

The second part of day one was Epcot. All the good rides had outrageous lines and NO FAST PASSES! So we spent about an hour here!

Day two was MAGIC Kingdom! This is MY Disney! I love the excitement every time I go. I'm 22 years old, but I feel like a little kid whenever I walk through the gates! It's MAGICAL(hmm...maybe that's where they got the name)!

Walt Disney and Mickey

Wishing Well at Cinderella's Castle

Minnie's sun porch

We had some extra time before the fireworks show that evening, so we went to Downtown Disney. This has a really cool place called Lego Land. This, and other figures, are made completely of tiny tiny legos!

Day three was spent at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). We rode the Tower of Terror (my first time on it) and the Rockin' Roller Coaster (Eric's first ride). And caught a few shows.

Eeyore had been my favorite since I was little!

On day four we drove to Sarasota, Florida, to Eric's grandparents. They live near Siesta Key, which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world! It was nice to relax in the sun, even if the wind was blowing so hard we could barely stand to stay out!

I had so much fun on this trip! You can see the rest of my photos in my facebook album!

I'm a senior precepting student, therefore I am a bad blog updater

Since I am full-swing in my preceptorship, I am busy busy busy! But, I LOVE IT! I am learning so much and getting to see some pretty cool stuff. Due to HIPPA (patient privacy, blah blah blah) I can't say too much, but I can say some of it has been cool. And "it" may or may not include psychosis, drug overdose, chest pain, GI bleed, and babies...

Life outside of the hospital is fun too! Jen and I spent last weekend sewing. She had never sewn before, but she did a great job! I made a pair of pink shorts for my trip to DISNEY WORLD and a purple maxi dress, just for fun.

On Monday, we went to celebrate my birthday at Sips n Strokes. This is a place that does a painting project with you, step by step, so even a beyond novice painter like me can do it! This was Jen's gift to me, and it was REALLY FUN! Whitney went with us and we created some beautiful paintings! Here are mine and Jen's paintings.
On yet another topic, I am beginning to get some responses from some of the jobs I have applied for. And they are all "no". Everything says "After careful consideration, we regret to inform you...". When will you be happy to inform me of something? I really don't like the online applications, they are very impersonal and I don't even know if they get my application...until the rejection comes. This is very discouraging, but I know that God is going to bring the right job my way. One hospital recruiter told me that she would forward my resume on to some nurse managers. So that is still out there! So, if you know of a nursing job for an AWESOME graduate nurse, let me know ;)

In conclusion, I will be at Disney World in 4 days!!!

One small step to the outsider...one GIANT step for me!

Tuesday was the first day of my preceptorship at a local emergency room. This is me in my uniform (you can kind of see my sparkly crimson headband. I thought I would spiffy-up for my first day!) For those who are not familiar with nursing school, our preceptorship is sort of like an internship. We are paired with a RN and we work her schedule, for 225 hours. I chose the ER because I like the variety, and I feel like I will get the most "bang for my (parents) buck" as far as experience goes. During this time we are supposed to make this alleged "miraculous transformation" from students to GRADUATE NURSES. Or that's what our teachers keep telling us...

I met my preceptor as I came on the unit. She is a pure-blooded Italian, native to New York, with the accent and cooking skills to match. She knows her stuff and is a great nurse. I really like her and think I will learn a lot from her.

Not too much happened my first day. A shot here. An IV there. I got to participate in a "Code Strong". This is a show of force when a patient is acting in a "threatening manner". And since the hospital I am at has an on-site mental facility, we get lots of psychiatric emergencies. Those patients sometimes behave in a "threatening manner," much like the patient I was able to help restrain, along with no less than 10 other people. Other than that, nothing too exciting happened.

For the next 225 hours, I will be consumed with emergency medicine. But working the shifts that I do, those hours are going to fly! I am really excited and think this is going to be a fun change of pace!

Take that HESI!

Today was the DREADED FINAL HESI! For 5 semesters all we have done it work towards learning enough to pass this. We have to pass it to graduate. It's enough to make us crazy. So, I walk in to a hall filled with these faces...


Everyone has their "lucky HESI seat." I made my way to mine, of course in the room that feels like the surface of the sun, and the proctor turns the fan OFF!!! Ugh! Well at least I wouldn't have to take any bathroom breaks, since every ounce of fluid in my body has been sweat out!
And after 3 hours of testing, I PASSED IT!!! It still hasn't completely registered in my brain that my last academic hurdle of nursing school has been cleared! I'm sure one day soon I will wake up and and FREAK OUT!

Tomorrow is the first day of my preceptorship. I cannot wait to start making my way from scared nursing student to GRADUATE NURSE!