WOW! What a great week I've had since I last wrote! I started working with my preceptor on the maternity floor at a prestigious Boston hospital. I spent three days there last week, and every day it seemed to just get better and better.

First, here's a bit of background on my preceptor: She works twelve-hour shifts, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (I was really happy to be working with someone that does days because I am definitely not a night nurse! I love my sleep!). She seems really sweet and excited to be helping me out this semester. Every day, I am going to be in one of three places: post partum, newborn nursery, and the high-risk pregnancy floor. My nurse also runs a group for high-risk pregnancy moms-to-be every Thursday, so I am going to be able to go to that with her. I can't believe my four years of hard work have brought me to this!

Okay, on to my first day: It was a little slow, but it was perfect for an introductory period. My preceptor was so excited to help me and was very willing to show me some things that I hadn't learned before. She has been a nurse for 10 years and has been in maternity for five. This isn't the first time she has been a preceptor, so she has a good idea how to keep me involved and get me to reach my potential. I was really nervous, but she made me feel comfortable and able to ask her any questions that I had.

My second day was a little different. It was busier since we had five patients. The day before we had only two, so this was a little bit of a change. The women that I dealt with as patients were so unbelievably uplifting and positive about their care. I got to put them on the fetal monitors and the contraction monitors. My preceptor showed me how to read the strips so that I could tell when they were contracting or having fetal heart rate decelerations. She let me help with the note writing and let me give medications. It was a very busy, long day, but it felt so productive.

The third day was by far my favorite! In the morning, my nurse assigned me my own patient to care for that day. I was nervous, but I was comfortable with this particular patient because I had cared for her before. Then, my nurse got an admission and it didn't take long before we noticed how frequently she was contracting. We made the decision to call the doctor and then sent her up to labor and delivery.

As the day continued to wind down, my nurse got me the opportunity to go upstairs to the NICU! The NICU is where I want to be! I fell completely in love with the atmosphere and the babies. It is a completely different world than anything I have ever experienced. We took care of these two babies that were two and three pounds, respectively. They were twins that were born at 29 weeks! They were doing great, and one of them was taken off his assistive breathing device. It seems they are doing well, and I am glad to say that I participated in their care.

I haven't been back yet this week to see how the women are doing, but I work tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting back to work and seeing how soon I can head back up to the NICU. I'll be in touch!

Editor's note: Chelsea is a senior nursing student at small liberal arts college 20 miles outside of Boston. Her column "Last Semester" appears weekly, exclusively on StressedOutNurses.com.