New Adventures
I can't believe it's been more than 4 years since my last post - FOUR YEARS! How could I have let it go that long?
Life happened. And by life, I mean, the whole of my second Bachelor's degree, an accelerated Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, meeting and marrying the love of my life, completing my New Graduate Nursing Residency in Acute Care MedSurg/Oncology, starting my career outside residency in a Surgical unit, buying our first home, trading up on my car, and finally being accepted to a Mother Baby Unit transition program and getting hired full time into my dream specialty, albeit now working nights.
What a difference four years can make!
I am turning over this leaflet yet again - a resolution for 2017 is to consistently blog (once a week? Maybe sometimes once a month? Whatever is a realistic fit, which remains to be determined), and return to this as my personal space, my outlet, my diary of days past, and something I can share if those doors open. I suppose the great thing about a blog is that there is no time constraint. It is something you can take and leave as you need to, with the ebbs and flows of life, and it's ok if you get busy or overwhelmed and need a break. Ultimately, it's there for you.
So where am I now?
Like I mentioned, my husband, Alex, and I are settled in our new home, which ironically happens to be in my hometown in Southern California. Alex and I met at our former jobs, before I was a nurse. We were already dating as of my last post here, but it was so fresh and we were still somewhat "defining the relationship," if you will - so my mention of him was scarce...
It was your not-so-typical office romance, gone so right, meeting sometime in 2010 - although we didn't start talking until July of 2011, and consistently dating in September 2011. Alex, the boy with the dreamy accent and edgy mohawk born in the US but raised in South Africa and recently transplanted back with his immediate family in 2009, was my perfect match. He was the yin to my yang, the easy going to my type A, the wit to my sarcasm, and the sarcasm to my silly. He was that one people talk about when referencing a love that comes along and showed you why all the ones you had thought were right before were nothing compared to what God had in store. I thank God for his partnership every day.
Alex saw me through the [rather brutal] throes of nursing school with immense understanding and grace. It's because of him, my relationship with God, his encouragement of me IN my relationship with God, and my family's support that I made it out as a nurse at all. Nursing school is the HARDEST, most frustrating, most confusing, most emotionally challenging and physically and mentally draining thing I have ever done. I think if someone had told me how difficult would be, I probably would never have started, and there were a million times when and a million reasons why I would often mutter the words, "I want to quit." But I didn't. God and these people He put in my life reminded me on a regular basis of why I did it in the first place and all the reasons it would eventually be worth it. And they were absolutely right. Alex proposed on May 18, 2013, at a mystery dinner party coordinated by he and my best friend since childhood, Kirstie, at her in-laws' gorgeous Spanish-style home, with some assistance from my other best friend, my sister Stephanie (both of these girls would comprise the women of my wedding party). It was a lovely surprise and picture perfect, a fun occasion we were able to share with our closest friends. I started planning the "bigger parts" of our big day, but knowing my worry wart nature, I decided to leave the details until I was out of school.
After I graduated in early December 2013, the first order of business was to sit for the Boards as soon as possible. The Board of Registered Nursing was so backed up it took weeks to months to even get our "Approval to Test," or ATT, notice, let alone be able to SET the test date some more months down the line. I was lucky and was able to set my test date in February - and passed with the minimum number of questions on the first try - thank God. This was no small feat. The NCLEX examination is something I liken to a coffee date with the Riddler: the questions could be limitless or short-lived, and this could mean your triumph or your doom; the phrasing of each question is confusing and mysterious; and all the answers are right - you need to pick the answer deemed "MOST right" (sometimes, there IS a "SATA" question - select all that apply - which has more than one right answer and if you don't select them all - but without selecting one of the wrong options, you lose the whole question). You realize in retrospect that the exam is written this way intentionally, because as a practicing nurse, though there are definite medical right answers to some of the problems (you need to know definitive normal lab values to know when to send up alarms, for instance), the majority of your job is about prioritization in no-win situations and patient safety - these are the challenges you face on a daily basis. Once you know how the test asks its questions and what you are expected to do in a dilemma-filled situation, from start to finish, the mystery seems to unravel a bit.
Relieved with my "pass," and feeling the release of pressure associated with daily hours-long drills of practice questions, I continued interviewing for jobs. At this time, the market everywhere, but especially in SoCal, was saturated with New Graduate nurses, and though I had started interviewing prior to even graduating school, competition was fierce and jobs for the inexperienced were scarce and coveted. I wanted to work in Labor & Delivery, but this is a very competitive field even for experienced nurses - new graduate positions were out there, but we are talking one position for thousands of applicants, coming around in only certain hospitals/systems maybe one or two times per year.
I knew that my best bet was to apply for any and all positions, and preferably obtain one either in my desired specialty or MedSurg/Acute Care, geared toward new graduate nurses so they focus on training those with no on-the-job experience. Nursing is not like any other career - at least none I am familiar with anyway. The only one I can think of possibly more terrifying would be a surgeon or anesthesiologist. There is little room for error because these are peoples' lives you are handling, people who likely cannot advocate or "do for" themselves, and you are responsible for their safety and well being. Books and brief clinical experiences only go so far in preparing you for the real world. You cannot really show up expecting "training" unless you specifically land a position with preceptors and trainers hired to do just that (because if you hire straight in as a "nurse," you are working among other nurses who have their own patient load - there is no one with the time to show you the ropes or help you not make mistakes). You need to try and gain a position with a dedicated preceptor to show you over time how to safely and appropriately provide for your patients' needs in any number of skill-driven scenarios. Additionally, though I applied to some out-of-state positions, I hoped to be able to stay local. Alex and I were not yet married and his job was here, as well as our being plugged into a church and having pretty much our entire support systems in this area. Though I was offered a job about 3 hours north of where we currently are, with a wonderful team in Labor and Delivery, we prayed over this and just didn't feel it was the move for us. I was blessed to find exactly what I needed with my current employer, which is also a major system in my area, something that I hoped would provide me with a fair amount of job security and opportunities for development/improvement in my career, should we decide to stay here long term. Being among only 6 accepted from 1,200 applicants, I count this as an immense blessing and divine intervention. I started my new career as a MedSurg Nursing Resident in August of 2014, just after we returned from our July 7, 2014 Hawaiian dream wedding and Honeymoon.
We closed on our home in March 2015, and though it added about 20 minutes each way to my commute to the hospital, I love our little home and the fact that it's down the street from my lifelong best friend and only a couple miles from my parents. Alex was still traveling 3-5 days per week all throughout the United States and Canada, which was fine for a while and he really enjoyed aspects of it. Ultimately, however, this part of the job made it challenging not only for our relationship, but trying to start a family - at 33, it was time to really start thinking about this seriously. So, he kept his ear to the ground.
After completing my residency in May 2015, I was placed in a day shift position on a Acute Care Surgical floor at my hospital, and loved the experience I continued to gain there. I made so many friends there, who I still stay in touch with, but my heart definitely still was with the women's specialties. I assertively made connections with the managers of Labor & Delivery, and made sure to consistently check the internal job postings for the next transition program that would educate and train me for a career in these specialties. When the posting came through in January 2016, I applied, interviewed, and was accepted in February (this, shortly after Alex left his old job of constant traveling with a somewhat bittersweet feeling for a job working for a large system that would compensate him more fairly and allow him to be at home daily so we could really, in earnest, try for kids). My heart could not have been more full. I was overjoyed and so thankful, and felt like everything for the last 6 years since I started this journey into the medical field was leading to this moment.
I started my new position this past April, working in Post Partum, and it has been challenging but a joy. There are still difficult days, but I cannot think of anything more fulfilling to do with my life (career-wise) than to care for these new moms and babies and show them the ropes where needed. I originally thought I would work in L&D, however these nurses do not get to spend much time with the babies and I enjoy this aspect of the work probably the most, at least at this station in my life - so for the time being, I'm planning to stay in this specialty. But that's one of the many lovely things about nursing as a career - there are endless possibilities for career progression and advancement or even lateral transition - you can always decide to try something new, and who knows what the future holds? The main thing at this juncture with work that is incredibly daunting for me is that after completing the transition program, the only full time position available to me was to work night shift. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever done that, but it's basically THE WORST. It totally throws off your body clock, melatonin levels, and messes with other hormones and body chemistry. You feel like a zombie day in, day out, don't get enough vitamin D, consistently lose track of what day it is and forget conversations you had earlier in the day (because, was that yesterday? I just don't know...). I've only been doing it now for 6 months and am on the wait list to go to day shift, but who knows how long that will be. I remain thankful I have a great job with great bosses working in my dream arena, but I'm just praying I get to move to days SOON, because it has also had another charming effect - totally messing with my reproductive cycle...
And on that note, Alex and I have discovered we have a few challenges in the reproductive arena (so the whole night shift thing is doubly not doing us any favors). However, I know that though they felt insurmountable when they were first diagnosed, they are not, particularly not for our great and faithful God. We are praying for guidance, wisdom, and seeking medical intervention without parting from His will, financially or otherwise. Everything in His time, and I'm becoming more and more comfortable every day with the possibilities for life going forward, whether that holds children for us or not. I still struggle sometimes - get sad thinking I may never have my own. BUT...I get to snuggle babies and help new moms every night that I go to work (and get paid well to do so), so I count my blessings with that, and remember that when I am done with my twelve hour shift, I still get to go home and have "me time" and "sleep time," and get to just hang with the dog, go for workouts, see friends, have a romantic evening with the husband, or pretty much whatever my little heart desires. Which all changes when you have kids. There are advantages either way, and I have to keep in mind that God's plans are perfect, and He has one for each of us.
For now, I'll focus on all these blessings I've been given, for they are many. And have fun experiencing them and blogging about them in the meantime.
Well, that was the longest she ever wrote, but it's all. Until next time...
XOXO,
Cat
P.S. They won't all be this long, I promise. Four years, people.
Life happened. And by life, I mean, the whole of my second Bachelor's degree, an accelerated Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, meeting and marrying the love of my life, completing my New Graduate Nursing Residency in Acute Care MedSurg/Oncology, starting my career outside residency in a Surgical unit, buying our first home, trading up on my car, and finally being accepted to a Mother Baby Unit transition program and getting hired full time into my dream specialty, albeit now working nights.
What a difference four years can make!
I am turning over this leaflet yet again - a resolution for 2017 is to consistently blog (once a week? Maybe sometimes once a month? Whatever is a realistic fit, which remains to be determined), and return to this as my personal space, my outlet, my diary of days past, and something I can share if those doors open. I suppose the great thing about a blog is that there is no time constraint. It is something you can take and leave as you need to, with the ebbs and flows of life, and it's ok if you get busy or overwhelmed and need a break. Ultimately, it's there for you.
So where am I now?
Like I mentioned, my husband, Alex, and I are settled in our new home, which ironically happens to be in my hometown in Southern California. Alex and I met at our former jobs, before I was a nurse. We were already dating as of my last post here, but it was so fresh and we were still somewhat "defining the relationship," if you will - so my mention of him was scarce...
It was your not-so-typical office romance, gone so right, meeting sometime in 2010 - although we didn't start talking until July of 2011, and consistently dating in September 2011. Alex, the boy with the dreamy accent and edgy mohawk born in the US but raised in South Africa and recently transplanted back with his immediate family in 2009, was my perfect match. He was the yin to my yang, the easy going to my type A, the wit to my sarcasm, and the sarcasm to my silly. He was that one people talk about when referencing a love that comes along and showed you why all the ones you had thought were right before were nothing compared to what God had in store. I thank God for his partnership every day.
Alex saw me through the [rather brutal] throes of nursing school with immense understanding and grace. It's because of him, my relationship with God, his encouragement of me IN my relationship with God, and my family's support that I made it out as a nurse at all. Nursing school is the HARDEST, most frustrating, most confusing, most emotionally challenging and physically and mentally draining thing I have ever done. I think if someone had told me how difficult would be, I probably would never have started, and there were a million times when and a million reasons why I would often mutter the words, "I want to quit." But I didn't. God and these people He put in my life reminded me on a regular basis of why I did it in the first place and all the reasons it would eventually be worth it. And they were absolutely right. Alex proposed on May 18, 2013, at a mystery dinner party coordinated by he and my best friend since childhood, Kirstie, at her in-laws' gorgeous Spanish-style home, with some assistance from my other best friend, my sister Stephanie (both of these girls would comprise the women of my wedding party). It was a lovely surprise and picture perfect, a fun occasion we were able to share with our closest friends. I started planning the "bigger parts" of our big day, but knowing my worry wart nature, I decided to leave the details until I was out of school.
After I graduated in early December 2013, the first order of business was to sit for the Boards as soon as possible. The Board of Registered Nursing was so backed up it took weeks to months to even get our "Approval to Test," or ATT, notice, let alone be able to SET the test date some more months down the line. I was lucky and was able to set my test date in February - and passed with the minimum number of questions on the first try - thank God. This was no small feat. The NCLEX examination is something I liken to a coffee date with the Riddler: the questions could be limitless or short-lived, and this could mean your triumph or your doom; the phrasing of each question is confusing and mysterious; and all the answers are right - you need to pick the answer deemed "MOST right" (sometimes, there IS a "SATA" question - select all that apply - which has more than one right answer and if you don't select them all - but without selecting one of the wrong options, you lose the whole question). You realize in retrospect that the exam is written this way intentionally, because as a practicing nurse, though there are definite medical right answers to some of the problems (you need to know definitive normal lab values to know when to send up alarms, for instance), the majority of your job is about prioritization in no-win situations and patient safety - these are the challenges you face on a daily basis. Once you know how the test asks its questions and what you are expected to do in a dilemma-filled situation, from start to finish, the mystery seems to unravel a bit.
Relieved with my "pass," and feeling the release of pressure associated with daily hours-long drills of practice questions, I continued interviewing for jobs. At this time, the market everywhere, but especially in SoCal, was saturated with New Graduate nurses, and though I had started interviewing prior to even graduating school, competition was fierce and jobs for the inexperienced were scarce and coveted. I wanted to work in Labor & Delivery, but this is a very competitive field even for experienced nurses - new graduate positions were out there, but we are talking one position for thousands of applicants, coming around in only certain hospitals/systems maybe one or two times per year.
I knew that my best bet was to apply for any and all positions, and preferably obtain one either in my desired specialty or MedSurg/Acute Care, geared toward new graduate nurses so they focus on training those with no on-the-job experience. Nursing is not like any other career - at least none I am familiar with anyway. The only one I can think of possibly more terrifying would be a surgeon or anesthesiologist. There is little room for error because these are peoples' lives you are handling, people who likely cannot advocate or "do for" themselves, and you are responsible for their safety and well being. Books and brief clinical experiences only go so far in preparing you for the real world. You cannot really show up expecting "training" unless you specifically land a position with preceptors and trainers hired to do just that (because if you hire straight in as a "nurse," you are working among other nurses who have their own patient load - there is no one with the time to show you the ropes or help you not make mistakes). You need to try and gain a position with a dedicated preceptor to show you over time how to safely and appropriately provide for your patients' needs in any number of skill-driven scenarios. Additionally, though I applied to some out-of-state positions, I hoped to be able to stay local. Alex and I were not yet married and his job was here, as well as our being plugged into a church and having pretty much our entire support systems in this area. Though I was offered a job about 3 hours north of where we currently are, with a wonderful team in Labor and Delivery, we prayed over this and just didn't feel it was the move for us. I was blessed to find exactly what I needed with my current employer, which is also a major system in my area, something that I hoped would provide me with a fair amount of job security and opportunities for development/improvement in my career, should we decide to stay here long term. Being among only 6 accepted from 1,200 applicants, I count this as an immense blessing and divine intervention. I started my new career as a MedSurg Nursing Resident in August of 2014, just after we returned from our July 7, 2014 Hawaiian dream wedding and Honeymoon.
We closed on our home in March 2015, and though it added about 20 minutes each way to my commute to the hospital, I love our little home and the fact that it's down the street from my lifelong best friend and only a couple miles from my parents. Alex was still traveling 3-5 days per week all throughout the United States and Canada, which was fine for a while and he really enjoyed aspects of it. Ultimately, however, this part of the job made it challenging not only for our relationship, but trying to start a family - at 33, it was time to really start thinking about this seriously. So, he kept his ear to the ground.
After completing my residency in May 2015, I was placed in a day shift position on a Acute Care Surgical floor at my hospital, and loved the experience I continued to gain there. I made so many friends there, who I still stay in touch with, but my heart definitely still was with the women's specialties. I assertively made connections with the managers of Labor & Delivery, and made sure to consistently check the internal job postings for the next transition program that would educate and train me for a career in these specialties. When the posting came through in January 2016, I applied, interviewed, and was accepted in February (this, shortly after Alex left his old job of constant traveling with a somewhat bittersweet feeling for a job working for a large system that would compensate him more fairly and allow him to be at home daily so we could really, in earnest, try for kids). My heart could not have been more full. I was overjoyed and so thankful, and felt like everything for the last 6 years since I started this journey into the medical field was leading to this moment.
I started my new position this past April, working in Post Partum, and it has been challenging but a joy. There are still difficult days, but I cannot think of anything more fulfilling to do with my life (career-wise) than to care for these new moms and babies and show them the ropes where needed. I originally thought I would work in L&D, however these nurses do not get to spend much time with the babies and I enjoy this aspect of the work probably the most, at least at this station in my life - so for the time being, I'm planning to stay in this specialty. But that's one of the many lovely things about nursing as a career - there are endless possibilities for career progression and advancement or even lateral transition - you can always decide to try something new, and who knows what the future holds? The main thing at this juncture with work that is incredibly daunting for me is that after completing the transition program, the only full time position available to me was to work night shift. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever done that, but it's basically THE WORST. It totally throws off your body clock, melatonin levels, and messes with other hormones and body chemistry. You feel like a zombie day in, day out, don't get enough vitamin D, consistently lose track of what day it is and forget conversations you had earlier in the day (because, was that yesterday? I just don't know...). I've only been doing it now for 6 months and am on the wait list to go to day shift, but who knows how long that will be. I remain thankful I have a great job with great bosses working in my dream arena, but I'm just praying I get to move to days SOON, because it has also had another charming effect - totally messing with my reproductive cycle...
And on that note, Alex and I have discovered we have a few challenges in the reproductive arena (so the whole night shift thing is doubly not doing us any favors). However, I know that though they felt insurmountable when they were first diagnosed, they are not, particularly not for our great and faithful God. We are praying for guidance, wisdom, and seeking medical intervention without parting from His will, financially or otherwise. Everything in His time, and I'm becoming more and more comfortable every day with the possibilities for life going forward, whether that holds children for us or not. I still struggle sometimes - get sad thinking I may never have my own. BUT...I get to snuggle babies and help new moms every night that I go to work (and get paid well to do so), so I count my blessings with that, and remember that when I am done with my twelve hour shift, I still get to go home and have "me time" and "sleep time," and get to just hang with the dog, go for workouts, see friends, have a romantic evening with the husband, or pretty much whatever my little heart desires. Which all changes when you have kids. There are advantages either way, and I have to keep in mind that God's plans are perfect, and He has one for each of us.
For now, I'll focus on all these blessings I've been given, for they are many. And have fun experiencing them and blogging about them in the meantime.
Well, that was the longest she ever wrote, but it's all. Until next time...
XOXO,
Cat
P.S. They won't all be this long, I promise. Four years, people.
Comments