How did my initial goals turn out and how did they relate to each other? Lets take a look...
Travel nursing will probably always be somewhere in my brain throughout my whole life. Being able to combine work and travel sounds somewhat ideal to me. I enjoyed the opportunity to spend time looking at nursing positions literally around the globe. I think this search taught me a handful of things, 1. That is takes a lot of organizing to get yourself an international position. 2. To keep an open mind about countries that accept travel RN's. 3. Don't discount travel nurse volunteering. The thing I learned that was the most interesting to me is that I was looking the opposite direction of most international travel nurses. I am curious what lies outside the United States, while most people are trying to claw their way into a United States Registered Nurse job. However, I did find a very nice compilation of websites that deal with non-US international nurse placement.
Travel is always fun because you get to see how other people live. I feel like travel nursing would be fun because you get to see how other countries nurse. What are the other attitudes and responsibilities held by nurses around the globe. I always love coming home after being away. I feel like I always incorporate one new thing into my home life. So we'll see what happens and how it goes, but at least I investigated and gave some light into what interests me!
Self care was especially nice to call attention to. I think it gets shuffled away and can easily be forgotten. Blogging about it though really calls to importance the beauty of self care. Whatever you think self care entails, is what self care is for you. It is incredibly subjective. Putting on your own oxygen mask first is an important life lesson. I don't think I learned any new ways to self care, but what I really took away was the importance of the self care. As we care for others for so long, it is important to care just as much for ourselves. For me I think self care involves: warm showers, cooking, relaxing with friends, grocery shopping (I really enjoy it?), going for walks, good coffee, drawing, thinking about dreams for the future... In fact I think I could spend my whole life doing those 8 things and be happy. Recently my self care got even better because we added a little wood burning stove to our family! We looked at them in the showroom and they were $2,600, then we looked on Craigslist and got the same stove used for $450! I love the heat a cast iron stove produces and it is beautiful to sit working in front of a fire (like I'm doing right now). Whatever it is that you enjoy and replenishes you is self care. I'm sure as life goes on my list will grow but for now those are what they are. I hope to truly take away the importance of self care and NOT FORGET it!!
Sheath's... so I got to vent about the situation as a way to express my feelings. While I don't have any immediate change in circumstances, I feel like I have a better grasp going forward. I will try to educate myself as much as possible. I also feel like I have a game plan to step up and try being resource nurse aka "Sheath nurse" after we finish school. Beth had a great comment that sometimes realizing you don't like something is enough. I could say to myself, yes I don't like it and that is fine. Knowing that is an option takes the pressure off. I want to tackle this issue as a way to feel like a fully rounded cardiac nurse. There is so much to know as nurses that it keeps us smart engaging in the world around us. I think I am still ready to learn more things and tackle new challenges. I'll get there in due time and that is just fine. I remember when I first started working as a nurse for some reason giving blood transfusions really scared me. Recently I did four transfusions on a shift and it was no problem. I look forward to that same transition with sheath pulling.
I also really enjoyed our post on beauty. Especially because I got to see what everyone else thinks is beautiful. The simplicity of sitting in my backyard and taking it all in was fun. I feel like I do that out of curiosity or because I am working in the yard. But I really enjoyed just sitting there with the intention of soaking up it's beauty. In a few months I will be out there all the time. Once the sun starts shining I sit on our picnic table under the cedar tree and enjoy the day. Or I'll put a sun chair in the middle of the lawn and read a book. Or I'll plant more things in our garden, or I'll... ok I digress...
Thank you all for a great quarter. It was really fun writing about a variety of things. I especially liked reading all your responses to my posts. It is interesting as nurses, that we all work in the same field (and all have the same license) but we do different things and encounter different stressors. Yet we all need to take care of ourselves, find beauty in the world around us, and make meaning of the crazy situations we encounter. Thanks for being such good sharers and listeners, this was truly a joy!
Sunny Sup~!
ReplyDeleteYes we did it. Survived and thrived this quarter. It was a pleasure to meet you and learn about you as a person. I think it must’ve been a little daunting to start opening up to a total stranger at first, but as we talked about in class, being vulnerable to each other has allowed us to be there for each other during the stressful quarter. I learned that you are an artist, a musician, and probably an excellent harpist. I get the feeling that you are also an excelling clinician, with awesome sheath and nursing skills. I loved escaping Seattle with you to all the possible places that you might travel in your next career move. Thanks for inviting me to your home via blogs and pictures. It looks like a very cozy place to be, especially with the iron fireplace and the hammock you were talking about. Thank you also for reading my blogs and providing me with kind words and constructive feedback. Even though I did quite a bit of venting this quarter, I hope some of it was a genuine pleasant read, or at least put a smile on your face.
I think all of your goals were a success, despite materializing or not. I think they were a success because of the amount of effort you put into making everything happen. I often find myself feeling like I don’t have much time for anything when working full time, going to school full time, and dealing with life all at the same time. You seem to be able to balance those things out well, especially researching the travel nurse adventures you’ll soon be having. I hope that you and the hubby find happiness in your next move together, and I hope success and happiness follows :)
I have been so excited to keep up with all your findings on travel nursing. You've found some really interesting information about both working and volunteering. I really hope you do make time for this in your future.
ReplyDeleteI've learned all about the perils of sheath pulls from your weekly blogs. I will admit I'm a little terrified of it now, but at least I have a little more insight into what it is, what can go wrong and who to call, when I start practicing in my own nursing career.
I wish you the best of luck with "putting your own oxygen mask on first" and other methods of self care. Over the course of the quarter I feel like I've had the wonderful opportunity to get to know you a little bit better. You really are an amazing person and I'm sure you are a wonderful caring nurse as well. Focusing on balancing school, work and fiancé right now must be challenging right now but you make it look easy. I hope you make some time to snuggle up next to your fella with a cup of tea and a purring kitty to just sit and relax after this quarter is over. You most certainly deserve it.
Look at your Home Sweet Home!! I want to lie down in the sunny grass and nap. I'm sitting in front of my gas iron stove as I write to you! It's the best thing I ever purchased, I swear. They bring Happiness all winter long.
ReplyDeleteGaby, I have so enjoyed your writing, you are such an excellent writer. I think it is because you are a thoughtful, reflective person and it mirrors in your posts. Your persistence at self-care is inspiring to me and has helped me prioritize it in my own life and work.
I am so interested to see what foreign nursing adventures may be down the road for you! Your research has been really interesting to read about as I don't know much about it at all. I hope your blog incorporates a travel journal into it one day, already can't wait to read!
And like Heather says, yes now the world of sheaths sounds terrifying to me and that you do make balancing everything in life look easy. I like that you adjusted your goals to what you felt is realistic at this time (back to self care again!) but continued to research and make plans for the future. No wonder you are so accomplished and successful! Thank you again for all of your wonderful posts and your insightful comments for me!
Here's my eval of you to Beth....Felt like I'd share because I feel like I'm talking behind your back, even though it's not talking bad about you...if that makes any sense.
ReplyDeleteGaby Holmquist’s Evaluation
We called this girl Sunny Sup on the blog sphere. She achieved all her goals effortlessly in my humble opinion. First, she researched her next career move thoroughly, making a list of all the possible places she could go for travel nursing. She also researched agencies in-depth, so I feel that she is ready to pull the trigger when the time comes. Next, she handled herself with sheath pulls at work like the professional she is. I have a feeling that she is very technically skilled. I don’t have the skills she possesses, nor do I think I’ll have the opportunity to learn it anytime soon. Her anecdote about an incidence at work also revealed to us that she keeps it cool under pressure and when dealing with hot tempered and rude doctors. Yet she doesn’t stand idly by. She learned from that experienced and grew as a professional in terms of dealing with difficult coworkers. Another incident involved her buying 20 something coffees for her co-workers and not getting paid due to unfortunate circumstances, but she kept it cool instead of acting like a fool. Finally, she took care of herself like she said she would. Whether it was enjoying her garden in a hammock, or reading a book by her iron fireplace, she took care of herself in her own ways. Sunny Sup is also a musician, a harpist to be exact. That was her previous passion and career, but now she is multi-disciplined as a healer and an artist. I told her that I wish I could hear her play one of these days, because from the picture she posted, she looked like she was very skilled as a harpist. It turns out, that we both have a yearning to travel. I shared stories of my trips to the Bay Area in California, as well as Thailand, Taiwan, and Hawaii. I also loved how she told me it was ok to keep enjoying my white mochas even though I was trying to cut down on the java. Actually, come to think of it, everyone told me to keep enjoying them. It was my own form of self-care. Since Sunny Sup is big on self-care, so we both gave each other A++++ in that department.