My first night shift, yay! Maybe that will make me feel more in my element. I got to work in plenty of time to thoroughly examine my report sheet and discover that I had been given one postpartum mag patient and two GYN surgical patients. Just when I though I might have a night where I felt like I was in my element. Those new procedures and monkey wrenches were my monkeys and my circus. With yet again almost no down time we did manage to get in my glucometer testing, safety walk and a few on line tests as well as several other things I had not yet done. I’m glad they threw in the gyn patients while I was still in orientation at least that will give me some exposure. I’m on the fence on weather I should take them up on the extra day of orientation or just know that I am going to be a pest to the nurses around me for a while asking frequent questions. The latter is, I believe, pretty much unavoidable either way. I am going to have to make a more organized report sheet so that I can hit the floor running, and take less time to organize my brain. The night went by fast. There is no nurses station just small alcoves with one or two chairs spread around the unit. That, coupled with the other nurses being just as busy, means you don’t see the other nurses except for a few times a shift and there really isn’t any opportunity to get to know them, other than if you by chance took your lunch break at the same time and had time to chat as you ate. So it is easy to see what things are going to be hard or a challenge for me here, but there are also so many positives.
1. Epic experience (a charting system)
2. They do a lot of high risk and antepartum.
3. GYN surgical experience.
4. It is two hospitals in one with a children’s hospital containing a NICU as part of that.
5. The kids love it here and think it reminds them of Oregon. (Trade out the mountains for lakes everywhere, and it is more green here. I know many Oregonians would not think that is possible.)
6. We like the area.
7. We love the continued exposure to new cultures (including unit cultures) and ways to do things.
8. The kids are learning a lot about the geography of the United States.
9. I think Chad has made a new hobby of driving around and figuring out the town/area. I’m impressed that I have managed just this last shift to make it to work and back for the first time with out using the GPS, but he can already tell you how to find the mall, Barnes and Noble, knows the names of all the main roads, and what grocery stores carry GF bread. He is so amazing like that and he enjoys it. It is his activity to go out and get a break from his full time daddy job.
10. This assignment was hand picked for us and now we get to spend the next three months discovering why. You all know how much I love surprises.
Since we have no living room furniture yet we are trying out the couch at the mall.
The outdoor/active wear store at the mall has a whole section devoted to the Oregon Ducks.
Here is their local college team the Badgers.
But really it is all about Green Bay here and cheese heads.
Caleb and Hannah found some warm beanies for winter.
Now it’s time to relax.
Lots of love from Wisconsin.
Owens Endeavors 