I finally know where I am going for practicum! It is beginning to feel so real, and I am so excited! My first practicum as a Nursing Unit Clerk will take place at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver and my second practicum is at a Fraser Health Facility called Laurel Place in Surrey. It is so exciting and such a relief to finally know where I am going. Practicum starts January 4, 2016. What a good way to start the New Year. The last 3 days have been so busy. For my Mount Saint Joseph practicum, Providence required 3 days of training which took place at St. Paul’s hospital. And today I had to write my final for the last module of the program. I stayed up all night last night to study and make up for the 3 days I was busy training for practicum. I passed and I am so relieved! Now that this module is complete, we go for Christmas break. Upon returning from the break, we get a few days to review before we have to take our final for the whole program on New Year’s Eve. The final exam for the program will include everything we’ve learned so far, and is also a great way to review everything for practicum.
So far I have begun reviewing medical terminology and pharmacology to prepare for Nursing Unit Clerk practicum. In the upcoming weeks before heading out for practicum, I am hoping to visit the hospital and the unit. It will be nice to know where I need to go and how to commute there as I will be sky training and taking the bus. After taking the Providence training I feel less anxious. The training was extremely interesting and I really enjoyed it. We were taught how to use the Providence Health Care computer systems, how to submit orders, what forms are used at the hospital and we also got a tour of the hospital. Although my practicum is at Mount Saint Joseph and not St. Paul’s hospital, they are very similar. As for my second practicum, we learned a little bit about how Fraser Health’s computer system works, but there is no additional training prior to the practicum there. I am excited to have my second practicum so close to home. For the most part I feel very well prepared going in to practicum but my nerves are getting the best of me. I guess it’s normal to be nervous but I am hoping that my excitement takes over closer to practicum so i can enjoy the experience and learn even more.
I cannot believe I am already nearing the end of my program! It literally feels like just yesterday that I was starting my first day at Stenberg in the Nursing Unit Clerk program. Time flew by so fast and by mid February I will be done! It has been such a good experience at Stenberg and I have learned so much. I could not have asked for a better instructor than Wendy and I will miss Stenberg. For now I am going to enjoy my break and I hope everybody else does too. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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