Ok... things have progressed in the decision making process, as you can see, I'll be heading East.
**addendum: :) in case you're wondering why I chose Baltimore over all the other places, i thought I might write a bit of a clarification! At first I was extremely intimidated by the thought of working at this major hospital... but the more I spoke with other hospitals and I pondered the way this place did things, I really gained an appreciation for their unique way of running their oncology units. i will only have 2-3 patients and will be doing "primary nursing care." This means that I'll do everything for the patient, bathe them, walk them, turn them, etc.. along with all the other nursing tasks (assessments, medication administration, symptom management, education, etc) that I'm used to doing.
I've never worked anywhere that didn't have nursing assistants so this will be completely new for me, though I think it will be an amazing opportunity to be fully focused on my patients and really in-tune as to what's going on with each patient. Having a few years of nursing assistant experience under my belt will be extremely helpful.. PLUS I actually enjoyed my job better as an assistant because I felt like I actually spent more time with the patients. I'm praying that this new way of doing things will be a blessed opportunity for professional growth because either way its broadening my understanding of nursing.
Believe it or not, i'm starting to feel called to be away from the bedside.. NEVER thought I'd say that! when I was resource nurse the other day, i began to realize how much i love to teach people and be active in all that's going on on the floor (maybe that just means i'd be a good charge nurse? ha!). i did, however, start tossing around the idea of furthering my nursing education (seriously, me??? who knew?) and becoming a clinical nurse specialist in oncology. who knows!? part of me woud just relish in spending time studying cancer, cancer treatments and nursing involovement in that process. who knows what lies ahead but i figured what better place to gear up for learning more than the number 1 hospital in the nation? i'm already starting to go back to my oncology books and read more. its so easy to get caught up in what's happening at work that by the time you get home you want nothing to do with nursing! So... who knows what God's doing with all of this??? I'm excited to find out!
Ok, here's the game plan for those of you who are into details! ;-)
Fortunately I have a few days off! So I plan to get most of my packing done in the next few days!
I work a few days then head to San Diego
Mom and Dad are flying in on the 22nd for Dad's work
Hang out in SD until the 24th
Mom, Dad, Laura drive back up to MDR
We hang out :)
Mom and Dad fly out in the am of the 27th
I work the 27-30
Say good bye to So Cal and fly to MSP the 31
go to a wedding and hang in the TC's for a week
drive to De Witt and put in some quality IA time
Fly to Baltimore sometime during the week of the 10th
Start work on the 17th!
Fly back to MSP for sisters/CSP Homecoming weekend.
Back to Baltimore on the 23rd.
Wow... I'm excited, nervous and of course praying and trusting that the Lord will continue to guide and bless this journey.
Thanks for joining me on this adventure.. your love, prayers, support, and encouragement are glimpses of Christ in every day life!!! What a blessing! :)
I love you all dearly...
Laura
greetings and salutations from Long Beach!
I'm here hanging out at Ingrid's house while she puts in her time at work. We had a fabulous evening last night at our favorite little restaurant in Belmont Shore. Ingrid is a regular there so when we walked in and took a seat in the waiting area, she made eye-contact with our favorite waiter who said, "Hi, need some wine?" :) ha!!!
Well... I write with an update to share. As you've probably gathered, I'm not a big fan of the hospital at which I currently work. This past winter, as I devised my plan for the year, I truly thought I would love it here and would resign my contract, maybe even staying for up to a year. "Travel Nursing" works like this.. I pick a city or cities where I'd like to live, tell the recruiter, and she tells me what jobs are available in that area/s. She submits my profile and if they like what they see, they call me and we interview over the phone. They ask questions, I ask questions. If they like me, they offer me a job, if I like them, I accept. The contract is only for 13 weeks. Often times, one will sign another 13 week contract if they still have a need and the nurse would like to stay.
My contract is up at the end of the month with my current hospital. (praise Jesus!). Though the pay is better here than anywhere else in the nation, I cannot stay at a place that is so disorganized, feels unsafe, and where i end up floating more often than not (meaning I end up taking care of patients whom i'm not really trained to care for as opposed to oncology patients). When I began to see that I was getting stressed out by the politics and relational dynamics/BS of other nurses of the floor, I stopped myself and concluded, "Hey!! I don't have to stay here and be miserable. I can go anywhere!!"
So what next? don't know!! There are jobs available in other areas of California but truly, if I can't be near the CA family, I haven't any desire to stay here. Why not see other parts of the country, eh?
Last week my plan was to extend my contract with this hospital for just 4 more weeks in order to buy some time to plan my next adventure.. however, they did not agree with this, they will resign me for 13 weeks, but not 4. I found this out Monday morning which means I technically don't have a job as of Sept 1!!!!! Apparently this is normal for travel nursing but it's definitely geeking me out a bit!!
So.. I'm looking at hospitals in Baltimore, Hawaii, Denver, and a place in San Fran valley (not my first choice, but an option).
I had an interview with Baltimore it sounds like they're really interested and I should know by Friday. The more I interview with other places, the more I think it would be an amazing experience to work there! It sounds like an incredibly run, well-organized, well-researched, challenging and exciting place to work. They really depend on their oncology nurses to be intuitive and hone in on what's going on with the patients body.. kind of "reading between the lines," of the signs and symptoms, so to speak, being proactive, etc.
I had another phone interview with the hospital in the bay area of San Fran. They actually offered me the job so its comforting to know I have that to fall back on. Unfortunately, based on the answers to my questions, it doesn't sound as though this place is much more organized than that where I'm currently working so its definitely not my #1 choice. I will interview with a hospital in CO at the end of the week.
So that's the skinny on my nursing life. I am thankful for any prayers you may send up as I take on this new adventure.. choosing a new place to work, the move, new city, etc!
Wow... Who knew? I'll be sad to leave the CA family but its been a blessing to spend the last three months with them.
Thanks for checking in... hope to see some of you on my time off in between assignments! i'll be meandering between St. Paul to DeWitt for a few weeks in the early part of Sept!
much love,
laura
work was better for me yesterday, despite being mortified by the behavior of one of the full time staff.. oy.. words cannot describe..
my friend, jamie, however, had quite a rough day as it was her turn to float to the ortho floor to which i had floated the day before. so we deemed this reason enough to commence with margaritas and mexican food after work. :D
when we got home i started writing out an e-mail when my body decided sleeping was necessary.. I thus ended up sleeping on the couch for a few hours when suddenly I was woken by something... something strange. at first i thought it had been thunder.. when all of the sudden, it happened again!
"I feel the Earth
move
under my feet..."
I quickly ran for a doorway remembering a friend's story about their honeymoon in Hawaii during an earthquake and how she stood in the door and watched things jump off the wall! Fortunately for me, that little shift in the earth's plate was all I was to experience last night.
But ever since then, I can't get Carole King's voice out of my head..
"I see the sky tumbling down..."
my shift at work made me want to leave the field of nursing. ok, not so fun, but true, indeed. perhaps this was because i was again floated to the ortho floor.. and to quote the resident, "we brake people here and it hurts." yes, i gathered that with my morning of administering narcotic after narcotic and still having my patients crying or anxious. oh my oncology patients, how i missed knowing how to care for thee.
moving on to the fun stuff..
on the way into work, while waiting for the elevator in the parking garage.. i noticed that the girl waiting with me had a little canvas bad that said, "st. kates." i found it interesting and wondered if it was possible that another existed, so i asked her which st. kate's she had attended and guess what!? the same one i did!!! in st. paul, mn!! how crazy is that!? we had a chance to chat a bit as we made our way across the street and into the hospital. she graduated a year before me so we even had the same profs!! fantabulous!!!! a bright start to my morning..
receiving a message from one of my best friends from high school, Ryan. my heart is so full of love for these people i've known most of my life!!
coming home and sitting on the balcony.. and being cold! who said summers in CA were hot? not on the coast! ;)
also having to wear a second layer on the upper body whilst sitting outside.. and out of my collection of hoodies, i chose the old 1970's, navy blue, belted sweater with huge flap collars that i can wrap around my neck if cold, and missing buttons. i got this sweater for $1.00 at a garage sale in st. paul 5 years ago. i treasure it.
meeting a nurse who is brand new to this hospital.. and the look of relief on her face when she realized i thought this place was crazily-run, as well, allowing her a brief 5 minutes of venting. oh the bond of nursing. yesterday i met a nurse who is new to the hospital and traveling. i smiled at her and said, "ok, just go into this knowing that nothing making any sense here and your transition will be a lot easier." :)
got a sweet e-mail from an old co-worker in st. paul! she said they're counting on my return to the twin cities someday, because "with that farmer blood in me" they just can't fathom i'd stay in CA too long! ;) oh how well they know me!!! a sweet reminder of the dear group of friends whom i truly miss!
fun fact about Sunday night.. a girlfriend of mine from high school who lives in las vegas was up in anaheim with her hubby and some friends.. i met them at their hotel, across from disneyland. so guess what people? i went to disneyland. can you believe it? well, i only actually went into "downtown disney" which is free to get into and mainly shops and restaurants.. but hey, baby steps, right?! ;) we had a blast!!! pictures to come!!!
fun fact about monday night! monday was my dear friend, lindsey's birthday! i sent her a text on my way home from work wishing her a "happy" one! i received one back saying that her and my old neighbor boys (the 998's) who are now friends of hers (and the other sisters), as well, were at Shamrocks for dollar burgers!!! oh my heart.. i hope you all had a fabulous time. did i mention that i love and miss you people?! ;)
ok.. one last day shift.. say a prayer that i can actually have a servant's heart cause i'm struggling with that!!!
love to all!! (and if anyone from work is reading this, please tell everybody hi and send a big loud laugh, a song from rent, and a post-starbucks smile from me, oh and throw in a jab at Dick, PharmD for me, will ya?! ;))
laura
so i know this isn't my blog to gush about things, but i think most of you check in more often with this one.. and I just had to share this with everyone! :)
what most might not think twice about or maybe for a few a seconds.. i occasionally have the tendency to dwell. this can be on positive and negative things. i've been told i "think too much.." whatcha' gonna do?
as i said in the last blog, i've tried to get a hold of or find out if most that i know in the twin cities are ok and have been blessed to hear only good results, thus far (in that situation there were thousands of lucky people waiting in traffic and an unaccounted number of unlucky crossing the oh-so-trusted bridge.. well, i suppose that's just a one way of secularly looking at it and a whole different blog of reflection..).
Either way, at one point yesterday, I had a text from my new neighbor, Karin, asking how my friends in Minneapolis were; a voice mail from pat (life-long friend/friend-of-family/neighbor) saying, "heyyy neighbor laura..." he was just checking in to see if everyone in MN that I knew, was ok. I had another voice mail from Stacy, one of the 998's (boys who used to live in the same little apt. complex as myself in St. Paul). His message began, "hey neighbor Laura."
:)
At that moment, in the midsts of an insanely busy day on the orthopedic floor where oncology nurses should not be working, where my eyes could only quickly scan the news of Minnesota and my heart ached to be home watching the news and praying.. in the midsts of all of this.. the realization of God's blessings hit me once again. Neighbors. A simple word, but one that has come to mean so much.. a lifetime of amazing friends who've become like family who have loved, cared for, and supported me through out my life.
When I ventured out to live on my own last year in May, I was slightly nervous. I'm a pretty social gal and seem to thrive in community, so I wasn't sure how I'd do on my own. Then I started meeting the neighbor boys upstairs (6 guys who lived in a 6-bedroom apt.. and when i say guys, i mean incredible, genuine, caring, welcoming, talented, intelligent, amazing men) who become like a whole new set of brothers to me, helping me hang pictures, teaching me things, advising me on "boy situations," etc. We lived in a great little fellowship for a year, going out every monday for dollar burgers, throwing parties, making dinner, singing w/guitar after-hours, kayaking, playing in the snow, we even managed to have many-a-conversation about God/s, religion/s, wars, etc., buy a Christmas tree and decorate it, and have a "Christmas dinner." if you were to find a blog on here, a few blogs back, there's actual picture documentation of this year from the slide show they made me when i left.. yeah.. exactly, 6 guys!! outstanding.
Ingrid was once a neighbor, as well, as was Lindsey, Debbie, Dani, Rachel and a dorm full of other amazing women.. some of which are my closest and dearest friends and with that comes blogs and blogs of blessings. :) ("on concordia, on concordia......" who's excited for sisters weekend "come home for homecoming 07?")
Then there's Ben and Lucy... oh my.. talk about incredible people!!! This early-30's, Christ-loving, amazing couple lived next door to Jill, with whom I lived for two years, and I met by nothing other than divine intervention. Ben and Lucy shared their lives, family, daughters, and home with me for two years. Many blessings came from those two years that i cannot even fathom to sum up in this non-gushing blog.. ;)
But I will try to sum it up here, folks. If you've been a neighbor to me, Thank you!!!! Know that no matter what you believe, God used you in my life and you blessed me!! For you I will always be thankful. From childhood neighbors, dorm-room neighbors, post-collegiate neighbors, down-the-street neighbors and now california neighbors.. I say in all humility, "Wow... I've been blessed."
"A good neighbor is a priceless treasure." - Anonymous
oh beautiful MN friends...
i was out with my neighbor when i received a text from my friend jamie who alerted me to the tragedy in the twin cities. i was soon on my way home when i got another text from my brother in illinois. i had no idea what had happened.
my heart was torn when i got home to see the footage of the bridge.. of course i tried getting a hold of many of you. my phone wasn't receiving many calls due to it still being a twin cities phone number, but i was able to receive texts from many of you who are ok. thank goodness..
i'm praying for all of you.. especially those whom i know use that bridge.. as well as your family and friends and of course those who have shockingly lost their lives and loved ones this evening.
what a tragedy.
all my love..
laura