New job ROCKS!

I've only worked two nights so far, but this job has the potential to be SO much better than my other one. I'm feeling more comfortable than I thought I would so far. Obviously I'm not doing a full load yet, but the past 2 nights I've basically taken total care of one patient. He was pretty easy, but I still did it all by myself. A lot of my concerns are going out the window as well. The people here are great so far. Lots of teamwork and so far I seem to be pretty well accepted. That's a HUGE change from my old job where the day shift was incredibly rude and tried to find mistakes so they could lord it over me. Then I kept finding out hidden "rules" that weren't written down anywhere. A full year after I started work I was still learning specifics about the schedule and other things ("you mean nobody told you that?"). I was orienting a new grad a few weeks ago and had her on her last night of orientation. I typically like to give a "grand tour" my first night with an orientee, and I was surprised that she hadn't had one. I figured she'd probably seen it all anyway, but made sure to offer it. That night she learned where the dirty utility room was (where we put equipment that needs to be cleaned), where the call rooms are (where to find the docs on nights), and where certain supplies were. Amazing!

I miss my old friends, but I think it will be pretty easy to make new ones. I have learned so much already, but I know I have a long way to go.

Problems so far:
1. I'm on 4 weeks of three-in-a-row nights. I haven't done that for a LONG time and I'm a bit bitchy when I don't get enough sleep. Plus, Tom's not that great about keeping the kids quiet when I'm sleeping. Thank goodness they're in school so that takes care of a good chunk of the day.
2. Adult patients are large and my back hurts and my feet hurt! Just one more reason to lose some weight!
3. No formal classroom. I talked to the educator (yeah! They actually have a staff educator) who mentioned that there's a class but that he wouldn't recommend it. On the bright side, there's a computer based program which is about to be rolled out that he did recommend. That's great! That way I don't have to come in on a day off, during the middle of the day, and I can do things a bit self-paced, which is what I need.

Great things so far:
1. Everyone is SO nice. At least on night shift. The little contact I've had with days has also been good so far. I already feel a part of the team, which is amazing considering how long it took me to feel that in the old job. My night shift friends were great, but it took me so long to feel comfortable there.
2. The level of teamwork is great.
3. I get to park in the garage - COOL!

I think this will work out quite well :)