In knowing That We All Start Somewhere…

                        

My Little Piece of Advice to New Floor Nurses

If I could write you a little letter as you get ready to begin your career as a new nurse, it would go something like this:

I know you might be anxious to finish school. We all are! I know you might think that once nursing school is over or better yet, once NCLEX is over and done with, and you are officially an RN life will be that much brighter. I know you have picture you’re name with those two letters at the end countless times. And let me tell you it does get better but it is one crazy, exciting and life-changing ride.

Study hard for NCLEX, you've worked so hard to finish and it’s your last step. Give it all of you have for those two or three weeks and I promise you, it will pay off. You will succeed and you WILL be a nurse because a nurse is more than a license, it’s who we are in our hearts. I hope however, that you learn to brush things off and get back up. You may not pass, and that’s okay. Just know that test results never made anyone a great nurse. Pull out those NCLEX books again and work just as hard because you've worked too hard to just give up.

I hope that you never, ever give up and keep your heart full of hope. There will come a point when the NCLEX is the least of your worries because you are now a Registered Nurse. Now you can find a job, a job which may not come fast. I hope that you don’t give up; you've worked too hard to just give up. A nurse is WHO YOU ARE and I hope you don’t let life’s disappointments take that away from you. You may apply to twenty different jobs, attend five different interviews and never get that call back, and that’s okay. I hope you keep going and that you keep searching, the right job is out there . . . somewhere . . . waiting for you.

Journal I Received From My Unit Manager 

And then there will come the happy day when you finally get that call and you know what that means. You will finally become the nurse you dreamed of becoming. At this point, I hope you don’t forget why you became a nurse in the first place. Because this is a tough part, but oh how much you will grow! At this stage you will learn what you didn't learn in the past 4 years of nursing school. Let me put it this way, some nurses may forget they were once learning too. Yes, I hope that you never become this way after you have 5 years of experience under your belt. However, it can easily happen to anyone. There will be times when other nurses make you feel stupid, wish you did things faster, wish you already knew how to do it. And let me tell you this, it’s okay that you don’t, and never stop asking questions. We all started there, we just forgot. No matter how stupid or incompetent you may feel, I hope you find confidence in yourself and know that you have every right to be there. You are an RN for a reason and though you may be learning, as we all are, you have every right to practice nursing. So walk in that patients room with confidence, talk to those doctors like you know what you’re saying, because the truth is, you probably do. 

There may come a point when you think you’re the only one who’s struggling and question whether nursing is indeed the profession for you. I hope that at this point you learn to let things go, brush them off, get back up and leave work at work. If someone yells at you, I hope you let it slide and keep smiling. As a nurse you really don’t have time for that, you have patients to take care of! Also, never be too scared to go for it. Are you terrible at starting IV’s? Find every chance you can to do it and be confident but never be too proud to ask for help. Soon you will find it as easy as priming an IV line.   And whatever you do, stay away from gossip at work. Oh, there will be plenty of it and you don’t want to be part of it because

A) It will bring you down

B) You have better things to do.

Those first months you will learn time management like you never have before. Find your routine, and GROUP CARE. Remember that was always the correct answer in the “select all that apply questions” on NCLEX? Well, that’s the one answer that is also correct real world nursing. Always do as many things as you can at once. Make sure you set deadlines, for example by 10 o’clock chart this, by this time start pulling out medications, by this time complete this part of charting and if that’s not working for you keep changing until there’s a routine that works. But whatever you do, know that your patient comes before charting . . . PERIOD. Know that for those next twelve hours or however long your shift may be, your patients are the most important people in your life, no matter who they may be.   There may be times you cry or you may have a terrible headache because you forgot to drink water or pee for a whole shift but I hope that, that just reminds you to take care of yourself to be able to take care of others. And after a couple months or a year you may start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and this is why I say don’t give up and remember why you became a nurse. All of a sudden you will start connecting the dots. You will make great friends with those who helped you grow, strengthened your skills and always believed in you. You will know how to best use your resources and before you know it, you too will be orienting a new nurse.

 And once you are well settled into your nursing career I hope that you enjoy it. I hope nursing really is all that you want it to be and that you are proud to be a nurse. I hope you never lose your heart for people and that you learn to love ALL your patients. The mean ones, the dirty ones, the ones that cuss at you and even the ones that make your shift extra hard. I hope that you never become too insensitive to your patient’s needs that you tune them out. And lastly, I hope that you realize that nursing is an art.

No book can teach you to care,

No book can teach you to love,

It’s just who you are,

A Nurse 

. . .In The Details Of Today

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to live in the present. I think it’s a phrase we hear all too often and not many of us know how to put it to practical use. The more I think about the concept of enjoying each day, the more I realize that it’s a process. I don’t believe it’s something that once someone has they will always have. 

I was recently having a conversation with someone from work about how I spend some of my days off. I answered that since I've started working at night I do a lot of sleeping during the day and occasionally find enough energy to stay alert an entire day. He then said he felt bad for me and offered advice by saying that I should either stop work nights or not work as much that way I can have time to enjoy my life. At that moment I knew I couldn't disagree with him more, although I didn't say it. What if I enjoy work at night? What if I enjoy sleeping at a different time? Now, I know this may sound annoyingly optimistic, but before you think so hear me out. This life rushes past us like fast blowing wind. Before we know it’s Friday, before we know it the year is over, before we know it’s our birthday yet again and as crazy as this may sound before we know it we’re married, having kids, finishing college or starting a new job. And the crazy thing about it all is that when we look back we sometimes can’t even remember the details from each experience. We go through life WAITING for the next exciting moment, all the while missing the ones in front of us. For example, some of us can’t wait until the day is over to spend time with a friend and while we do we can’t help but talk about how we want the hours of days to fly by so we can attend a certain event on the weekend and once the weekend rolls around we can’t stop thinking about how we want the next week to rush by so we can finally go on the vacation we planned. And I hear this one all too often, many can’t wait to find love and once it’s found, they anxiously rush their dating experience to get married, engaged or move in together and before they know it, it already happened and ended. The sad part from this rushing insanity is that at times we look back and realize we never got to take in the moment or remember the details from each season and realize we missed out on so many little bits of happiness because of it. Now, there is one thing I know for certain about this life and that is that each moment is priceless. I know that I want to look back on my life and know that each day I found a reason to smile and lived days full of meaningful happiness. Not only on the days I went out with my friends but also on the nights I couldn't sleep, the days that seemed routine and those times I learned things the hard way. And each day, I hope I can remember EVERY detail in it as having some kind of worth. I hope that I don’t rush my days to get to the next and realize at the end that I missed out. I hope that I can remember the names of the people I met,  the details of the new places I saw,  the good conversations I had, the new things I learned and as simple as something may be I hope that I remember it and find it meaningful.  I hope that I’m not waiting for something to happen to be who I want to be and I hope that I’m not waiting for my life to change, to change the world around me. In other words, I hope that I’m NOT WAITING for my work shift to change, or my vacation to come or a new relationship to start or school to finish, or the weekend to come or anything else to enjoy my life. I hope to stop anxiously looking ahead and start noticing this moment’s details.

And so I am committed to slowing down, taking a deep breath and looking around me paying attention to the details of this very moment while admiring them, learning from them, and enjoying them no matter where I am. I hope that my happiness today and everyday is not dependent on what I do, but rather on what I take time to notice.

. . . In Being More Than Thankful

I have always been a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Although his books are silly, his books have meaning. One of my favorite books by him is titled “Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?” My favorite part is where  it says:

“When you think things are bad,

when you feel sour and blue,

when you start to get mad...

you should do what I do!

Just tell yourself, Duckie, 

you're really quite lucky!

Some people are much more...

oh, ever so much more...

oh, muchly much-much more unlucky than you!”

It makes me smile because I know deep inside I am a pretty lucky girl, but more than lucky I would like to say I am blessed (cliche I know, but true!). I know someone who is fighting cancer, I know someone who might lose their job, I know someone who just lost a son and I know someone who also lost a home.  And then there is me. Not perfect by any means, but with so much to be thankful for. I have my family, my grandma’s home to live in, my job, my little Pooky and I never cease to be thankful for good health and those things are enough to make me a pretty lucky girl. 

But lately I have been wondering  if being thankful is enough. We’re always taught to say “thank you” after receiving a gift and that’s where our duty ends. But what if that’s where it all started?  What if being thankful was only the beginning because we lived with the constant duty to share our gratefulness with the world? Because, in my opinion, it’ll never be enough to be grateful with our present situation, it’ll never be enough until we share it with the world.  I hope that today it doesn't all end when you feel thankful and I hope that today you find you feel EVEN HAPPIER because of it. 

. . .In Knowing That This World Needs Me

Today I met a lady whose story broke my heart. Her story is not mine to tell but every part of me wished I had all the money she needed not only for herself, but her family. As I lay comfortably on my bed this morning looking forward to having breakfast with my aunt and then going out shooting with my uncle, I wondered how many people in this world RIGHT NOW are in her situation or worse. How many people WITHIN MY REACH don’t have anything to eat, how many people WITHIN MY REACH have lost hope and a reason to live, how many people WITHIN MY REACH I could be helping. Why am I not? Perhaps because we haven’t met, perhaps because I don’t think I am what they need. After all, I don’t have very much money to support all of them; I am not a psychologist to help with all the emotional drama that may be behind someone wanting to die.

But thinking this way makes me want to smack myself in the head every time and shout, IS THAT REALLY AN EXCUSE TO NOT HELP? If I don’t know who they are, why haven’t I met them? Because, I am exactly what they need. And no, I don’t mean to sound conceited but allow me to explain myself. I believe in a God who is not limited by my resources (my lack of enough money to help or ability to help others emotionally). God has only asked that I be willing to be the means by which he delivers what they need. God is who they need (in my opinion) and if we get stuck in looking at our lack of resources then how will God ever get to them? You may not believe in God, but regardless of your belief, isn't it about time we stopped making excuses and started doing? You may not think you have what it takes, but I can assure you that you do however little it may be.You may not know someone who needs you, so it’s time to go find them. I hope that today you find out that this world NEEDS YOU, who YOU are today and they need you soon so go find them!