My internship, as a student nurse, does not necessarily contain any major projects. Other than to gain experience in many units within a rural hospital, of course. I started my internship on June 8th at the Covenant Hospital in Plainview. I have worked four 12 hour shifts in the past two weeks. So far, I love the atmosphere of the rural hospital. My first shift was in the intensive care unit, there was three patients in the whole ICU and step-down unit. I thought this would make for a slow, boring day; I was totally wrong. I actually got to know the patients I was caring for and take the time to care for them without rushing on to another patient. I was able to have a conversation without worrying about getting behind on what I needed to do. I noticed that the two nurses I was working with did the same, which unfortunately doesn’t happen as often in larger hospitals. (On a side note, one of the nurses was my pediatrician’s nurse when I was growing up.)
This past week, I was in the emergency department. Nothing too emergent came in, but I have no previous experience in this unit; therefore, the “slow” days made for a good learning opportunity for me. The nurses at Covenant in Plainview are all open to students and very willing to help me learn and have a good experience in their department. Honestly, before this experience began I wanted to go anywhere but back home; however, I am starting to think that this hospital may be the perfect place to begin my nursing career.
