Information Overload

    The last few days have been a little hectic. I am almost completely moved into my new apartment. I've met my roommate, and she seems like she'll be great. I'm going to code name her Macaron cause they look delicious. I've continued orientation to a brand new hospital. I've turned on my electricity and purchased internet. I'm living in a new town. I've got all of my scrubs ready for my first day on the floor on Friday. I'm ready to settle in a little bit.

     A few stories for you:

    There are 11 new nurses going through orientation with me. Orientation starts every two weeks and the nurses spend most of their time together. We've developed some comradery between us since we've spent the last week and a half sitting in the same classroom. It's kind of fun to have people around you who are going through the same things. A few days ago, we were all talking about how we've gone from being unemployed with no income to actually getting paid. One of the girls said, "Guys, we're going to get our paycheck, and it'll have our very first comma!" I didn't realize until then how important commas could be outside the realm of grammar. :)  While money isn't everything, it's definitely a perk of being employed.

    Secondly. It took me a total of 2.5 hours to single-handedly move everything in completely. My parents came later with my large furniture items, but I realized just how little I have when I looked around at my apartment full of my possessions and couldn't tell anyone was living there. I'd say I'm off to a pretty good start, but there's still a long ways to go.

   Thirdly, I turned 22 last week. I was awakened at midnight on my birthday by my lovely sister blasting Taylor Swift's song 22.  One line in the song says, "We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It's miserable and magical."  I know Miss Swift did not write this song for me, but it is so true. There's so much to figure out and so much potential to mess up. However, there's also so much opportunity to learn and grow. I think I'm ready. 

   

Why I might have picked the wrong profession

Haha! I got you! That's called good writing- picking a title that will make people go, "What? I thought you loved nursing?" Aren't I clever?

Here's the fact:  I LOVE nursing! Sitting through orientation is long and somewhat boring, but I also have the opportunity to learn just how cool nursing is! The reason I might have picked the wrong profession is because I would be an AWESOME nurse recruiter. I should get paid big bucks to go talk to high schoolers about choosing the best profession in the world.

Here's why:

1. You get done in four years. No medical school. No required master's program. Four years and you get a real job.  If you just want to start real life and get a job, nursing is for you!
2. You can go on in school if you want. There are so many opportunities! You can become a nurse practitioner, certified nurse specialist, educator, nurse administrator, or get your doctorate in nursing. If you're one of those crazy people who likes to punish themselves by always being in school- nursing is for you too!
3. If you're a nurse, you can totally work part time. Or overtime. You can get a job with pretty much any schedule you want. I knew a nurse who worked three weekend night shifts each week and that was it. He got a full work week in and was able to stay at home during the week with his kids. If you want to have normal hours, you can work in a clinic and be at home when your kids come home from school. If you want to be a full time mom and work one day a week, you can do that! No matter what your schedule calls for- nursing is for you!
4. If you can get through nursing school, you can basically go in whatever direction you want after that. You can work with patients every day or you can sit in an office. You can teach! You can travel! If you don't like people, you can be a nurse anesthetist and put people to sleep. If you are really passionate about diabetes (weirdo) you can do that every single day. If you want to handle cool technology, you can do that. If you want to hold babies, you can do that too. No matter what you like or how much you can handle blood- nursing is for you!
5. You get to care for patients. You get to hold someone's hand during a very stressful and scary time. You can teach someone how to manage a complicated disease and see their eyes light up when they finally get it. You get to learn and grow as a person every single day. If you care about people- nursing is for you.

I could go on, but I think that my word count is inversely proportional to how many readers make it through this post, so I'll stop. I made it through my first week of real work! It's been good. :)
I'll be back!

-C-

I'm employed!

    I figure that since I am officially employed, I actually have something to say on this lovely blog. I am not promising consistent posts, but I find writing out stories therapeutic, and I know there are a few people who like to keep tabs on what I'm doing. (Mom and grandma-I love you!)

    Before I give an update, I'd like to tell a story:
This summer, I applied to quite a few jobs. As in probably twenty per week. I accidentally memorized every phone number of every employer I've had, my driver's license number, and the address of Mayo clinic.  I applied to jobs that I had absolutely no interest in at hospitals where I absolutely no interest in working, and I heard absolutely nothing.
   Although for the most part I was trusting that God had a plan for me, there were a few rough days. (At one point, I literally lay on my couch face-down and cried) There was one day in particular where I was feeling particularly discouraged.  My mom and sister worked really hard to cheer me up- partially by helping me eat my feelings. That night, God and I had a really long talk. I think the reason I had to wait for so long was so God could teach me humbleness and how to trust in him. Waiting for a job while other nurses were employed was hard for my pride. The next morning, I got a call for an interview.
  I want to share that story because I think I learned my lesson. All of my blessings are given to me by God. Even if I was the best nurse in the world, I should only boast in Jesus Christ and not be proud. Part of being not-proud is being willing to tell people humiliating things so...Tada!

    Update: I am working at a hospital in Illinois. I am on a telemetry (cardiac/heart) floor. This is the same kind of stuff that I did at Mayo Clinic which is very exciting for me. I will be doing orientation on days, but eventually I'll switch to nights. I started orientation this week. Today I took a five hour assessment of my skills that was a big jolt back into the nursing world. It's all going well, but isn't terribly exciting at this point unless you'd like me to go into detail about falls and restraints and blood glucose monitors.
Also, I am renting a condo less than twenty minutes from the hospital and about an hour from home. I'm moving in on Monday. It's cute and I like it. I have a roommate as well who will probably acquire her own code name at some point. :)

Final point- I am no longer working at Mayo. Therefore, my blog name- Lettuce, Tomato, and Mayo- is no longer applicable. Therefore, I will need a new blog name. Therefore- I am calling on my readers (Hey mom!) to give me suggestions for a new blog name!

Untitled

    As I'm sitting here, I have battled back and forth on what the mood for this post should be. Should I be funny? Should I be reflective and somber? Should I be factual and boring? I'm struggling with this cause here's the deal. I love what I am doing on my unit, and I personally am doing very well emotionally. However, when I talk to other people, I don't know how to talk about my experiences. On one hand some experiences are so so sad. There are patients who break my heart. On the other hand, I have felt so much joy when working with some patients. I am amazed and humbled by the strength of my patients. On the other hand, a lot of what I do wouldn't make for a very interesting blog. I'm running out of hands, so basically I don't know how to convey what I want to tell you. Basically, be prepared for some emotional whiplash.

     Here is a fact: cancer sucks, but God is still good.
 
     Another fact: because God is good, even cancer patients can have hope.

    One thought that I've been having this week is that as a nurse, I can get very used to things that are odd to other people. For example, I have to get a rectal (butt) swab from any patient who is admitted to our unit. For me, this isn't a big deal, but for some patients it is very intrusive and awkward. I am not allowed to give chemo, but already I can take it in stride. The patients who are receiving chemo for the first time are terrified. What I need to remember is that they aren't used to this. I can't forget that.

  When I get off of my twelve hour shifts and still have an hour and a half commute back to my dorm, I can get a little loopy. I ride with my nursing friend who also has her Capstone at Northwestern. One time on the train, we wrote a song. I had been talking to doctors a lot that day and this is the result.

To the tune of Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Do you want to give a bolus?
My patient needs some fluids soon
His blood pressure is running low, he doesn't need to go
He's about to swoon!
It used to be an order, but now it's not
I wish you would tell me WHY!?!
Do you want to give a bolus?
We really need a bolus.
Ok bye

Can you order me a norco?
My patient's in a lot of pain!
He's been screaming for two hours now, I don't know how,
I'm going to stay sane!
It gets a little crazy, all these iso rooms
Gowning up every time
Gown, gloves, gown, gloves, gown, gloves, gown, gloves

Doctor,
Please, I know you're still here
Patient's been asking where you've been
I say have patience and he's trying to
He's waiting here for you, so come on in
We only have your number, for emergencies
What are we going to do?
Do you to give me a call back?
......*Click*.........

     So..... yeah. We had fun. My patients are fantastic. Most of them are in the hospital for a very long time, so I currently know over half of the floor from taking care of them in the last few weeks. I love that. I love that when they are walking around the unit I can ask them how they're doing and how their treatment is going. I love that when I walk into their room to help another nurse with something, the patient can greet me by name and be excited to see me. I love it.

I'm tired and I'm working tomorrow, so I'm going to go. Talk to me sometime and I'll tell you more.

So much love,
-C-

Back in the game

Within the last week, I have completed 72 hours of working at Northwestern. I worked Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday. This includes an hour and a half commute each way. Let me tell you, it was exhausting. I stayed with my friend in Chicago the first two days, but then I started taking the CTA. This means that I get up at 5:00am and get back around 9:30pm.

I love my unit! My floor mostly works with patients who have leukemias (blood cancers) and who are receiving stem cell transplants. There are two other cancer floors in my building that work with solid tumors and palliative patients.  If patients are getting stem cell transplants, they are scheduled to come in and then stay for roughly a month without any complications. This means that the patients are there for a long time. This can be a good and a bad thing. Some other time, I'll go into more detail about the transplant process. It's fascinating. We have 33 beds on our unit, and the nurses are assigned 3-4 patients every day.

I've really enjoyed working with my nurse. For blogging purposes we'll call her Cinnabon ( I wanted to stick with the theme of yummy desserts from the summer but wanted to avoid Dilly bar or Turnover). She allows me to be as independent as possible while still feeling supported. I have been able to work with three patients that are "all my own". Hopefully, this week I'll be able to get a full patient load. Cinnabon is really good at explaining things to me, but also challenging me to figure things out on my own. When we work together, we are extremely efficient and sometimes end up finishing our tasks very early.

The first day I worked, I mostly just observed and learned. The second and third day, I worked alongside my nurse and did most of the work, but with her beside me. The next few days, I started to take my own patients. The tricky part about this is that I'm not allowed to give chemo or distribute blood products, and this is very common on my floor. This means that I still have to rely on Cinnabon for a bunch of things, but she's good about making me feel like I'm still doing something :)

Sometime, I'll tell you more about my patients, about my unit, about the chemo and transplant processes, and other such nonsense, but I'm not in a creative mood and straightforward facts are just boring. It's going well, and I'm enjoying it. This week, I'm working three days. I'll see you on the flip side.

Adios!

-C

I am my parent's daughter

Over the past year I have found that I find great enjoyment in tasks that a lot of people would find tremendously tedious (say that five times fast). Today, I was reminded of some past experiences that I've had that I'd like to share with you.

*Flashback to last summer*

It was while I was at Mayo Clinic. I was asked in January if I would stand up in a friend's wedding. Now it was mid-June and I was in semi-rural Minnesota, stranded without a car, and desperately wanting to go home. What were my options? 1. Have my parents come get me- not a great option for them. 2. Fly- pretty darn expensive. 3. Borrow a car- not likely since I had only known these people for about 3 weeks.
4. Figure out a better way.
So figure out a better way I did (that is terrible grammar, but adds dramatic effect). I scoured the internet for train routes, bus routes, taxi routes, underground tunnel routes, and personal helicopter routes. I am known for my frugalness, so price was a big factor as well as my time. I ended up finding a bus route that only had one transfer and got me to Chicago in about 8 hours. Sounds simple enough, but it was very difficult and tedious to find the best option. Later in the summer, I also figured out the best way to get to Cedar Rapids for another wedding. That time, the most efficient and cost-effective option was renting a car. It was pretty fun.

*Flash-forward to December 2013*

It was while I was on Christmas break. I was going on a road trip with four of my best friend to Washington D.C. It was basically up to me to plan the entire trip. I had to think about hotels, the car we were to use, the attractions and their prices, meals, maps, and money. I loved it. I had so much fun planning, and although not everything turned out as I had planned, it was a great learning experience.

*Flash-forward again to today*

Today I drove to Northwestern for my orientation. Let's just say that it was a little bit stressful. Could I handle it? Yeah! Could I do it again? Yeah! Could I get used to it? Maybe! However, it wasn't the most fun. So, I began researching. I had done some research before, but I felt like the options weren't that great. However, this time, I was successful! I believe I've found a route that is equally comparable to time I would spend in the car, a little cheaper, and reduces a lot of stress. Yay me!

My point to all this is that I enjoy working out those details. I find joy in finding the best bargain. This is a trait that I have received from my parents. Both of them are wonderful at finding the best deal, the best route, and the best ideas.
That's all. I'm pretty proud of myself. I'll let you know how I'm feeling after my first two back to back shifts next week!

Amor,
Carolina

Start of Something New

Hey y'all!

It's been awhile. Like, a long while. Since I last blogged, I have completed 3/4 of my senior year at Trinity. Overall, it has been a good year. The reason I am writing again is because next week I will start my Capstone experience. The purpose of capstone is to provide a role for nursing students to transition from student to nurse. In all honesty, it's very similar to what I experienced at Mayo, just with more actual responsibility. I have to work 180 hours in the next 7 weeks. I follow a preceptor (similar to my coaches at Mayo) and gradually take on a full patient load. I'll still have supervision, but I will be the nurse.

My capstone placement is at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. I had to interview for this position back in December. Funny story: while I was waiting to hear the results of the interview, they told us the wrong date that we would hear. I was home on Christmas break, and I was basically glued to my computer, updating it every five minutes or less, waiting for the email. Unfortunately, it didn't come until a week later :( However, i got the position, and I am very excited! I will be on an oncology/hematology unit. I have expressed interest in oncology before, so I am grateful for the opportunity to try it out before I start applying for jobs. I'm working 12 hour day shifts which was my preferred shift. Unfortunately, that means I'll be driving to downtown Chicago during rush hours. Bleh.

In my dream world, I would have this internship, get offered a job, graduate from college, pass the stinkin NCLEX, get an apartment, and start working all within the next four months. I'll update this lovely blog periodically to let you know if I'm surviving and tell you what I'm learning. We recently had a class about social networking related to nursing. Basically, I can't say anything about anything or I could lose my (nonexistent) license. I have to be so careful. I do believe however, that I can share how I am growing and learning throughout this process without sharing information about patients. So that's what I'm going to do.

Life is good, God is great, and nursing rocks. Wish me luck :)

Love to all,
Caroline