Broken bones

Next week, I will be finishing up the end of the Spring semester and staring graduation right in the face. Only a few classes and one more clinical rotation stand between me, my diploma, and a career I can't wait to start.

Over the past two and a half months, I have been training as an Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Nurse Practitioner. This is my sanctuary. It is my personal heaven. I always thought that whenever you find that proverbial "niche" that it was overrated. Well, I am always the first to admit when I have made a mistake and it is everything it is cracked up to be. EVERYTHING. Finding that confidence that sometimes feels so far in the distance is a feeling that can never be bought or imitated. I have learned more about my skills and my abilities at the Bone and Joint clinic than I have in the two years I have been at Vanderbilt.

There is just something about that patient contact and using all of those assessment skills that were beaten into my head over the course of a year and a half, and the skills to get a diagnosis correct, which will ultimately change lives of every patient you see. I have been amazed at how trusting people can be, but, also, how vulnerable they can be at the same time. Visiting an MD or an NP, an individual puts their trust and, ultimately, their lives into that healthcare professionals hands. To me, that is a lot of responsibility. And definitely something that I want to be prepared for.

S0, now that I have finished training as an Ortho/Sports Medicine NP, which will one day be my livelihood, I can't wait to see what the future holds for me. Now of course, I still have a lot of learning to do, but it is that excitement that I always dreamed about feeling and, well....it's finally here.