5 MONTHS INTERNSHIP

how I started, where I am

Source: Pinterest (cos I don’t have a picture of myself on my scrubs)

How I started

Like every other person with a few exceptions, I started really anxious and scared and sad. To be very honest, I didn’t want to do my internship where I’m currently at so you can guess how much I suffered to gather all of the strength I needed to start. It was one issue or the other, I couldn’t win fighting the battle to be somewhere else. I wanted to be away from home yet close, I didn’t want to be somewhere they ran bi-shift, I also didn’t want to be where most of my coursemates were so the issues were a lot. It broke my heart in ways I couldn’t imagine and every time I fixed it, something else popped up that broke it again. I was mostly living a shadow of myself that time. I was even forced to go for the interview. My dad literally waited for me to dress up so he could take me there and I was frowning throughout. One, because I felt I wasn’t prepared (that didn’t matter because what they asked me was a simple question). Two, I just didn’t want to be there. Never have I ever imagined I would be there. It was a tough process to finally be at peace with it.

In between going for the interview to doing medicals with friends from school, sending measurements for scrub, sending the money only for it to hang in the air for a few days, discovering the salary, crying over and over again, obsessing over the videos of the place I originally wanted to be online, speaking to God about it, I found peace, mostly because I had prayed and cried to God about it (Philippians 4:8).

Moving forward,

Apart from the peace I felt, it also felt (still feels) like God has specific plans for making me stay back. I had finished my medicals, gotten my letter of appointment, finished all the processing and gone for my scrubs from the tailor and I made sure it fitted because at least I shouldn’t look like I didn’t want to join them in wearing the scrubs in the first place and also because the person who measured me for my uni scrub did a very horrible thing to me but I forgive them and I didn’t want it to repeat itself.

First day at work,

I resumed that morning with my friend, waited to be posted to where we would work for the month and I felt like my heart would rip out of my chest, it was beating fast and I feel like it would have been worse if I didn’t have Tofunmi by my side. We had gone to change in the ward nearest to the DNS office and it was a surgical ward. The matron in charge said and I quote “tell them I said I want to retain you”. In my mind I’m like ma God forbid because as much as I didn’t have any ward in mind to start, I knew I didn’t want to start at a surgical ward, male surgical ward, hmmmm hmmmm. My first ward was male medical and it just had to be male; always ready to prove ego.

It was very far from the DNS office so I had walked quite a distance before I got there and on my way, I made a video, panicked a little, prayed a little and cried a little. I got there and I honestly can’t remember if they were excited to see me or not but from signing the letter of posting to saying “I’m the new intern posted here ma” and answering a lot of thank you’s to the many welcomes, I found a place to drop my bag and join in for wound dressing. Yes on my first day! No I didn’t join them to dress the wound, I only just watched from a distance. Distance because there were about 13 students watching as well so it was quite tough.

If I tell you I came home that day and shed a lot of tears, would you believe?

Believe me or not, I cried! I had to be at work the next day so I cleaned my tears and slept.

2^nd day at work and subsequent days after,

The second day was great! I was able to fit in better than I did on the first day, I got oriented to the ward, I was able to ask questions. I was still hiding behind the students and the other interns there but this particular intern really helped me acclimatize. He was nice enough to answer my many questions and because we met earlier during the interview, somehow the bonding was fast. He has been there a month earlier so he knew the gist. I'm quite observant so it was easy for me to know the way around the ward in the first week I spent there after he had left but I wasn’t jumping to do things I knew I couldn’t do.

I wrote this on the 3rd day

The days went by a little too fast, it was day 3 and then day 4, then the next thing I knew was I had spent a week and then 3 weeks then the redeployment list came and I was posted to Accident and Emergency.

The shock!

Accident and Emergency and everything afterwards,

I hated A&E from school because I knew how stressful it was. I got to A&E but I loved it, surprisingly. I loved the thrill and the action but I hated that they put me frontline of action because I’m an intern though it helped, a lot. I learnt a lot of things. I wasn’t opportuned to ask a lot of questions because it’s an emergency unit and there’s just something to do but I was watchful and observant so I learnt a lot. I have an unconventional love hate relationship with working there anyways; I cried a little too much because something happened and somehow I was blamed for it blah blah blah but it was also the ward I got compliments and earned myself a nickname.

Again, redeployment! I was happy to leave but if they had said I should stay extra month, I would have probably loved it as well.

Oh, I got my two month salary and I changed my phone because I no come this life to suffer but best believe I was still asking my parents for transport fare till the next payslip came around.

I left A&E to spend two months in O&G unit where I met Xyz and then my crush that I talked about in my previous newsletter. I started talking better, involving more people in conversations, asking more questions and allathat sweet stuff.

I left to where I’m also about to leave; Children Emergency.

Another emergency? Perhaps you people have decided to take my life in this first 5 months.

I like emergency but I feel like there’s a level of training required than just what we’re taught in school so not yet.

Where I am,

I’m 5 months gone, still going strong and actually stronger than I started. I can’t exactly say doing this internship has been one of my favorite things about leaving school but let’s see where it eventually takes me.

I’ve learnt a few things and I want to share should incase you’re graduating nursing school this year, or just started your nursing internship or even starting internship anywhere:

• Involve God; this may sound cliche but you know you’re dealing with lives and you don’t want to make mistakes that will cost lives so involve God.

• You know it, but see how it is done first; fresh out of school plus you have some independence now, you want to get your hands into the job as soon as possible but I promise you still have so much time to do it so check how it is done first or at least how it works in the ward.

• Be observant; they will do orientation for you but because they are also humans and it’s very possible for them to leave out tiny pieces of information, take it upon yourself to observe and get acquainted, yourself.

• Have flexing friends around; on the days you’re off, you need to make sure you’re still sane, you’ll need them. It could be your friends from school, a fellow intern you were paired with or really the house officer that won’t let you rest at work.

• Smile but don’t shine teeth; at the end of the day, it is each to his/her own profession so smile with the doctors, physiotherapist, radiologist so if you need explanation about a condition, they don’t restrain the information from you. But don’t shine teeth with them cos then they can take advantage of that and tell you to pour them water to wash hands when the tap is not doing it’s own job (that’s ridiculous but you know what I mean)

• Ask questions; it’s a training in progress, NMCN doesn’t expect that you know everything, that’s why they didn’t send you into the world directly. Ask about the method of dilution for pediatric medication, the next steps, japa tips and all of that. Ask for your off days and public holidays as well. It’s your right. Don’t keep quiet!

• Eat and rest well; you’re taking care of patients, you don’t want to be one yourself

• Sometimes you don’t know how to do it; a likkle bad advice here but there are certain nurses that leave everything up to interns and younger nurses so if you show that you can do it without supervision, best believe they will allow you. So sometimes tell them you don’t know how to do it, don’t kill yourself, they are also being paid.

• Save your money but at the same time buy what you need; don’t say you want to save 50% of your salary every month oh. Except you’re a trustfund kid ofc.

• Be proactive; if not for anything, let them be able to say something good about your school. Take initiative for your patients, ask about the treatment regimen in advance, anticipate their needs.

• Leave an impact; to be honest in the tiniest ways, go round and greet your patients when you’re less busy, call their names and greet the relatives as well, do something nice for your matron, be respectful, come early to work, wear neat uniforms, smell nice. It’s really the little things!

I sure have made a few mistakes and have learnt some of these things the hard way. Moving forward I would also take my advice and give an update when I’m done with this internship thing (as I like to call it whenever I’m speaking with my friends)

I wish you a beautiful internship year!

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I wanted to go more in depth with this newsletter so I could entice more people to study nursing but I also didn’t want it to get long hence this.

If you enjoyed reading, I would like to know if you did so please drop a like, would you?

If you also have any lesson you learnt during your internship, please share with us in the comment section, thank youu

Till next time,

Xoxo,

Damilola.