I'm a Survivor

Tachycardia, diaphoresis, hyperventilation.  What are these all symptoms of?

A job interview.  This was my very first job interview.  It was for a new grad position at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto.  Although it was only 10 minutes, and was over the phone, I was still nervous.  The lady from HR who interviewed me sounded very nice, but the facts she gave me makes the probability of me getting a job there almost improbable.  She said about 1% of the 700 applicants will get hired.  Those odds sound impossible.

My first thought was, "Wow!  I'll never get the job."  My second thought was, "If it's God's will, it will happen."  Numbers don't mean anything to God.  Whatever He wants to happen, wherever it is He wants me to work, it will happen.  I just need to have faith and trust in God that He will put me wherever it is best for me to be, whether that is LPCH, Sequoia Hospital, or somewhere else.

Change, bad or good?

There's a lot of changes going on in my life right now.  I just graduated from college, (YAY!!).  I've got lots of studying to do, even though I'm done with school, I have more boards to take (The NCLEX).  I've already applied to hospitals for a job.  Hopefully, Lord willing, I will start a job soon.  A big change for me.  I've never had a real job.  I'm definitely excited to work, though.

Secondly, our church is going through major changes.  One of the pastors is leaving, and so things will just be different.  Although this change may be difficult,  I have faith in the Lord that this is God's will.  Everything happens for a reason, and is happens for the glory of God.

Change is almost never easy, but if change never happens, progress cannot be made.  What if slavery, a horrible abuse of civil rights were never abolished?  What if the right to vote were never changed from only white men, to include all different kinds of people, regardless of race or gender?  Change may be difficult, but things will end up better.

Summing it Up

In January, I began my final semester full of anticipation, excitement, and some nerves on what would be my experience of my capstone clinical. I had after all, only taken care of up to two patients during my previous rotations. I had a lot of questions at the start. Would I really grow that much in the 135 hours of my final semester to take me to a place of readiness to start a nursing career? Would I work well with my preceptor?

I will honestly say that going to clinical got me nervous sometimes, especially the first few shifts. I am very thankful for being assigned such a good preceptor, who eased me into the clinical experience. I took one, then two, then three patents, then finally taking the all of her assigned patients. During the shift, I got well practiced in time management, and I can see that it has developed to become one of my strengths. Part of efficient time management is organization. During my capstone, my organization has improved. I organize my notes into categories, including previous shift report, vital signs, assessments, medications and their scheduled times, and other interventions needed to be done.

I’ve learned a lot. My critical thinking skills have improved. I have learned to think through upcoming interventions, why they need them, and what supplies are needed to perform the task. For example, removing a foley catheter. Getting all the supplies, including empty syringes, multiple towels, and urinals. Removing them helps prevent infections and falls, and signals improvements on the patients’ health. I’ve also learned about treating priorities. After receiving shift report, certain patients are more urgent than others and should be seen first. One of the most difficult things I improved on was giving shift report to the oncoming nurse. It required organization, critical thinking, and speaking skills. I struggled with this for a while. Although I don’t give perfect eloquent reports, I have improved on including all the major important information relevant to the patient.

After this capstone clinical, although I don’t feel like a veteran nurse, I can say confidently that I have grown from since I first started this semester and have become more comfortable in becoming a nurse.  I look forward to what the future of nursing has for me.

No one gets left behind

In 1993, 123 soldiers went in to capture a warlord committing genocide on his people.  What was supposed to be an quick and easy 30 minute mission turned out to be a costly fight that went on throughout the night, in which two helicopters go down and 19 American soliders lost their lives.  This is the premise of the movie, Black Hawk Down.

I'm not trying to write a movie review here.  I wanted to share some thoughts I had while I was watching the movie.  Watching a film like that really makes me appreciate what those soliders did in Africa, and what the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan go through.  One soldier in the movies says this, "Nobody asks to be a hero, it just sometimes turns out that way."  Also, leaving no one behind, even in dangerous situations, the soldiers show great respect for each other.  In the same way, we should respect and love one another.  Like the soldiers who went back for their comrades in the heat of battle, God will never leave you or forsake you, even in difficult times.