lucky to know her

cassie is one of my very best friends. she and i graduated from nursing school together five years ago this june. i think highly of her in general. she is a unique soul and one of the most phenomenal friends. i am so lucky to know her.

in terms of nursing, i know that cassie is a fantastic nurse too! she has had several different nursing jobs. she has worked in clinics for vulnerable popultations - women, children, refugees, and the homeless. she excels in crazy, unpredictable situations. and her patients love her because she cares about them - because she offers them something no one else has - a listening and empathetic ear, a thoughtful and professional assessment, and equal care and treatment. her patients are lucky to know her too.

tomorrow, cassie is embarking on a new nursing adventure. she is starting a new career as an advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) in the emergency room at harborview medical center. for those of you who don't know what an ARNP is, think nurse with prescriptive authority. essentially, cassie will be like any other physician's assistant or medical doctor. she will work autonomously, seeing patients, making diagnoses, prescribing medications, and performing invasive medical procedures. she will work side by side with er docs, but because she is first and foremost a nurse, she will think of patients as humans, not diagnoses, and she will treat their comprehensive needs, not just their medical ones.

i see cassie as a confident and strong-willed person. she always shows up with a smile on her face and does her very best (we're both perfectionists, perhaps it's why we understand one another and are such good friends). but today, i know her in a different light. i know she is nervous. she is pacing around her darling home, picking up piles of things, re-arranging furniture, and baking banana bread. she is laying out her scrubs for tomorrow's first day, packing her lunch (although she'll be too nervous to eat the hummus and vegetables tomorrow), and studying note cards in case there is one last thing to learn to prepare her for the unknown.

of course, this new job will be challenging. cassie will see VERY sick patients, people in VERY vulnerable scenarios. but i have confidence that cassie will do her best. and as mentioned before, her patients will be healthier and happier once they have seen her. and they all will be lucky to know her!