Let you in on a little secret; I have been employed part-time somewhere since the age of 14 which makes up about 9 years of my life. At the age of almost 22 I'd say that's pretty good! My jobs have been within the same realm of expertise whether that is teaching swimming lessons, lifeguarding a pool, teaching people CPR/ Lifeguarding, management of a water park. I made the conscious decision following my 5th summer being in management at the local water park that it would be the best choice for me to make the transition to working in a place of my future employment as a certified nursing assistant in an acute setting (hospital). Well, little did I know this would be easier said than done. Originally I was thinking that why wouldn't a 22 year old nursing student be an attractive hire as a CNA somewhere.....I dunno...but apparently I was wrong, or the right fit just hasn't been established yet. I eluded to this job search back on this post {here}.
Well, yesterday I got the inevitable email I was hoping would never come. My secondary job I currently hold is at a local YWCA and have worked there since the fall of 2007. The Aquatic Coordinator emailed us to inform us that on May 14th a summer availability will be due and that there will be a weekly schedule that will remain for the entire summer. Well this puts me in a panic; I want a job at a hospital; but I need to make money; but I don't want to give up on a summer job at a hospital.
So I'm put at a place of many unknowns which scares me, and puts me in a place of vulnerability and insecurity; a place I've never really been. I now can relate with people who have lost jobs, and don't know where to turn,...and believe me my situation is miniscule compared to most of the world.
Today when I was peruzing my regular blogs I read I ran across these two; and I found encouragement and hope. I will continue to take one day at a time & seek God to show me the right way to go.
I read the update on 8-day old baby Nora who was diagnosed before birth with Trisomy18 and most doctors suggest parents to terminate the pregnancy early because these babies aren't "compatible with life". However, Nora's parents did not feel this way and she is documenting their journey. She talks about how their life is full of unknowns and living in worry can strip away living in happiness of the moment and taking life as it comes; this put life into perspective for me and gives me hope. Visit {here}.
Another blog I read is called Running on Happiness, and true to form one of her posts has the above music video titled, "Living in the moment". Which a certain brother of mine is really good at, and is definitely not my strength. So you can read her post {here}.
Be encouraged, and find hope in the little things. As my mom told me last night; control the things you can control and let go of everything you cannot.
The best things in life sometimes come in simple containers; I tried
everything else to try and "save money" and my hair was not
approving...so as a result; I'm back to the best! Aveda never steers me
wrong!
This weather has been super weird! But as a creature of comfort, I love these shorts & a good white-T!
...but seriously today was especially a long day...
21 April 2012
So one week from today I will be turning 22.....that's a thought. Good thing I have another year of nursing school, I like to think of it as a bonus year of "childhood".
Speaking of adulthood, I find myself day dreaming about the future and where life will take me and what plans God has for me and it gets me excited.
A few blogs that I read especially made me get excited for the prospect of future plans.
Emily just got married last weekend and is on a honeymoon trip to {Italy}
....I have no prospective man on who I plan on getting married to but like I said...who knows!
Then my favorite family/ baby/ mom blog is Kristin talking about her family and her world travels always makes me jealous. These posts {here} & {here} are about their family of 3 living in France for a month and now most recently we read they are enjoying their stay in the Bahamas!
My dream has always been to live abroad, and travel especially a new family of 4 to be! P.S. I probably won't travel to the Bahamas but somewhere warm will be nice :)
There are approximately 3 weeks left of class,
but only 2 weeks left of clinical = only 2 more FULL TNC'S TO WRITE!! {3 of 5 completed!!}
I see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's called summer :)
That is all...now I have been food deprived all morning because of working on my TNC, so off to get some breakfast/lunch...something like that :)
P.S. I was looking back at a year ago on my blog....kinda funny how Minnesota weather is....look {here}
Today's weather is cool but sunny, so in the shade your cold but in the sun it's just warm enough to take off your coat. So no snow...that's a good thing?
These clinicals really do go by in a blink of an eye, and in that case it really makes me want to be a nursing student the rest of my life. On the other hand I would really just like to be fully licensed and switch departments every 5 weeks or so...
Three things that made me smile today:
1) Feeling of accomplishment as an "independent" nurse
2) When a care plan works - stick with it!
3) When my patient told me instructor that I was a keeper, and at the end of the day when she told me that I would have a great career and thanked me for making her day very pleasurable
Rule #3 of Post-Op Orthopedics:
When specific care plans and interventions work - stick with it, if it ain't broke; DON'T FIX IT. This will make for a pleasurable and good day for all parties involved.
Successful Day 3 - Thank you to a great nurse! Good warnings, and a patient that I was able to help.
Well, now it's time for thinking nursing care plan, nursing diagnoses, and interventions.
I think I can, I think I can,...
Let me just describe to you a snapshot of my morning....
5:45am Alarm goes off, I get jolted out of a deep sleep, and have to reorient myself to time & place. Then I remember I have to register for Fall courses and I say a quick prayer that it all works out and I can get the schedule that I am hoping for.
5:59am one of my friends from school text me and ask if I can register yet, I respond nope not yet...
6:00am I begin the tedious process of typing in all the CRN registration numbers
....loading....
6:05am Error has appeared on the screen I start to get up tight, try again
6:15am My friend who lives off campus finally says she's gotten in the classes
6:16am - I finally just realize its best case scenario to have her register for me from her computer not using campus networking that doesn't work at all lately
6:20am - I get the text that tells she thinks I should be registered
6:25am - I double check and head back to bed....only long enough to have to get up to work by 8:30am. Thank goodness for coffee and caffeine!
Registration is stressful, I'd be lying if I told you that my heart didn't start racing when my alarm went off. I would also be lying if I told you that I will miss having to register every semester. Now tell me why registration has to be at such a awful hour; I know why...because the registrars office can't and won't do anything for you at 6am....because they are fast asleep enjoying dreamland!
The bright side of things...I think I got exactly what I planned. So I will be doing a variety of clinicals next fall, but I will be spending most of my time at the St. Paul Pediatric Hospital so that should be good!
14 April 2012
So..I can't sleep. AWESOME....I can't seem to be productive either....even more AWESOME.
Not important. Hopefully tomorrow is a really productive day.
Guilty! I spent a fair chunk of change...though I really did need shoes. I was wearing the same shoes everyday of the week, and lets just say the sole of the shoes were basically gone.
So this is what I ended up with...
I finally was able to throw away my other rain boots that had a HUGE hole in them...(purchased size 7)
These are really bright pink in real life! (Purchased size 6.5)
These replaced my old & only pair of shoes of which the sole was wearing through...(purchased size 5.0)
Now as you can see...good thing I tried all these shoes on because not one is the same size!
So this was my splurge of the weekend, now I'll go back to being socially isolated and nursing student once again....
Note to Self:
Rule #2 - The best thing as a nursing student is live in the moment while at clinical, each day is unique and there will never be enough of them. I do what I can, and for everything else I ask for help to learn as much as possible. Also, individualize, your patients will notice the little things and appreciate them.
Successful Day 2 on my own! Advocating for myself and my patient with the help of a really great supervising nurse and a patient with a great sense of humor {never bored!}! Now about those nursing diagnoses....
5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
07 April 2012
Sometimes a little bit of a good old best friend is all you really need ... oh how times change! :)
Someday I will ride in one of these darn things, I think they are the
most awesome, coolest, romantic, crazy, fantastic inventions there are! {yes please}
I just thought I would share that post with you, during my "quick"
break between analyzing the functional health patterns of my patient I
had this week. But it's not an understatement I really do love hot air
balloons!
That is all, I gotta continue on with this analysis-filled evening.
Note to self:
Rule #1 - Don't ever question the pain medication schedule, if it says take every 3 hours, offer every 3 hours. Stick to what is ordered around the clock, it will prevent a lot of paint and discomfort for the person in post-op orthopedics and eliminate a lot of struggle and ache for you.
Successful Day 1 r/t an awesome clinical partner, a attentive clinical instructor, and a little bit of complications to throw in the mix to keep things interesting! :)
Welcome to the new month! April has sprung, which means it's my birthday month & maybe time to finally get those hunter rain boots I've always wanted...then again, maybe I'm just dreaming.
Reality starts tomorrow, the weekend is never long enough!
If you're bored here's my April fools post from last year {here}
Okay, okay, I never said I was very creative ever.
Goals for this week: Survive clinical week 1! [including passing my med calc exam; again on Tuesday]
