Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone,

the turkey is nothing but 

a bag of carefully kept scraps now.

With all the festivities over 

I've had more time to reflect over this past year

and what I have to be thankful for.

Last year at this time,

I was stuck in Canada nervously waiting for

the paperwork I needed to get approval for a work visa.

My husband was still in the USA

finishing up his Bachelors degree.

We barely had $50 in the bank account 

and

I was afraid that another delay in my start date

would result in my employer letting me know 

that I wasn't really worth the trouble.

I am thankful for:

 An employer who thought enough of me 

to push my start date back three times.

A team of co-workers that have done nothing

but make me feel welcome and supported

since I have started

A career that I am passionate about

and wouldn't trade for another in a million years

A husband who has been my rock for 13 years

The food on my plate, the roof over my head,

the bed I sleep on.

So,

what am I thankful for this year?

Everything I have.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone,

thank you for reading....

I am thankful 

for

each and everyone of you!

Dreams

Last night I had this weird half waking dream.

I'd half wake up and think to myself,

"OMG the monitor in this room is not working!

There are no vital signs on this patient,

is he alive or dead?!?"

Then realize that I am in my own bedroom,

there is no dying patient,

and go back sleep.

This happened several times last night,

can you tell I have had crashing patients A LOT lately?

Here Comes the Train!

  I hope everyone will forgive the lack of posts in the last few weeks, but it is that time of the year again! The unit is getting admits and most of them are train wrecks.

  Normally a typical assignment in our units for a single nurse consists of one vent and one "walkie talkie" this way the nurse only has one total care patient. A stable vent requires q2hr turns, a full bed bath etc, so they take up a little more time so you don't hit a nurse with two vented patients unless they ask for it,

  This past week there was not a single patient in the unit that was not on a ventilator, meaning every nurse had a double vent load and some of us ended up with seriously unstable vents that had us hopping all night. Top it off with a code, a couple of emergency bed side procedures and it made for a very busy week.

  On weeks like this you will find that it is the team you work with that makes or breaks the shift. Lucky for me we had a great team and even though it was a rough three in a row we found time to laugh and although we were beat up and tired at the end of the night we walked out smiling. These are the sorts of nights where I am so thankful for finding the job that I did (or it finding me) and where I really, really love my job.

Get to Know Me Link Up

Today I am linking up with fellow nurse bloggers Anna @ The Days When I'm Not a Nurse and Renee @ This Won't Hurt A Bit
  This link is aimed at helping our readers get to know us a little better,  so here goes.

  My given name isn't Kitty,  it's a nick name that my husband gave me years ago when we first started dating.  He said I act like a cat,  he's right  I love napping in a good sunbeam,  watching birds at the many feeders around my yard  and cuddling up close to on a cold night.
  I am a brand spanking new nurse who took her first job in a small community hospitals ICU. I float from time to time to the ER when the unit is slow and enjoy experiencing the different kind of insanity that is ER nursing. 
  I love my job in the ICU, when I started my job a number of people told me I should have held out for a job in one of the big, glamorous teaching hospitals in town, but I am glad I stuck with my little community hospital. I work in a unit of only 16 beds in a close knit group of nurses. I have never felt like I was alone when stuff hit the fan, I know I can always rely on my co-workers, we're like a family and we never leave one of our own out to dry. There are a lot of stories out there of nurses eating their young, but never once have I felt that way since I arrived to my unit. Every night I walk down the hall to work I am so thankful that I work with such a great team.
  My husband and I have been together for 13 years now,  and it's felt like we've known each other forever  at the same time it never feels like that much time has gone by.

 I could not imagine a life without him, he was my rock during nursing school.  He patiently let me practice my assessments and vital signs on him, but he drew the line at IV's which was such a pity, he has the most amazing veins ever!  He continues to support me through this last year,  letting me vent every morning when he picks me up from work  and celebrating my little victories with me.  I couldn't have a better partner,  together we can do anything!
  I love to work the night shift, I am NOT a morning person, I hated getting up at 5am for clinicals. It's not for everyone but it certainly works for me!
I'm coming up on my one year anniversary in nursing, I can't wait to see what the future has in store!
Thanks for following along with me  and  I look forward to sharing more experiences with you!


  

Medical Scrubs Collection Review

  When Medical Scrubs Collection contacted me asking if I would review a set of scrubs for them I jumped at the chance! I had been contemplating buying some new scrubs since the ones that I bought when I was hired seem to be getting a little dingy looking.

  I went to their online store and was blown away with the selection of scrubs that I had to chose from! They carry a ton of brands and many different cuts, colors and styles. The first set of scrubs that I chose actually didn't fit, but no worries they were wonderful about exchanging them and getting another set out to me pronto.

  I chose to try a set of scrubs from Urbane, a brand I have never tried before. 

I went for the 

Urbane Sport V-Neck Crossover Top 

and for the bottoms I went for the

Urbane Sport Knit Waistband Pant

The scrub top has a nice tailored fit,

and

plenty of pocket space for all the stuff

I accumulate over my shift.

I usually wear a Medium in clothes but found

that a Small fit me perfectly in these scrubs.

The waist band on the pants is my favorite feature.

It's made to fit low on the hips and fold over 

much like a pair of my yoga pants.

VERY comfy!

Overall I would totally buy another pair of these scrubs,

and

 Medical Scrubs Collection 

made my return so easy the last time

I'm not worried about any hassles if I have to send anything back.

I'll definitely be shopping with them again

Disclaimer: 

This post is sponsored by Medical Scrubs Collection.

 While the opinions in the above post are mine I have received compensation for the above review.

Medical Monday Blog Hop

Hooray! It's Medical Monday!

Are you confused if you qualify for the party?

Do you work in healthcare?

Doctor? Nurse? EMT? Chiropractor? Vet? Dentist? Therapist?

MA? NA? PA? DA?

Are you the spouse or SO of a healthcare worker/student?

Are you a nursing student? Medical student?

Intern? Resident? Fellow?

You get the picture, right? 

LINK UP YOUR POST!

Our once a month bloghop for bloggers like yourself, where we can build a community of support and friendship, learn from one another and share our stories.

Here are the rules:

1. Follow your co-hosts via GFC.
2. Link up you medical/med life blog. If your blog name does not clearly state how you fit in to the med/med life world, please write a little intro or link up a specific post which clearly demonstrates your connection.
3. Visit at least 3 other link ups, comment, introduce yourself, and tell the your stopping by or following from MM! 
4. Help spread the word by using our button on your post or sidebar, tweet about Medical Monday, or spread the word on Facebook! The more the merrier for all of us!

And here's a helpful tip. . .

If you haven't turned of word verification, it's ON. Please turn it off. We'll all LOVE you!!

Not sure how? Click here for instructions.

Complete step one by following your co-hosts:

• Emma at Your Doctor's Wife
• Jane at From A Doctor's Wife
• Heather at Life Unexpected
• Nurse Kitty at RN: Real Newbie, A Nurse's Blog

Want to be awesome? Help facilitate the hopping by grabbing this button and insert it on the post you link up. . .

<a href="http://www.yourdoctorswife.com/2012/10/medical-monday-3.html" target="blank"> <img src="http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r494/fromadoctorswife/MedicalMonday-001edit125x125.jpg"/> </a>

Want to co-host next month? Shoot Emma an email at yourdoctorswife@gmail.com.

Now, link up below and have fun! The link up is open through Friday, so be sure to come back during the week.

Get Hopping!

Hey all!

Just wanted to let you know that 

Yours Truly

is hosting a Blog Hop right here tomorrow!

If you have a blog,

If you work in healthcare,

If you are a Doctor

Nurse

EMT

Chiropractor

Vet

Dentist

Therapist

MA

NA

PA

DA,

If you the spouse or SO of a healthcare worker/student,

If you a nursing student,

 Medical student

Intern

Resident

or

Fellow,

Then stop by tomorrow to link up your blog and discover new ones,

maybe find your new favorite blog or rediscover some old ones.

Either way,

Hope to see you there!

Influenster:

Have I told you about 

Influenster?

This is a community of people who are invited to try products for free 

and then spread the word about what they like and hate about each product.

A number of themed boxes go out several times a year

to lucky members who have qualified by earning badges

that are related to your individual interests.

Take a look at the brand new site,

Influenster recently went through a makeover that 

has made it WAY easier to find everything.

I love receiving their boxes of goodies, 

which are kept top secret until the lucky recipients unveil 

the contents.

Why not take a look, 

you may end up loving it as much as I do!