“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
~ Helen Keller
Wow, where to begin.
Life has been absolutely crazy. There was one stretch where I worked 12 days without a day off! YIKES! I’m sure many people can relate to doing school work, job hunting, working for income, clinicals, and other things I’m a leader in the Mexico Immersion trip with Regis (we leave THIS Saturday!!!), and Young Adults Night at my church every other week. Just recapping recent events makes my head start spinning.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but when you’re in the middle of the Eisenhower, it’s kinda difficult to make out the view of that light…
Clincals has been awesome! I love the staff that I work with and I love the hospital. Ok, how many hospitals do you know of that have a personal concierge for their employees? If I don’t have time to do my dry cleaning or get a few items from Walmart – yes, they will do it while I’m work at no extra expense whatsoever! SAWEET! 🙂 I think I could get used to that.
But, honestly, besides taking care of their employees, they take care of their patients as a well-communicating team with great continuity of care. I’ve heard compliment after compliment from patient’s families about the great experience they’ve had at PSL.
I LOVE pediatrics. I have friends who don’t understand how I can work with children (and their parents!), but I feel the same about working in adult medicine. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. It just fits. It always has. That “ah-ha” moment you look forward to having in nursing school that solidifies all the reasons you want to be a nurse and gives you that feeling of being at home where you belong…I still remember the exact moment when I stepped off the elevators onto the pediatric floor the first day of my pediatric rotation this time last year. It was like a dream world where the walls were sparkling and everyone was smiling. I’ve always known…but after that moment…I really knew.
I leave for Mexico on Saturday. I would love to be able to say that I’m ready, that I’ve done all that I should have to become ready as a leader for this trip, but honestly, I’m not and I haven’t. It will be an amazing trip, yes, but I regret not having the time to fully prepare as I should have been able to. It’s not any sort of laziness on my end, just strictly no time.
I feel exhausted all the time, like I haven’t had a moment to catch my breath since the first day back this semester on January 20th…
Sometimes, it is very important to take a few hours to get away and do something social. I always believe that. It makes for a more well-rounded, balanced person. If all you do is work and school and commitments to something of the like, you will lose your mind. Please always remember to take time for yourself, even if it is just a few hours to catch up with an old friend at lunch or over coffee.
I was able to go snowmobiling with my boyfriend this past weekend! Wow how much fun was that?! I’ve never been before, and being able to escape to the beautiful Rockies and do something fun where school and work are far, far away both geographically and mentally…so very needed. But, here I am, back at work today writing this blog over my lunch hour 😉
It’s interesting working in the hospital as opposed to the clinic. I work at a pediatric clinic for income and clinicals are always at a hospital. In the clinic, it tends to be the same things over and over…strep throat and throat cultures, sinus infections, bad colds, coughs, et. But, in the hospital, while they do have their fair share of seasonal occurrences (there’s a ton of RSV and pneumonia hospitalizing kids right now) let me tell you about my last full day at clincals. We had a blue baby have to be intubated for the 3rd time in four months, a child who had a TV dropped on them when they were 2 weeks old and now has remarkable brain damage and complications at the age of 18, a baby without a brain whom the parents haven’t decided to let go, and a 12 year old with depression and suicidal thoughts. I didn’t get to lunch until 5pm that day.
Now, I know which one of those you are really going to inquire about. How does a baby live without a brain?! Well, she has a brainstem which controls all of your autonomic and motor functions. She cries. She eats. She breathes. She moves. But, she has no cognition, understanding, or emotion. I won’t go in to what I think about that sort of condition. I’ll let you make your own judgments. You can look this stuff up…it’s anencephaly. Very controversial. I asked the doctor (who has also been on MSNBC and the Tyra Banks Show for her success on separating twins out in California) how long a child can live this way. She said as long as they do their job correctly, she can live for quite some time. Food for thought…
I just keep telling everyone who asks me how I’m doing and how school is going that life is wonderful right now. I have no complaints. I’m just simply exhausted from school. But, that doesn’t mean I’m not loving it. It just keeps me busy all the time. It will all be so worth it in about 2 months!!! Yipeee!!
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