First time you put your stamp on the world as "RN"

1. 4 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?

   Last edit by Emergency RN on Jan 23, '10

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2. 13 Comments

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3. 
   #1 1

   Jan 23, '10 by Bortaz, RN, ADN

   It was November 2, 2009, and it was a great experience. I was 41 years old and changing careers. It made all the trials and tribulations of nursing school seem ridiculously unimportant.
4. 
   #2 0

   Jan 23, '10 by Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, RN Senior Moderator

   I passed the boards and was at a classmate's house. I had updated my resume with my licensure information. My classmate proofread it and asked me why hadn't I put "RN" after my name like she did. It didn't occur to me to So as soon as I got home, I did.
5. 
   #3 0

   Jan 23, '10 by Perpetual Student

   Yep, last summer I became an RN. Like the OP I was working the same job I had been before graduating (in my case as an LPN, not a GN), so it felt kind of cool to write RN instead of LPN. I've got to admit that first night when I was charting (heck, the whole first week) I had to consciously think about the fact that I needed to write RN and not LPN after my name. Now I'm used to it but still slip up occasionally when totally exhausted.
   
   I don't have a cool story to go with. I knew my status when going in that night because I checked the state DOH license verification site.
6. 
   #4 1

   Jan 23, '10 by Dan's Sunshine

   Tonight will be the first night that I will be able to sign my charts as RN instead of LPN. Just thinking about it give me goosebumps. I can't wait to go to work!!
7. 
   #5 0

   Jan 23, '10 by Perpetual Student

   Awesome! Congratulations Dan's Sunshine!
8. 
   #6 1

   Jan 23, '10 by apocatastasis

   I agree with Bortaz, I was in the ICU and thought to myself about how stupid nursing school seemed at the time.
   
   Of course, for the next week, my preceptor repeateadly had to hunt me down to resign things because I couldn't remember to put RN after my name. Sorry, just too unreal!
   
   Now it's so automatic it usually flies out after every signature, which is kind of embarrassing.
9. 
   #7 0

   Jan 23, '10 by meadow85

   I did my consolidation at this hospital and was used to signing my name as "Jane Doe, SN" (for student nurse). I remember after I passe my boards I was signing off a chart and at the very end I excitedly wrote the letters RN after my name. It was an awesome moment
10. 
    #8 0

    Jan 23, '10 by sunluvarn

    Mine was last night (the facility I work in is paperless except for outgoing forms) working in LTC as a new nurse I had my first paper based form - Declaration of life extinct. One of my favourite residents passed peacefully and painlessly - an absoloute honour to be with her and a day I won't forget for many reasons.
11. 
    #9 0

    Jan 23, '10 by Coriander, BSN, RN

    I've bookmarked this thread, and thank everyone for telling their stories. I have just entered into my first semester of nursing school and am sure I'll be back here several times to be re-inspired by you all.
12. 
    #10 0

    Jan 23, '10 by OldnurseRN

    Like the OP I was hired for an oncology position upon graduation and we signed GN. The hospital had RN after our name on our badge already and it was taped over and inked in with the GN. My nursing class had 13 and many of us were in the 3 area hospitals. We were all scheduled to have the 2 days off to sit for our boards. back then every state had the same boards given on the same day. We even received number scores! When results came back we proudly took our letters to work and quite unceremoniously removed the taped GN from our badges. (I laboriously scrubbed the tape residue off.) There were a few crossed out/errored GNs at the end of my name but I eventually got the hang of it. There are things I've done in my life I wish I hadn't and even a few true regrets but when it has come to my career I have none. I have practiced with integrity, compaaion, and skill. I am a Registered Nurse!
13. 
    #11 0

    Jan 23, '10 by Student2Registered

    Before I had a chance to sign my name, RN, I was asked to cosign another RN at the pyxis. Now that was a big moment for me!!!
14. 
    #12 0

    Jan 24, '10 by kmarie724

    I've been racking my brain and I can't remember the first time I signed my name with "RN" after it. I suppose it was during my first orientation day at work.
    
    However, this thread did remind me of one my favorite nursing memories, the first time someone recognized I was a nurse outside of a clinical setting. My dtr was born literally days after I completed nursing school. So I wasn't quite an RN yet when this happened since I still had to take NCLEX, but I was almost there. Anyway, the day after I got home from the hospital the OB home care nurse called to set up a home visit. She asked me how the baby and I had been doing since we got home and I more or less gave her report on my dtr and myself. When I through she asked me "Are you a nurse?" It gave me so much confidence knowing that I had learned enough to sound like a professional and that another nurse could tell that I was a nurse just by talking with me on the phone.

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