What's new...

Breakfast before we left Florida

I thought I would do a post to let you know what was new in my life.  For starters, I went down to Florida in July with my sister, her two children and my mom to see my brother, Kris and his family.  I haven't seen him since I was in high school and we've never met his wife or his three children.  We had a wonderful time. 

Giordano's, where we first met Kris and his family

I am also going back to school this fall to finish my BSN - Bachelor's in Nursing.  I am taking Intermediate Algebra class and a basic computer class.  I had forgotten how expensive college can be.  The algebra class I am taking as a review because I haven't taken algebra since I was in high school...and that was a long time ago.  I have to take Statistics for my degree and it relies heavily on algebra.

I am a little bit excited to be going to school again and a little anxious at the same time.  I go to see my councilor on Monday to see what classes I need to take to finish.  I know that I was only three or four classes away before and I hope that it is still the same.

I am enjoying work.  I like working at the hospital that I currently work at.  It is refreshing to actually work and get a steady paycheck.  I looked at my taxes for this year, however, and wasn't too happy.  They are outrageous!  Hopefully, I won't have to pay too much and will get some back.

My colleague, Kilah and I put in to go to a seminar in Las Vegas in October.  It would be so awesome if they sent us to that.  We are anxiously waiting an answer.  My boss was the one who suggested it to me.  He has been to this seminar before and says that they are really good.  That helped Kilah's boss in making the decision to let her go.

Otherwise, I am going to a seminar in September that is put on by a local hospital.  It is on Cardiovascular Care.  That is one thing that I like about nursing - you have endless opportunities at continuing education since it is required to renew your license.  As far as I know, there is only one required subject for Michigan and that is pain.  You have to have one credit in pain.  Other states have different required ones.

So many things have frustrated me lately.  Number one is my house.  I am tired of it.  I am tired of doing renovations and things.  It is tiring and endless.  It seems that I will never get to the point where I will get to do the things that I enjoy with it.  Now, we need a new septic system.  I knew this was coming, but never had the $6000 to get it done.  I need to get it done because even if I were to sell this house, I would have to replace it because our current system would never pass inspection.

There are other things that frustrate me, but I won't go into them on this blog.

I've been reading a lot on the internet about your identity and how important it is to keep it personal.  I have been trying to follow some of the recommendations I've read and hence, I am thinking of making this blog private.  I will let people know before I do.

Me, Ilana and Jamie

The picture on the left was taken in our rental house in Florida with my mom's camera when she left it out.  You can kinda see my braces in it.

My braces have been going well, I guess.  I get put into the SureSmile system in late September.  They said they would do that when my treatment was half over.  If that is the case, I am ahead of schedule.  It has only been four months since I got them on.  I've noticed a drastic improvement in my teeth.

Well, I guess that it all for now.  I will try not to make it so long between my posts.  Sometimes I just don't know what to post.

Here is a photo of a calendar that we have at work that I liked.

Job description of a nurse

You must be a proficient: cook, housekeeper, TV repair-person, plumber, waitress, catcher, advocate, listener, educator, comforter, babysitter, masseuse, respiratory therapist, security guard, psychologist and mechanic.

You must be willing to be: slapped, punched, scratched, bitten, kicked, sworn at, over-worked, under-appreciated and on the rare occasion, hugged.

It must not bother you to have these spilled on you: urine, feces, sputum, blood, mucus and other miscellaneous body fluids that you probably didn't know you had.

You must be an expert in all lab results, radiology tests, procedures and medications.  You must know what the patient is thinking before they do. You must be fluent in all languages including the local jargon.  You must be able to make it through a twelve-hour shift without taking a break to eat, drink or use the bathroom.  You must be accountable for everything and everyone on your unit.

You must have a strong back to lift things; a soft shoulder for people to cry on; compassion and empathy that is never-ending, strong feet to withstand standing on them for twelve hours without sitting, extraordinary senses, adeptness in the art of perception, excellent eyes to interpret physician's orders and ears to hear things that were not spoken aloud.

You must be willing to sacrifice your personal life as you will not have time or energy for anything but nursing.  You must be willing to work every holiday without complaint.  You must know every bone, muscle, nerve and organ in the body and what every symptom is indicative of.  You must always have a smile on your face and not show how stressed you are.  You must be computer savvy and be able to fill out paperwork in a speed that would make a NASCAR race look slow.

If this sounds appealing to you, we are always recruiting new nurses to our profession.  Remember: a nurse is not what you do, it is who you are.

Happy Nurses Week!

In Honor of Nurses Week (May 6-12), I thought I would share my two favorite poems on Nursing. They make me smile because of how accurate they are!




Being a NURSE means...

You will never be bored.
You will always be frustrated.
You will be surrounded by challenges.
So much to do and so little time.
You will carry immense responsibility
and very little authority.
You will step into people's lives
and you will make a difference.
Some will bless you.
Some will curse you.
You will see people at their worst...
and at their best.
You will never cease to be amazed
at people's capacity for
love, courage, and endurance.
You will see life begin...and end.
You will experience resounding triumphs
And devastating failures.
You will cry a lot.
You will laugh a lot.
You will know what it is to be human
and to be humane.

Copyright © Melodie Chenevert RN, MN, MA



When God Created Nurses


When the Lord made Nurses He was into his sixth day of overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

A nurse has to be able to help an injured person, breathe life into a dying person,

and give comfort to a family that has lost their only child and not wrinkle their uniform.

They have to be able to lift 3 times their own weight,

work 12 to 16 hours straight without missing a detail,

console a grieving mother as they are doing CPR on a baby

they know will never breathe again.

They have to be in top mental condition at all times,

running on too-little sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals.

And they have to have six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way!"

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord,

"It's the two pairs of eyes a nurse has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that does quick glances while making

note of any physical changes, And another pair of eyes that can look

reassuringly at a bleeding patient and say,

"You'll be all right ma'am" when they know it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model

that can talk to a 250 pound grieving family member whose child has been

hit by a drunk driver...who, by the way, is laying in the next room uninjured,

and feed a family of five on a nurse's paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the nurse very slowly,

"Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses;

recite drug calculations in it's sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate,

and continue CPR nonstop until help arrives...and still it keep it's sense of humor.

This nurse also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a

multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their

door,comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper

how nurses are insensitive and uncaring and are only doing a job."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the nurse.

"There's a leak," she pronounced.

"I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."

"That's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled-up emotions, for patients they've tried in vain to save,

for commitment to the hope that they will make a difference

in a person's chance to survive, for life."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," He said.


Copyright © 1998 Alabama