kapachino

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  • I’m Actually Going To Do This Nurse Thing!

    Well there’s one less thing on my mind now…

    I was hired yesterday at The Methodist Hospital as a graduate nurse on the oncology unit. I am SO excited. It’s perfect for me: oncology, eight-hour day shifts, and a great company (#10 on the Fortune 100 best companies to work for). I start June 2! Of course, I have to graduate first.

    I think it was the easiest interview of all time. In fact, I’m pretty sure they knew they were going to give me an offer before I came in. The manager asked me one question (why do you want to do oncology?), told me about the unit, and gave me the job. I told her I would talk it over with my fiance (because I’m all grown up like that) and call her back later in the day. I accepted, and I’m so glad I did.

    In other exciting news…

    • Decisions I’ve made about the wedding in the last two weeks: 0
    • Hours I’ve had to relax during “spring break”: about 4
    • Recent overdrafts on my checking account: 2
    • Clinical trials I’ve enrolled in to bring in some extra cash and prevent future overdrafts: 2
    • Bird flu vaccines received: 1

  • Tonight’s Thoughts

    Hey everyone. I’ve been attending a review session for my board exam for the past three days from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tomorrow is the last day of it. It’s good but pretty tiring. Oh, and this is my spring break as well, but I will spend the rest of it working. Some things that I am thinking:

    • I want to do a triathlon and I want to train for it now, but there is no time. So I will postpone my plans.
    • I’m mad that for the second week in a row there have been no bikes left at the Spin class at the gym.
    • I have an interview with The Methodist Hospital oncology unit on Wednesday morning. If they offer me the job and it’s a day shift, I think I’m going to take it even though it’s in the medical center.
    • I miss my fiance. I hate days where we don’t see each other. I want to get married badly, but I don’t feel like planning a wedding right now.
    • Stephen King is a really good writer.
    • I could really go for some dutch chocolate ice cream right now. Easter is less than two weeks away…

  • Another Reason

    As part of my clinical experience at The Methodist Hospital this semester, everyone in my class who is assigned there comes together every other week for a conference. During this time we have a lecturer on a specified topic, and then 5-6 students per week discuss an issue they have encountered during their time there.

     Today’s lecture was on end-of-life and palliative care. This is something I am extremely passionate about. I remember when we had to watch the movie Wit in class a year ago, and I had to keep myself from completely losing it. I think I’ve written here before that for some reason I am drawn to the patients who are nearing end-of-life or who are dealing with serious illnesses. I feel that they are so often overlooked, neglected, and not given the chance to die with dignity. I want to help change that.

    Our lecturer was a member of the palliative care team, and she began with a skit that brought up so many things, things that people are uncomfortable talking about, like intimacy at end-of-life. She told this story:

    “I was called in to consult on a patient in the CVICU, a younger man who was dying. His wife was there with him, and she asked me what she could expect with all this. I went over things with her, and then I asked, ‘Would you like to just curl up in bed with your husband and hold him one last time? Because we can take care of the equipment and make that happen.’ Tears sprung to her eyes and she responded, ‘I didn’t know I could do that.’”

    And I was weeping in the conference room. I don’t know how everyone wasn’t. It’s little things like this that will make all the difference. That’s the kind of nurse I want to be.

  • This May Be The Cutest Thing EVER

    Courtesy of my brother David:

    Hedgehog

    These baby hedgehogs think this cleaning brush is their mother!! Click here for the full story.

  • The Job Hunt Begins

    I heard on the radio this morning that nursing is the #2 most wanted profession in the U.S. So surely I will be able to find a job that I like, right? Right?

    So far I have applied to three hospitals: St. Luke’s, Methodist, and M.D. Anderson. They are all in the medical center. Let me tell you a little something about the medical center. If you live in Katy, it SUCKS.  This is my drive right now:

    View Larger Map

    This will be my drive once I’m married and move in with David:

    View Larger Map

    I fill my tank up with gas about once a week already. And that road that I drive down? Is an expensive tollway. Not to mention the fact that parking in the medical center is ridiculous.

    Sigh.

    But I had a phone interview with M.D. Anderson last Friday, and the starting salary is more than double what I’ve ever made in my life before. I know that they are calling all of their applicants to screen for which ones they want to come for an on-site interview, but I was still excited because it was my first response from anyplace I’ve applied. Of course, the place that I really want to work, Memorial Hermann Memorial City, requires a much more extensive process and I’m waiting on a recommendation letter from my preceptor before I can be considered. And I’m looking into some Katy hospitals, but I don’t know if they have any graduate nurse positions that offer a training program – which I NEED.

    So I’m sure it will all work out, but this could be seriously stressful.