i read with nostalgia, another thread (michelle123's: i did it!!!) about a person finishing their studies and about to embark on their own nursing career as mine nears closure. talk about memories over the 25 years. but the one most important memory for me, was the very first time that i signed my name, and appended the letters "rn" to the signature. it was such a sweet moment that i was momentarily stunned by it, and stared transfixed by my own name, lol...
at the time, i was already working on contingency in a local ed as a graduate nurse. they hire recent grads (as allowed by the state) on contingency status with the expectation that you will pass the boards. but we were required to sign our names as gn (for graduate nurse; that is, one finished with studies but still awaiting licensing confirmation). my mother, who had known that i was on pins and needles awaiting my board results, called me while i was at work and told me that there was an envelope from the state. i told her to open and read it. she did and told me that i had passed, confirming the status by reading my license number. i thanked her, hung up the phone and went back to what i was originally doing. i was about to sign off as the nurse sending a patient on transfer to another facility. but instead of appending "gn" i wrote "rn" for the first time. in and of itself, it was nothing clinically dramatic. there was no fanfare or fireworks, no back slapping or high fives; but it was the first time that i had acknowledged myself as an rn to the world. i had done it. it was such a profound personal moment that i almost cried.
so in that spirit, does anyone else here remember when was the first time that they signed their name as a full fledged nursing professional, and what the particulars were for their own situation at the time?
