The way things work out...

So...long time no post! Apologies to anyone who still reads this thing...
I just wanted to discuss the way things work out. The "Big Picture" if you will. I was all disappointed about not getting to go to Birmingham. In hindsight, as much as i will still wonder what could have been, i'm VERY excited about what's going on now, and the way God's guiding things!
You see, to pay for Birmingham, i got a job as an Undergraduate Nurse. I could've coasted along, working as a Unit Clerk for the summer. But i needed bigger money, so i went for the big scary Undergrad job. And i've gotten so much more confident in my nursing skills! I know that i can handle scary situations, i can handle large patient loads, i can handle long hours and skipping breaks. I can handle full-time Nursing! WOOO!

Unless you're a nurse or nursing student, you have no idea how daunting the profession can be to an undergrad. But now i'm not as afraid to tack those RN letters to my name.

Also, i have the money to finish school, and to travel! I'm going to the Philippines next year! (Hopefully accompanied by a good friend...)

I'm also moving out next year! Without my undergrad job, i wouldn't have the financial resources to do that either! It all would've gone to Birmingham!

So i'm truly thankful for the way God continues to guide my life. And thankful for the people in it! There are many reasons for me to be happy here in Calgary :)

Birmingham is a no go...

Hey All...
I guess i now assume when the Facebook world knows, everyone knows ;)
But i'm not going to Birmingham Children's Hospital for clinical in England next year. Too many students over there, not enough instructors. Haha, funny, that's a problem the U of C has too. But its a major disappointment. I've been working towards this and obsessing about it for 6 MONTHS, and now it's just not happening! So i'm doing clinical here, and i won't know where until this fall. ICU and Pediatrics are my top choices...and the top choices of a large number of my classmates. I've realized this week, whatever happens, it'll still be in God's hands, just like EVERY clinical placement i've had, every job, every experience!
But i've started my new job on the Neuro unit...lots of fun so far! I was actually BORED last night, it was a rare slow evening. But tonite could be a whole different ball game!

an update

I love summer. It's not quite summer yet in Calgary, but i finished my LAST EXAM nearly a week ago, and i am so happy to be done! Both exams went reasonably well, and i'm enjoying not having a 1000 things on my plate. After my last exam, i napped, then reunited with a long lost friend and my boyfriend for the first stress-free dinner and movie that i've enjoyed in a long time! The next day we went rock climbing together, and we even allowed my little bro to tag along. After some blessed Peters to cool our sore hands, we went back to my place so i could freshen up, then to Devin's to watch House and LOST. Another amazing night! Wednesday was another awesome day with my good long-lost friend, he made me butter chicken from scratch! THEN, Thursday was my first buddy shift at my new job. I'm now an Undergraduate Nursing Employee, which means i'm basically a nurse, i have my own patients, and i'm responsible for their medications, vital signs, assessments, hygiene, tests, bloodwork, procedures, and any other concerns with them. It was fun, we didn't do too much, i mostly just became acclimatized to my new unit and the new expectations of me! (It's nice to work somewhere and not be expected to answer the phone every time it rings.) I'm working 12 hour shifts running off my feet, so it's different from sitting behind a desk. For my first shift, i pretty much just shadowed my nurse. It was a tiring day, but i was still fit for poker at Devin's that night! This same long lost friend of mine allowed me to practice IV starts on him! I've been threatening to do this since the very first day of nursing, so it was a real milestone for our friendship! (i'm proud to say i got it on my first try, but my technique still needs some work. Shandell will let me be her next victim :D) The NEXT day was extremely different...the nurse i was shadowing was very used to having students, and she's an amazing teacher! She let me do ALOT; it was a busy day, so i basically took on anything she asked me to. I ran off my feet, multitasking to the ^ 10! I got to see a cerebral angiogram, i got to start two IVs, hang IV meds, give narcotics and insulin,did a discharge and received an admission on IVIG... i did more in one day than i usually see in a semester! Now, you know what the funny thing is? I felt like i could handle it! I didn't feel overwhelmed, i was just busy and running everywhere, but i enjoyed every minute of it! But i handled it! This was affirmed by my nurse, who said i did awesome! She said towards the end of it that she wasn't sure if she was overloading me or not, cuz it was a really busy day, but she saw that i was doing alright, and i just went to it! I think my time in ICU has really inspired me. I see all these amazing nurses handling so much and keeping everything in order, and i just think to myself "they can handle that, i can handle this!" It looks as though i've made a positive first impression, though i can admit, i was nearly comatose after the second 12 hour shift. but Devin sweetly picked me up from both shifts and listened to my very animated reinactments and stories, and let me snooze as he played video games.

In short, life is good, but i'm gearing up for an intense summer. But i'm thinking this is gonna be one of the best summers ever!

Something New...x 2!

So...i got a job! That was probably the best interview of my life, i had plenty of examples from the OR and the ICU...
"Describe a stressful situation and how you dealt with it" -

"Well, a surgeon called as they were doing CPR on a patient en route to the OR and needed a room AT THAT MOMENT... there were no rooms, nurses, or anesthetists at that moment. that was stressful. I handled it."

ok next question...

"Are you a good multi-tasker?"

"In the ICU, i've been seen with a phone pressed to each ear, talking into the intercom, listening to my charge nurse, telling patients' families where to go, paging for x-rays, entering orders... in short, yes, i can multi-task."

The interview went on like that. we talked about the shortage, education, people we'd both worked with, pediatrics, England, ICU, the OR... then he gave me a tour of the units, and offered me a job at the end!
He said: "if you can handle over a year in the ICU and the OR, i have no concerns about you working here!"

So i have a new job on Unit 111 of FMC. I'll be an Undergraduate Nursing Employee, which means i'm like an RN with less experience and half the pay... The unit is primarily Neuro, so i'll be dealing with lots of brains and spines and stuff. Should be AWESOME!

Yes...the other new item... let's just say i never envisioned "Kiss Me i'm Irish" to be the greatest pick-up line ever! No, i didn't drunkenly pick up anyone at the pub. But on St. Patrick's day, Devin and i started dating. He won me over with a bottle of Bailey's with Caramel! Just kidding. He won me over by being sweet and showing that he cares and laughing with me and calming me down when i start to rage about community nursing (a common occurrence...) He has faith that i'll make it to Birmingham, and he laughs whenever i see a child, because it's so clear how much i want to do pediatrics. He respects me, respects my faith, and understands what's important to me, like friends, faith, family, and nursing!

I know we might seem like an odd couple, but we're happy and having fun, so it's all good!

1 month and 21 days...still no word from Birmingham.

On Pressing On.

A busy awesome weekend between two busy weeks... couldn't have asked for anything better. Ryan was back in town, so we got to go for drinks with Cyler and Shandell, and it was such a treat to have some of my favorite people in the same room. That and i had a really SUCKY day in community nursing, and life got so much better after i left that room. I had breakfast with Ryan on Friday morning, then we went to see the blood-bath - CGI ab fest - escapist movie 300...that's some good cinema! Then i hung out with Shandell for the evening, watching Armageddon and doing terrible Steven Tyler impressions. The next morning was breakfast with Barbara, and shopping at the mall on St. Patrick's day, a quick 8-hour ICU shift until 10pm, then i dropped in on many friends that i haven't seen in a long time at Talia's birthday party. I won a game of pool against Lincoln by default, (he scratched on the 8-ball), caught up with Matt and Jason, and generally enjoyed good company for a little while before catching a few z's to be fresh for a 7am OR shift. Sunday night i enjoyed sushi with Ryan and his family, and got him safely to the airport for a return to Vancouver.

MONDAY was a rollercoaster. Slept in due to a powerout, caught a ride, got a devastating grade on my midterm (unjustly in my opinion), then got a job interview for Unit 111 five minutes later! Went drinking to commiserate with the nurses, then went back to work. As you can tell, life is still incredibly busy, but i did avoid homework all weekend, much as i'm paying for it now. Life is a bit of a gong show, but that's how it goes.

3 weeks till semester is over.

Still no word from Birmingham.

Insanity laughs, under pressure we're cracking

Sorry, just a line from the song that best represents the past 3 weeks..."Under Pressure" - by Queen and David Bowie. Friends, its been insane. I worked every day of reading week, some 12 hour shifts, then i jumped into the WORST two weeks of school i have ever experienced! Its been a blur of Literature Reviews, Clinical Reflections, Midterms, Speeches, Analysis, Film Critiques, Bioethics essays, job applications, resumes, cover letters, applicatiosn for funding for Birmingham, calls from scheduling pleading me to pick up more shifts, or double booking me for the shifts i do agree for...AAAUUGHHH!
You know, this is the first semester where i have actually HATED school. like, with a fiery passion. the stupidity, the wordiness, the fact that i work my @$$ off and STILL don't get a good grade!
BUT, i need to take stock of the good things.

• the sun WARMED my face the other day! (in case someone outside of Canada is reading this, its been pretty damn cold here lately, so effective sunshine is never taken for granted!)
• The new Relient K CD makes me happy, and voices just how frustrated i am, and how much i need to look to God in times of +++ stress.
• my application for funding for Birmingham and my application for a summer job both only require the GPAs of my PAST 10 courses! Present failures in progress will not be considered! (yet)
• I finally got paid for all those shifts i worked over reading week...hooray!!
• i got a good midterm evaluation for community nursing, because of my focus on "spirituality - the forgotten determinate of health"
• the cheesecake cafe makes HELLA AWESOME eggs benedict! it's even better when indulged upon with good friends.
• [Scrubs] is still my refuge, and helps me relax from the day.

Through the past few weeks, i've found that the more foul of mood you're in, the more you're delighted by the little positive things.

But nevertheless...wake me up when semester ends.

Going to Birmingham!!

This is Birmingham's Children's Hospital!

IT'S TRUE! Well, 95% True. I've been accepted to go to Birmingham by the U of C side of things, now i just need to be accepted by the Birmingham side of things. They've taken students for the past several years, so it shouldn't be an issue. I just wish the good blokes in Birmingham would realized how much i need confirmation that i am in fact going in 11 months! I'll leave January, 2008, and i need to be back in Calgary to graduate in April. I need to spend a minimum of 8 weeks full time at the Hospital.
It's a HUGE opportunity, one that i'm completely surprized by! My mom is excited, but Dad is a little choked. Daddy's little girl and all that. But England is better than Africa...for now. Birmingham's Children's hospital, here i come!
Here's the catch: I need to pay for the plane fare, room and board, AND the course itself, which is about a grand. And tuition next year. And the damn hospital cancelled 4 of my shifts...i was supposed to work 7 in a row! I needed that!
What i actually need more than that is to TRUST that the money will come in. TRUST that the scholarships i apply for will come in. TRUST that i'm going to get a job this summer as an undergraduate nurse, and that i'll get full time hours for 3 months (good thing there's a nursing shortage!) I need to Trust God in all of this.
It's 11 months away...what do i need from you? I'd love comments on the following two things:
1) Creative Fundraising techniques - Barbara's winning so far, with her idea that i put up a tip jar at my desk in ICU
2) Things to see / Places to go in Europe

See, i'm going to travel while im there. I want to go to at least one other country with Barbara, right now it's looking like Spain! $75 Canadian to go from London to Madrid, which is FRICKIN awesome! I also want to go to either Scotland or Ireland, as Dad suggested, to "find my roots". Marisa, Shandell and Shannon, have toyed with the idea of coming out to visit me too. The more the merrier!

Yes. So that's my news. The biggest news i will have this year!