ACLS certification

I did it - I'm officially ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) certified!  I was a little worried because they originally paired me up with this other woman - a woman that rarely speaks a word.  A woman that when told the scenario "Your patient is non-responsive...what do you do?"  She stood there & looked at her patient from a distance.  I wanted to push her towards the patient to do her ABC assessment.  :)  When the instructor asked for her to answer "what do you do?"  She replied "I'm going to stick a tube down her throat."  What???  Luckily, this was just the oral airway sign-off & wasn't part of the code.  The instructor paired me up with someone that was there for re-certification & we did great.  The scenario was we were at the mall & a woman drops to the ground in front of us - what do you do?  Step over her & keep walking???  Noooooo!  My partner started an assessment & I went to get the AED.  She started CPR, I hooked up the AED pads & we allowed it to analyze the patient.  Shock indicated...total of 3 shocks given.  Paramedics finally arrived & since we were ACLS nurses - they would follow our lead.  It was interesting, that's for sure.  There were a couple of people that didn't pass.  I felt bad for them.  I'm sure it was probably their own nerves that messed them up.  I also got recertified in BLS.  So now when I go for recertification in the future, I can get it all done in one shot.  It is such a relief to have this class over with.  It was very educational & I do feel like I know more now.  Little by little, the whole picture is starting to come together as far as cardiac nursing goes.  I'm sure there is a lot more to learn, but at least it's starting to be more clear.  The instructor kept calling Gina & I "baby" nurses.  Which is a good term for nurses that have less than a year of experience.  Soon we'll be walking...lol.

I can't believe it's October 1st already.  Where has this year gone?  I feel like all I've done is work, work, work.  I don't mind though.  I definitely did something right when I chose this line of work for a career.  I am sleepy - I've been up since 2:30 am.  Reason being - I went to sleep at 8:30 last night.  So I need a nap if I'm going to stay awake this evening.  Later all!