On a positive note.......

Thanks for the happy! I have always loved my job. Overall, this career has been wonderful for me. Now, I am between situations, but it won't last long.

Holidays while nursing have always been fun for me. When I worked in the physician's office, we got flowers and candy. At the Radiation Center, the holidays were especially rewarding. After completing their therapy, the patients returned to visit with the treatment team. Sometimes, just the families returned. In the hospitals, there were smiles and good will.

Every type of food was available at some point from Thanksgiving week through the New Year. Staff brought yummies. Doctors sent baskets. Patients and their families prepared their best recipes and brought them to us. There were so many cards!

Here in Texas, it is tamale time. Tamales are usually made by a whole family, taking at least 12 hours to complete. Once started, tamales have to be finished. These home made tamales are the results of so much love from so many hands. My biased opinion, tamales are made to be eaten as soon as you can hide and eat one down! Back to work. Remember to wash.

Working holidays at night was always magic. Yes, the same routine was followed, but I always wondered if I would witness a miracle. I don't remember any holiday miracles, but I saw plenty the rest of the year.

Thanks, groovy jeff, for helping me remember the good stuff. Funny, I know that all of those years had 'bad' things happen, but I just remember the good stuff and fun stuff.

Tincture of time heals again.

Nice to hear this. I just spent an hour browsing this section where I don't yet belong, letting my happiness, confidence, and pride in my accomplishment (acceptance to my school of choice) deflate like a sad, sad balloon. Yet I couldn't stop reading them, thread after thread, over and over. It was crazy watching myself crash like that, knowing I was happy about my future in nursing, and studying anatomy and physiology (even though school doesn't start til Jan.) just this afternoon.

In any case, now that I have read your thread I am never coming back here. If I am to find out hard truths I will have to do it for myself and not rely on these stories, especially since the world will be a different place in three years. And especially since I'm a tad doom oriented anyway as far as my "big picture of the world and everything" outlook goes. The bad stories will always outweigh the good on the interweb simply because people who are stressed and upset necessarily seek support while those who happen to be content probably have survivors guilt, and fear they'll be seen as gloating about being happy in this apparent sea of discontent.

In any case, I am glad you see the value in posting your positive story. It has certainly had value for me.

Yay! I'm glad to hear other people are enjoying their new jobs too! I just finished my first week on a Med Surg floor and I love it! I mean, its really hard. REALLY HARD! But I love it! My preceptor is great, my fellow new grads are great and 99% of the experienced nurses and other staff on the floor are so supportive! Yesterday I had an amazing day working with a nurse with over 30 years of experience....she was AMAZING! Our patient's H&H tanked and she walked me through the blood transfusion! The whole day was a huge confidence booster. I know this is just the beginning and it will get MUCH harder before it gets easier, but I'm excited for the challenge!

Thanks for the good vibes guys! And whenever you have a bad day....try to keep one of the good ones in mind. The good days are worth so much more!

thanks so much for this uplifting post. i draw encouragement from it i wish you all the best of everything in your nursing careers !

praiser :heartbeat

I love my job too! Not all new grads are miserable in their jobs. Every day that I go to work, I think to myself I can't believe how lucky I am to get paid well for a job that I love doing!