The beginning of the end...

Hi guys :-)

Well I started back at uni this week. The first week of my third and final year, hence the beginning of the end. I have been on placement this week working long out of hours shifts and I must admit after dreading going back last week and being nervous as hell, I really enjoyed it. The first day i really felt like a fish out of water since I've not been at the hospital I was at this past week since June. It's amazing how quickly you forget things, even the basics! However, within a day or so it all came flooding back and it was like I'd never been away.

At this stage there isn't really much to say about what I've been up to as it's only the first week back. I've started being able to go and do portable chest x-rays by myself now which is great cos I was a bit nervous about progressing from second year to third year and the fact that we will be expected to be able to do most things or at least have a go at it. So off I went to ICU for my first one which was an NG tube check. I felt sick when I got back to the department to check the x-ray in case I'd messed it up but it was fine. I also did another couple of mobile chest x-rays by myself in A&E and again they were all okay and I could see the improvement I'd made with each x-ray. Not only with the x-ray itself but how I went about things and dealt with each situation. So I gave myself a big pat on the back for that because it would have been quite easy for me to say to the radiographers I'd rather not do it by myself or get them to do some of them or come with me because they offered if I didn't feel ready.

They were all extremely supportive. They could obviously see I wanted to have a go by myself but was understandably nervous about it so they were really encouraging and made it clear if I had any problems then to just ring them etc. It wasn't a case of forcing me to go, I was given the option to do so to build up my confidence and so I'm really glad I did.

I've noticed a change already going back this week in that you are given a lot more responsibility as a third year but I guess by now they know you quite well and are aware of your strengths and weaknesses so it's usually not anything you can't handle. If it's obviously going to be too much of a challenge then they always step in. I'm glad I've realised this early on as it's taken away some of the worry and meant I've had a great first week back. 

I'm off today because of the long shifts I've been doing - it means I have a shorter working week so today is the day where I actually will get something down on paper for my dissertation. I know exactly what I'm doing, I have my journal articles so I just need to get writing.

I'm hoping to post on here at the end of each week on placement so I should be back here again next weekend. Have a great weekend :-)