NRP

Well today it was made official that it is ok with the American Acadamey of Pediatrics if I have to perform life saving maneuvers on a neonate. I sat through a series of 7 tests, and 2 return demonstration check offs in order to prove that I was capable of handling any situation presented to me in the NICU or L&D setting where an infant is unable to breathe or their heart stops beating. Wow! It sounds so very professional to have this certification, but what it really means is that when the @#$% hits the fan they're going to turn to me and say, hey what do I do now?, and I have to know what to do. I will be officially out of orientation (meaning I will be caring for patients completely all by myself, with no help) in the middle of September, and I must say it scares me to death. To think that I will be responsible for these little lives, and I must know how to care for them and how to teach the families how to care for them is a rather daunting thought. I know that this is what I have worked for so long, but to actually have that responsibility placed upon me and to feel the weight of it is quite different from taking tests and performing skills in clinicals. I find myself thinking of the serenity prayer as I take on each new assignment and meet each new day.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful worldas it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with
Him Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr