First day in the unit!

I just worked my first day (with my preceptor) in critical care, and it actually went pretty well! We had two patients, one stable and one unstable. I was far from perfect and my technique wasn't always what my preceptor wanted for skills, but she was never mean about it and I didn't do anything dangerous. We got along well and she said she liked my attitude. I already went through three weeks of orientation classes, and I still have 8 more of critical care class while I work 2 shifts a week on the unit. I also spent my preceptorship and all of MS 2 in critical care areas, so I got a little more experience than some people did in school. I never worked as a tech though, so I missed out on that learning experience.

I thought I would post and let other newbies and soon-to-be-newbies know that not everyone is in tears from the beginning! I enjoyed my day and look forward to going back! It was hard and we got out late, but I learned a lot just in my first day. If you like a challenging environment, don't mind asking questions, and can handle some pressure, then maybe the first day (can't speak to the whole first year yet) isn't always so bad!