12 Hour Day Exhaustion

So this has been the first week of my Capstone clinical, and I am exhausted.  700-1900 is actually 700-2000 (trying to get used to military time!!), and getting up at 430 and going to bed at 2200 really makes it a 17.5 hour day, because there is no downtime, and all I do when I get home is eat and then go to bed.  I worked Monday, Thursday, had HESI on Friday, worked Saturday, and I was supposed to work today but my preceptor was put on call, and then I work Tuesday.  I got lucky that my instructor let me take off if my preceptor was off today because she needs me to work on my weekly journal, because normally I will just come in and work with someone else, but I am exhausted.  In an 8 day period, I will have worked 60 hours if I didn't have today off.  That is a third of the hours I need within basically the first week.  I so desperately needed the extra sleep I got today.

So, my Capstone experience has been somewhat hectic.  My preceptor was given 3 patients the first two days, and my nerves were through the roof.  I don't suck at doing assessments, but when family is in the room watching you, and you are already freaking out, it makes you feel like such an idiot.  Giving report to my instructor for the first time was a hot mess, and I was the dumb nursing student who forgot her password instantly.  I did get more comfortable by day 3 doing my assessments, I started charting on one of the patients, and I felt more comfortable period.  I still have a lot of things to work on, but I am feeling pretty happy to be where I am for my capstone.  I really like my preceptor, and I am glad that she and I seem to get along well.  I was worried that what if my preceptor hated me, so other than feeling bad at time where I feel like I am slowing her down, I think this part is going well.

I have been searching for different report sheets that help me, and tweaking them as I go.  Finding what works for me, and what doesn't, and adjusting as I go along is helping me.  This is really important for me as I need to find a way to organize myself so I can give report in an organized, thorough, and timely manner.  So that's my current work in progress.

So, I am tired, but feeling good at this point about how things are going for the most part!