Q&A: All About Nursing {the job, not the other}

What do you do

I have my bachelors in nursing and practice as a Registered Nurse in a 48 bed critical care unit {not including trauma or cardiac ICU, total is somewhere over 100}. My role entails just about everything under the sun and the moon. I have seen a lot. For the person that asked if I see gruesome stuff? Sure. To me though? It is no longer gruesome. It is just the norm.

I take care of patients on the ventilator {life support}. Young {as young as 18}, old {as old as 100}. Some nights are predictable and just me going with the flow. Many nights are a huge question mark. In other words, no idea {but can most of the time guess} whats to come.

 I have taken care of 3 donor patients. What does this mean? These are patients that are kept on life support, although they are prounced brain dead, and their families have chosen to go through the donor process. It isn't an easy one folks, and I do not wish this sort of decision upon anyone. But I have to say, it is amazing to see the results and the amazing work of organ donation. All 3 of my cases were teenagers. All 3 were due to drug overdoses. All 3 were very unfortunate and sad to be a part of. One of those cases I was able to follow to OR and actually see the organ procurement process. That was quite the experience.

Adrenaline rush is one of the best ways to describe the ICU. When time is of the essence, it is guys OF THE ESSENCE.

What is your work schedule like

I work full time, 3 nights a week, Monday-Sunday. We work every third weekend {Friday, Saturday}. I never do 3 in a row {because I stay home with the kiddos}, so normally I work one, off two, then work two.

What is the hardest part of the job

The family members. You know, I see death all the time. We bag bodies more than I care to tell you. But the family members? The wives that fall to the ground when they hear their husband of 30 years just passed? The daughter who was supposed to be walked down the aisle in 2 days by her daddy that she just had to say goodbye to? The mother who lays in bed with her teenage son as she says her last goodbyes? Oh that gets me every time. I don't cry when my patients pass {except one}, but I tear up EVERY TIME a family member does.

The young cases. Those always affect me on a bigger scale.

The ones that were supposed to get better. The ones you were rooting for. The ones that you never expected to take a turn for the worst. Those are hard.

It's all hard. All of it. The emotions are just plain hard. And I immediately put myself there. What if that was my family member. And everyone has a story. So yeah, it is hard.

Do you think about your patients when you go home

You know, besides the one I will always remember {I will write about this in another post}, I don't {I try not to|. I don't know if its because I have been doing this for years, have seen the saddest of the sad, the ugliest of the ugly, and the disbelief that I have been faced with.... but I just leave it all at work. I think if we think about it too much and let things affect us on a personal level, then it would cause problems in our lives. I can't live that way.

Do you think you will do bedside forever?

Eh, no. I used to say that I would do only 5 years {hello 5 year anniversary next year}, however, I can definitely say that it is in my longterm future. Simply because it works for our family. Our schedule. Our life. I cannot imagine having to work 9-5 day shift. So for now, yes, I think for the next 10-15 years, I'm there.

Will you go back to school?

You know, I used to say yes for sure. I've always been a driven individual and seeking the higher and the more educated. Now it is hard for me to say. Like I mentioned above, this is just what works for our schedule now. Going back to get my NP or doctrine sure sounds nice, title and all, but would it be ideal for our every day? Probably not. So at this point, it isn't in my near future. I'm not sure for later though. Maybe.

Best advice to those in school?

Don't give up. Don't listen to all the negativity and grinches out there. Nursing is kind of like motherhood. You will hear all the horror stories, and all the complaints, but believe me... there are just as many {and more} rewards from it.

I promise.

Where do I see myself when I am 50?

Teaching at a large university. Maybe even Purdue. like to talk. So. It would be fitting for me.

Q&A: When Did We Know We Were Ready for #2

Another question from my "Ask Me Anything Post"... another one that has turned into a POST POST instead of just an answer. Remember, I said I like to talk a lot.

Point made.

To begin with, I cannot believe that I never touched surface on this topic a long time ago. To me, it seems natural to answer something so simple. I think I went into details about how we felt ready via a "chart" that I had made over a year ago, but we did not end up feeling "ready ready" until a few months after that.

What changed? What was the deciding factor for our family to want to expand? What made use wake up one day and say.... lets do it {literally}.

Well, it is as simple as that last statement.

You see, when you have your first baby, that baby of yours is your life. Everything revolves around this little creature that you have created and you have developed this routine that, in your eyes, seems too perfect to mess with. On top of that, the love that you feel for this child is so out of this world that no amount of words could ever describe such a connection that you feel. The words your "heart" living outside of your body couldn't be more true. So, the thought of bringing another baby into the picture? Just completely blows your mind.

You don't want to disrupt this good thing. You don't want to share the love that you have for your first. You just don't want to.

But then, one day you wake up and decide... but I do.

But I do want to relive those newborn snuggles, those newborn cries, the first milestones, from smiling to crawling to walking. Even, hold me, the sass. To add another face to the family pictures. Another set of toes to kiss at night. And most of all, to watch your first, this person that at this point is at the top of your world, one day fall in love with their little sibling and have a "friend" to grow up. Someone that they can go to, confide in, and talk about their "mean" parents with when they get grounded.

You know what exapanding your family is? It is simply expanding your love. Enriching it further. And giving your children a gift that holds the greatest value.

A family.

You wake up one day and you just realize that you are ready. You cannot pinpoint what happened, why TODAY felt like the day. You didn't become richer, wiser, or more organized. But it just came over you. Flooded you with emotions. And made you want to jump on your husband as quick as possible. You were ready. I was ready.

There really aren't words to describe it. Kind of like when people try to describe what "the one" feels like. When it happens... you'll just know.

And one day, I woke up... and just knew. It was around the time Elliana was about 17 months old. I pictured her 10 months from then... will she be ready? Will I be ready? And although I did not have the answer to this, no magic 8 ball to envision the future, I just felt like the answer was yes.

And so here we are, a family of 4. Will we be a family of 5 one day? I hope so. Am I ready now? No. Will I know when I'll be ready? No. But do I feel confident that things will fall in place as they should? Yes.

You know, you...... just know.

Some Questions Answered: Sleep, Weekly Schedule, Challenge of Two

Every week I will be answering some questions that were asked in my "Ask Me Anything" Post. The reason that it is only a few a week is because of the fact that they are 1. great questions and 2. I talk a lot. A lot, a lot. And therefore, it's hard for me to answer a question in a sentence or two.

Today though, we will focus on the questions related to my sleep/weekly schedule.

When do I sleep.

Ah, yes, the million dollar question. First, lets just throw this out there: I do sleep. And I sleep fairly well. Now the amount? Not sure if it is normal or not. To me it seems normal? I do not ever feel tired, worn out, or as if I am depriving my body of sleep. Again, normal? Probably not. But it works. And although it, my sleep, may be all over the place, I still feel as though I get the adequate amount {for the week}.

So when exactly do I sleep? On the nights that I work, I will nap with the babies. That means all three of us, in bed, napping at the same time. This averages about 2 hours, and sometimes, if I get lucky, I have gotten 3 hours out of them.

I will also nap on my 1 hour break at work. Then I come home and do it again {nap} if I work that next consecutive night. If I don't, then sometimes I won't nap {even though I know I should}, and just use that as my personal time.

Then when I am off work {4 nights a week}, then I will try to catch up on sleep that was missed during those 3 nights that I worked. I think overall, I probably get more sleep than one thinks, its just spaced out and all over the place.

So yes, I do sleep. It's just not exactly on the conventional schedule.

My weekly Schedule:

I'm going to try to make this answer as brief as possible, because in reality, I could devote a whole post to this and really break it down for you. But I will instead share the gist.

I work 3 nights a week---> It's different every week--->Mandatory every 3rd weekend.
I try to schedule myself on 1, off 2, then work 2.
Off 4 nights a week {aka catch up sleep time}.
I'm with my babies all 7 days.
On the nights that I work I try to have everything ready for Andrew from pajamas and diapers laid out, to their day outfits for the next morning, and wash clothes to wash their fashes in the morning and brush E's teeth.

If I worked the night before, Andrew and I will meet in the mornings at one of our designated spots {depending on how late I get out} so we can switch cars. He gets mine. I get his {with the precious cargo inside}.

Tuesdays we have Toddler time from 10-11.

Saturdays are devoted to a sport or activity Elliana partakes in. Last 3 months it was gymnastics, and coming up next week we will have 3 months of dance/ballet. As she gets older, we plan on adding a music and art class on top of a sport, but we will evaluate as we go as to not to overwhelm her.

And Sundays will be devoted to Church in the morning and Sunday School for the kiddos {a post coming on that}, and that is when we do our meal planning for the week and grocery shopping.

As far as what our days are filled with: We try to do 1 hour of school time {may be broken down} throughout the day, where we focus on flashcards, magnets, extended conversations, and crafts. We try to read around 10 books a day {some may be repeated}. Thirty minutes to an hour of TV {super why or leap frog learning}. And at least 30-60 minutes of outside {weather permitting} or running errands {to keep our sanity}. Otherwise, the rest of the time during the day is spent playing, household chores, and cooking. I sound like a housewife here.....

I plan on doing another "Day in the Life" post like I had prior to Graham's arrival, however, until then, this will do.

What has been the most challenging with bringing home Baby #2:

I think the most challenging has definitely been trying to meet two needs at the same time. Two very I-need-you-now-needs. You know that time when both babies wake up from the nap, big girl E starts crying because she woke up too early and wants nothing but her mama. So I pick her up. Little man G then chimes in becauses, well, he's hungry and probably wet and needs me in that way. I have learned ways to get Elliana calmed down as fast as possible, shower with her as many kisses, hugs, and love, and divert her attention to something fun or something she enjoys so I can quickly scoop up the little guy and make him feel comforted and loved as well.

Sometimes, you know, us moms could really use an extra pair of hands on our bodies. Seriously.

***
Next week, we will focus on more questions: Nursing Related.

Feel free to go to original post if you would like to add onto the questions!