Graduation

My graduation "ceremony" took place on Friday, November 22, 2013. It was a fairly simple gathering. The hospital had all the new grads gather in the conference room with all the nurse managers and nurse educators or charge nurses and we enjoyed a nice lunch. It was fairly informal until the CEO of the company joined us along with the CNO (Chief Nursing Officer). The CEO is a very approachable guy and he gave us a motivational speech about what a great time we'll have working at this organization. The CNO encouraged us to ask for help as often as necessary and to be proud of the accomplishment we had just achieved. Then we were asked to go around the table and introduce ourselves and tell a little about our background. I had jokingly told my peers to prepare a five minute speech to recite at our "ceremony." It turns out we did have to do a presentation only the topic was to present ourselves. I hadn't really prepared anything special but if you know me, you know that I can give a put together presentation on any topic, for any length of time in a positive and engaging manner at any given time. I didn't treat this opportunity any different. I figured if I have the CEO and CNO's attention then there was no better chance to step up and show them they made the right choice by hiring me. When it was my turn to introduce myself I stood up instead of sitting in the chair and told the audience what a journey the last four months have been. I went on to discuss what I've learned, what my passions are for the company and included some of our core values into the speech. I also made a few people laugh (a true success when presenting). By the time I sat down, I felt confident that I had made a good impression.

We were then each awarded a certificate and a pin that signify's our completion of the program. Now that we are done we automatically enter the Float Pool. Float Pool means that you float to any of the four units we have been trained on (4S, 4E, 3E and 5E). However, you don't have a permanent "home" until you find a full time position one of the units. I was offered positions on both progressive care units (5E and 3E). However, both positions were night shift. The choice between choosing home on night shift or staying in the float pool was very difficult. Luckily, I have amazing friends and support that listened to me weight the pros and cons and offer advice. In the end I chose what was best for my body and my sanity: day shift on float pool. I hope to gain some insight and learn from every unit. Then when I hopefully get a home I'll be able to implement all the information I learn from all the units to that one place. Float pool isn't my ideal choice and there might come a day when I have no choice but to go to nights in order to find a home but right now I think it's the best choice for me. 

After graduation was over it really hit my peers and I that were were no longer "new grads." It's a scary thought.