So I "met" my new program mentor yesterday. I introduced myself as "the psychiatric nurse that you're inheriting from Baby Nurse." She laughed and said "you and I are going to get along just fine!"
She has a Southern accent that could cut glass. I lived in the South for more than a decade, so I understand almost all dialects of Southern...except mountain North Carolinian. I understand Welsh better than the mountain North Carolinian accent. So I shall refer to her as Belle.
I introduced myself, we chatted...she was excited that I enjoyed psych. She asked me about why I chose education over NP. I told her it's because I wanted to do more than just prescribe medications. She stated that she didn't pursue Psych NP for the same reason. I told her that I wanted to have a more interactive role with others, and that I've always enjoyed mentoring and nurturing others. She felt the same way.
I never asked what area(s) she specialized in...but could it be my mentor IS a psych nurse?
If so, that would be awesome! I often don't meet others of my kind in school except for those who are teaching a psychiatric nursing course.
So things got off to a good start between us. I have a feeling we're going to have a great relationship.
I talked to Belle and told her that I needed to push my arbitrary course deadline back to August 31 (it was originally August 25) due to being sidelined with a double ear infection and then an allergic reaction to antibiotics. She said "oh, bless your heart" and understood why. So my new deadline is now August 31. That gave me some of my motivation back, so instead of feeling like I was up against the gun, I had a decent amount of time to produce a decent performance assessment.
Southern lingo note: the meaning of "bless your heart" is very dependent on the context it's used in. In this case, it was sympathy.
Speaking of allergic reactions...I hauled myself to the doctor to get it checked out. Surprisingly, I was able to get a same day appointment with my regular PCP. She looked at it, said it was possibly an allergy though questionable if its a true allergy (a localized rash, instead of generalized hives that I experience with the other antibiotics I'm allergic to). So she marked it as an allergy with a note about whether it's a true one. She also counseled me that if it came down to me taking the antibiotic, to go ahead and take it. I agreed.
She said I was treating the rash correctly and that it should go away in a couple of days. Sure enough, today it is gone except for some remnants of redness.
