Thankful Thursday | First, a complaint

I am going to get to gratefulness, but I'm going to share a complaint, to give some context. I currently find myself in the midst of clinical certification requirements for the class next semester that requires 45 clinical hours.

Kristen in uniform. — My last day of RN clinicals, in 2025. I was not in a complainy mood.

This has been a supremely frustrating process (OF COURSE), and my attitude about it is uncharacteristically bad. It is a lot of expensive hoop-jumping requirements for a mere 45 (!!!!) hours of clinicals.

I had to do something similar at my community college, but that felt more reasonable because I was getting certified for four semesters. Sigh.

Also, I think I am just burnt out and low on tolerance for this. Between RN school, getting a CNA license, getting an RN license, and getting hired at the hospital, I am on at least my fifth round of getting thoroughly checked.

Thankfully (ha!), this should be my last round for a nice long time.

Ok, enough complaining! This week, I am thankful:

that I already happened to have scheduled a doctor appointment/blood draw

I needed a follow-up appointment and blood draw to check my iron levels, and I happened to have scheduled it for this week.

Even more luckily, I got the blood draw requirements the day before my appointment. It would have been very frustrating to get them the day after my appointment!

that my NP was willing to fill out my physical form

She didn't mind the last-minute notice, and she was so nice to fill out the physical form and also add all the titers to my lab orders.

PHEW.

that I am very caught up on vaccinations

I had to get some extras before I started nursing school (like a three-shot series for HepB), so at least the shots are done. All I had to do this time was get titers drawn.

(Titers are a blood test that checks if you have antibodies. Very handy for things like proving you have chickenpox immunity; I have varicella antibodies, not from a vaccine, but from actually having chickenpox as a kid, so a titer is the only way to prove it.)

that drug tests are unstressful for me

They are annoying, yes. But I never have to worry that I will not pass (as long as I don't eat poppy seed bagels prior.)

that two clinical sites got back to me

We have to find our own outpatient clinical location for this class, so I reached out to the outpatient wound/ostomy clinic at my hospital and also to an outpatient hospice service. Both of them responded to me promptly, so now I have two options to submit to my BSN school for approval.

I picked wound/ostomy because that would help me get better at those two skills (which I use regularly at my hospital job), and I chose hospice because I have considered doing hospice work down the road.

So, either clinical site should be interesting and useful.

that maybe my Spring 2027 class will be practical

I am cautiously hopeful that, since it involves clinical hours, it might be a slightly practical class.

Crossing fingers!

that it feels so nice to be in a community college class

My ethics class started this week, and even though it's all online (no campus time), it feels like coming home. I'm back on Canvas, not Blackboard! The class is organized! The syllabus has been updated in the last year!

Amazing.

I think my community college will always feel like my alma mater, no matter how many four-year schools I go to in my lifetime. If I could have gotten a BSN at the community college, I would have.