The Deets...

I've had several people ask me what exactly I do as an intern here, soooo

((I hope this is not overly monotonous...))

As I've mentioned, I work with two preceptors on my floor, so between their two schedules, I think I've worked every shift possible at Mayo :) Most commonly, I work Days- 7am-330pm, which goes by super fast compared to the 12 hour clinical shifts that I'm used to back home. I also work Evenings- 3-1130pm, and a few 12 hour day and night shifts. I worked my first two night shifts last weekend, and was incoherent at best by Monday morning... Let's hope I can get ahold of a day shift as a new grad :)

My alarm goes of at 5am... my second alarm goes off at 5:05... my third alarm goes off at 5:10... my fourth alarm- just kidding :) I'm up!

Most of the interns commute via the Rochester bus system, so there's usually a full bus that leaves our townhouses at 6:30. I get up to my floor around 6:40 and start looking up all of the history, diagnoses, meds, orders, and basically anything else about our patients for the day. Mornings are a whirlwind of assessments, med administration, helping patients with eating/bathing/anything that they need, and lots of charting.

My preceptor and I do a full assessment on each patient in the morning, which has been a great opportunity to improve my assessment skills. As an intern, I'm not allowed to administer medications, but my preceptors are great about making me explain medications to our patients, so basically all I'm missing out on is physically handing the med to the patient. Especially in a specialized facility like Mayo, nurses are instrumental in coordinating the different disciplines that serve each patient since nurses are the ones with the patient 24/7; we spend time speaking with physicians, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, discharge coordinators, and any other disciplines following our patients. There is never any downtime in nursing- I love it :)

When I'm done with my shift, I literally collapse in our townhouse. My housemates joke that I have some form of narcolepsy. I usually try not to take a nap, buuuut let's be real- I usually do :)

Captured by my lovely housemate, Kathryn. I ((obviously)) had no knowledge
of this picture until I saw it on Facebook. Thanks buddy :)

Days that I don't work, I usually spend with some of the other interns at the lake, downtown, or just hanging out in our townhomes. Everyone is great about making the most of our time in Rochester- I've kept really busy between work and having fun around Minnesota. I have about four weeks left at Mayo and I feel like it's going to go by crazy fast. I'm trying to enjoy every moment of this summer as I continue to realize just how amazing this opportunity is :)

All of the interns at the Mayo Foundation House