the best of both worlds

i'm super excited! yesterday i called up the hospital and talked to the facility manager about doing my senior practicum on their maternity/surgical ward next summer. he asked if i would consider working there afterwards. of course! (why else would i do my senior there?) he got very excited about it, which got me very excited about it. he described how they're currently expanding the maternity ward (which i knew about) and how they'll be hiring more nursing staff starting in december and how that's really good for me (except that i won't be starting to work until next september, so i don't really know how that's good for me yet). but apparently i shouldn't be too worried about not getting a job there. ha!

then he gave me the name and number of the clinical nurse specialist on the ward and i called her up and we set a day in december when i'm going to come in and job-shadow a nurse for the day - see if i really want to do my practicum there. see if i really want to help deliver babies! weeee! yes i do! so on december 4, the day after my first 2 exams, i'm heading out bright and early and job-shadowing in a place where they are very excited about senior practicum students/new grad nurses! how great is that!!

that's something i'm loving about nursing. we have people coming out to our school and to our clinicals advertising for jobs all the time. "come do your senior practicum with us! come work for us! we love grad nurses!" crazy. yes, apparently there is a shortage of nurses.

the reason that i am so excited about this hospital are the opportunities that i'll have there. i *think* i really want to be an obstetrical nurse. however, "they" suggest that you don't go into something too specialized right out of university, because then you may feel stuck there. they also say that it's good to get some experience on a general medical or surgical ward first, to gain a good set of skills. well, if i get in here, i would have both. the maternity and surgical wards are on the same floor and have the same nursing staff. i'd be getting the best of both worlds.

so that's the reason for my excitement. that, and the fact that my holidays start in less than a month! yippee!

enchilada lasagna

i have a fantastic chicken enchilada recipe. today i made it for supper, but decided to switch things up a bit, in hopes that it would save some time. so instead of making enchiladas all rolled up, i made a chicken enchilada lasagna. here it is:


Julia's Fantastic Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

fry together:

1-2 chicken breasts, diced
1/3 small onion, chopped
some garlic powder

put chicken mixture in a bowl and add:

some sour cream (3/4 C?)
lots of chili powder, to taste.
black pepper

in a greased circular 2L casserole dish, layer as follows:

tortilla
chicken mixture + grated cheddar cheese
tortilla
sour cream and salsa
tortilla
chicken mixture + grated cheddar cheese
tortilla
sour cream and salsa

bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until heated through. i hate when recipes say that - how do i know if it's heated through?? but since i'm the one making the recipe, i'm going to say it.... heat until it's heated!

then add some more grated cheddar and bake until the cheese is melted.


yummers.

it wouldn't be a party without...

a little mario party!!

(with darren & pam)



happy birthday hunny! i love you!

brown leather. a bit of class.
new pillows made by moi.



and yes, the pillows with the designs are fuzzy.

a new perspective on poo

i've had 4 days on the palliative care ward and i've learned a lot already. It is the small things in life that really matter. it's so rewarding - the smile when i wrapped my patient in blankets (straight from the blanket warmer) after giving her a bath in the giant tub in the tubroom (bubbles and jazz music included). the bony handshake at the end of the day as we say goodnight. the inevitable "thank you julia" as i help in the bathroom. recognizing when the pain meds just aren't cutting it anymore and bringing it to the attention of the doctor. these are the things that matter in life.

i don't like poo. more specifically, i don't like bum-wiping. on babies, it's not as bad, but on adults... the other day i had the opportunity to help a colleague clean up her patient, and his bed, which was covered with poo. i described this gag-inducing experience and my reaction in my journal that i weekly hand in to my instructor. she understood, of course, and gave me some really good advice.

the advice came to mind the next day as i was with a patient in the bathroom. when she thanked me for helping her do up her pants, i realized that she cannot do something so simple as this... by herself. she needs me. and i have the opportunity to rid her of her discomfort, of her potential embarrassment. she is in need and i can help. i can make a very important difference in her life right at this moment.

it's those little things again that make the difference. i think i may just be gaining a new perspective on poo.

blame it on the weather

it was thanksgiving. i am thankful for a lot of things. but really... honestly... truly.... i haven't been feeling very thankful or very positive at all ever since.... i guess ever since school started. or maybe it was when we moved. i don't know.
i don't like 4th year. i'm in 3 classes right now, my palliative care class is good, mental health has the potential to be really interesting but instead is rather dull, and my communities class is agonizingly boring. i sit in class and by the end it's literally mentally agonizing for me to keep sitting there listening and doing everything in my power to not run out screaming or crying or something and unfortunately i have 3 hours of mental health AFTER this class. now that clinical has started, my life will be filled with more work and more stress, but that's okay. those 4 weeks without clinical were nice, but the days get really long when i'm home all day and then when R finally comes home, he goes into his study to do marking and prep for the next day. i miss him. it's not his fault and we knew it would be this way. we're working on it.

the weather has been cloudy and wet for days. i'm almost looking forward to winter when we have endless blue skies. i can't stand perpetual cloudiness and rainyness.

i'm fighting a cold. i've been fighting it since last week, some days it's there, some days it's not.

i stayed up late last night studying for my midterm today and also writing personal, professional and self-care goals for clinical. ugh. the only thing i hate more that making goals is self-evaluating them later.

it's funny. at school today i was talking with my friends and a bunch of them are feeling the exact same way. one girl said that she hates the way her life is right now. i couldn't disagree. i said that sometimes i wonder if it's even worth getting this stupid degree. maybe i should just drop out and have babies.

so that's me. that's what's going on in my little brain.

but i am thankful. i am thankful for the gorgeous colours outside. i am thankful for the combination of the smell of coffee and of chai tea that currently permeates our little home, for our very good friends in our Bible study who are coming over tomorrow, for that R likes his job, for the "A " i just got on the test i wrote last week, and that we have a cozy warm place to call our own. i am thankful for my fantastic husband who cares for me so patiently and lovingly even when - especially when - i'm cranky and not fun to be around. and i'm thankful for my God, that he is ever faithful, that no matter how down i am feeling, no matter how far i wander from his care, his loving arms are waiting there, wide open to take me back.

and just hold me.

jammed it full of fun

palliative: 1. relieving or alleviating without curing. 2. an agent that alleviates or eases a painful or uncomfortable condition.

today was my last day of freedom. tomorrow i begin a new clinical rotation. i'm going to be in palliative care - comfort care - for patients who are dying. it should be a very interesting time. i'm a little nervous, as i always am before i start a new rotation, but everyone that i've talked to who has gone through their palliative rotation has actually enjoyed it. so i may be a little bit excited too.

when i realized that this last week was going to be my last week with a few days off in the middle, i jammed it full of fun. i got to spend some more time with rachel, my very amazing friend, and her little guy who also happens to be my favorite 11 month old boy in the world. the thing about rachel is that she's so incredibly encouraging. and she encourages the creativeness in me. for example, after hanging out with her last time, i came home with a bunch of beautiful new fabric - enough to make about 9 new pillows for the new couch that we haven't even bought yet! ha! i love you rachel!!

then on thursday i got to hang out with my fav cousin kerri and her 2 kids. it was blast. for part of the day, we went over to erin's place. okay, i love kids, but i'm not really used to being around 5 of them at once, well not 5 under the age of 6. crazy! (i still had a good time guys, honestly!) it was so good to see kerri again, after 3 long years of being kerri-less.

alas, it is almost bedtime and i've got some stuff to do before the morrow comes to bring me a new clinical experience yet again...