Life of a Do-It-All

You might be nervous, feel adrenaline running through your body - or it might be something that you want it to be done before the day even begins. Nursing is a calling, and while the pay is good- do not step into this profession if you do not have a passion for your patients and what you're doing... it's easy to feel swallowed whole otherwise.  Clinical was great! I can only disclose so much that I was exposed to as a right to my patient. But I had a great time. Within the first hour, I felt my heart swell... knowing truly that this field (in all it's glory) is something that I am so excited to be a part of. Family and friends always insisted I would be better as a lab rat, but in fact, I adore direct patient care. While nursing is a science and has A LOT of studying and hard work behind it... pay attention to your heart and what you're passionate about- it can take you far. If you're just starting nursing school- clinical can seem like something you're ru...

It's easy to struggle through nursing school and focus on the material that is in front of you. Even if you're in front of patients. We might fully understand how a procedure works and know how to instruct a patient to relax, but we can never understand their point of view. Sometimes all we need is a change of perspective, and a personal experience to help make our patients have the best one that they can have. I was a patient recently getting my cavities fixed. I was more than freaked out about getting numb, and it was more than comforting to have a great dentist. I was shakey and teary-eyed while I felt the loss of control of the left side of my face. I was terrified to talk to even see the drill, let alone feel the vibrations through my mouth.  I realize going through nursing school, and for any type of healthcare professional, it's a "no-no" to tell the patient exactly how things will end up or an exact amount of time it will take. But, being an anxious...

While 99% of my posts thus far have been around nursing, this blog is centered around trying to juggle everything that is placed in your path that you wish to accomplish. I currently work with a group of high-schoolers that are on a Youth Leadership Board, under the non-profit I work with. I slowly am creating a collection of infographics that they can learn leadership skills from. I use them as a starting point for all of our meetings, I print and pass out copies to each child and we use it as a discussion starter for each meeting. After they will still have the resource. Here's my first one:

I'm officially in my first course that has a clinical rotation! Fundamentals II, we are going to a nursing home and learning! While I 100% am not volunteering patient information, I will be volunteering my perspective on what to look out for and what I paid attention to. Feel free to follow along and learn more about a clinical journey.  I'm writing this pre-orientation to my first clinical site. It feels like so much has been thrown at us requirement wise, but not much information wise. I lost count of how many emails have been sent out of reminders, dates, conflicts, etc. There's a lot that can flood a nursing student's mind, and it can all come at the rate of a tsunami. It's important to make a distinction between class requirements, and what the clinical site is asking of you. Just as we like our homes and private areas to be respected... each clinical site expects the same- and more... rightfully so. It's imperative to remember some of these clinical si...

Being someone who juggles many projects at once, burnout is a high probability. Time management can seem like a task, let alone finding the time for self-care or a moment comfortably in your own head. Because of this, burnout can wreak havoc on your routines. There are many ways to prevent burnout, and it depends on each person. We read it in magazines, tweets, and posts everywhere - but it can boil down to something more simple than once thought. Making the time within your daily routine for yourself can change the flow of your day. Here's a great graphic that can kickstart your healthier habits: