So here I am, four years after my last post. Much has happened since then- I will give you the short version-

My time on the psychiatric unit was life changing. It led me to think seriously about becoming a nurse. I started off becoming a certified nursing assistant, then transferred to the Emergency Department to work as an ED Technician. I went to school, hammered away at prerequisites. I applied to nursing school, and I got in.

Nursing school was difficult- I began in January 2018. Semesters, minimesters, exams, study groups and clinical rotations. I met some amazing folks. My hospital was purchased in 2019, and we went from a not for profit to a for profit entity overnight. I interviewed and was offered a position in the New Graduate Nurse Residency for the Emergency Department. I graduated December 2019. I took the NCLEX in January 2020. Things began to change subtly in the ED. A virus started ravaging China, Asia and was rapidly moving.

One of my clinical sites had been at a state operated drug and alcohol treatment center. I enjoyed it, and it moved with my life, my experiences, and my recovery. I saw an opening and interviewed- never expecting to be offered a nursing job as an inexperienced new grad. I interviewed in January. They liked me, they offered me a job with comparable monies and better benefits. I accepted and resigned from Mission.

I began in March, working with a preceptor, learning the ways of a rehab. A rehab that has a large percentage of psychiatric issues that come through the door. In the midst of a viral outbreak that has everyone sheltered in place at home. While a reality TV persona threatens, berates, and goes against media, experts, common sense and decency. It is a very strange world. I feel as though I have entered the pages of a Stephen King novel.

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