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Name: Iris
Interests: serving God, Mercy Ministries, women & adolescent health, vegetarian/vegan restaurants, social work, attachment parenting, natural living, psych/mental health
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Industry: Health care
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
10/3/2003
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| I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I actually got the day off from work, but I did not do anything special. I visited my parents the weekend before, and my home church held a Thanksgiving meal on Sunday. Therefore I did get to visit my family and get my Thanksgiving meal fix.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, btw. Also I'm glad I went home because I finally got my hair cut - 10 inches! I grew my hair very long for a specific reason, though - I wanted to donate it to Locks of Love again, like I had done in the past. My cut-off hair was a bit heavy! I really like my short hair.
I also got a new phone, a Motorola Karma! I am so thankful it arrived when I visited my parents for the weekend - if it had arrived even a day later, my mom would have had to send it to me by mail. I am really enjoying my phone. It's my first "slider" style phone and first phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Hmm, maybe it's time I got a text-messaging plan now. My parents and I have been talking about it. We'll see. Btw, my phone was absolutely free with a 2-year contract. Didn't even have to pay an upgrade fee! My mom also got a new phone too - a Samsung Solstice. It's a touch phone, and she really seems to like it. Btw, we both used to have the Samsung Sync. Now we both have smart phones.
Yes, so yesterday.....I did not do anything special. I would have loved to share a big Thanksgiving meal with someone. Maybe next year or in the future. Growing up, my family didn't really do the traditional Thanksgiving thing. I hope that I can incorporate the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in the future, though because I love it.
Today I didn't do the typical Black Friday shopping, either. I enjoy Black Friday shopping, but I guess I didn't feel up to it this year. I did go to Factory Card & Party Outlet and Publix.
And on a last note, beware of cheap scrubs. You do get what you pay for. I bought some white scrubs for nursing school last year. The top and bottom set was $20 total. They lasted well throughout nursing school, but the other day I wore one of the tops. I was pulling into my apartment complex and reached my arm out to open the gate. I heard a ripping sound and thought, oh well. The other top I bought ripped a little too, but I sewed it back up. Yet when I came home and was taking off the top, it ripped even more, almost all the way around the arm hole!!  Maybe it was all the washing in warm water that I did to it throughout nursing school. At any rate, I had to throw it away because no way was I going to stitch all of that back up (I do not have a sewing machine). I do have 4 more scrub tops, so it is okay. I kind of want to get a new white one, though.......
I hope everyone has a nice weekend!
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| Work is going so-so. I'll probably be on orientation forever (half-kidding). Not such a bad thing, considering I feel like I'm not progressing as I should.
On one happy note, I had my first pregnant patient this week!! I was so thrilled. Didn't show it outwardly, though, but I was so excited on the inside. FYI: I don't work on Mom/Baby or L&D.
Busy day today. Stayed a bit too long - overtime - hate doing that, but I couldn't leave stuff not done. Plus, I should have gotten a lot more done before giving report. *sigh*
My skin is starting to crack a little. It stings when I wash my hands w/soap or use hand sanitizer. It's not even "cold" yet - hopefully my skin will be alright for the winter. But I cannot just not wash my hands, esp. during flu season and working in the hospital.
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| - I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! Time sure flies by when.........you're a nurse (you thought I was going to say "having fun," didn't you?).
- Yesterday I went to a "fancy" flea market. It was small, but nice, and I ended up buying a few things for my parents. It was my first time really exploring the downtown area. Very cute, I will have to come back again. While I was out, I decided why not visit one of the nearby malls? It is an outdoor shopping mall - those are getting popular these days. I went inside a few stores and then to Bed Bath and Beyond and Books-A-Million. I love browsing in bookstores. When I was inside BAM yesterday, I saw so many books that I was interested in. The thing is, I probably should hold off on buying books right now. I have other books on my bookshelf at home that I am really, really wanting to read. Plus, I am still not finished with The Birth Partner (eeek, I started it during nursing school), and that is one of the books I am reading for my doula certification. So the priority is to finish that one first. I suppose I could read 2 books at once, though......
- Speaking of the doula certification, I have to read a total of 3 books off the CBI reading list. The Birth Partner is the first of three I am reading. I think I am going to read The Baby Book by Dr. Sears next because my brother and SIL recommended it. I don't know what I am going to read for my 3rd book. I was thinking maybe one of the books listed in the "Midwives Tales" section? We shall see. If you would like to view the reading list, you can go here. I welcome recommendations.
- I have really been thinking about grad school lately. Still 9 months till I can apply to the program I am interested in (at Frontier - you can read about it here). But hearing from other nurses at allnurses.com, it is really best to have some nursing experience before applying to grad school. I agree. There is some debate about this, though, and I lean more towards the side of getting experience. Plus, I couldn't imagine just starting grad school while being a new nurse - I wouldn't be able to make it! Being a new nurse is stressful enough. So the wait is a good decision. I really have to enjoy not being a student while it lasts. Plus....I can save up $$$ for tuition and such during this time, too.
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| Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to everyone who serves our country.
I have been working at my job for 3 months (exactly) now. There is a huge learning curve, and I am always asking many questions. I am expected to finish orientation on the 20th - yes, it has been extended a bit. Obviously I need it. People say this is a good thing, and I agree - it is very good to have an extended orientation. But I also can't help but feel behind because the average length of orientation is 12 weeks, and I will be finishing orientation in 14 weeks. It will be better for me in the long run, and like another nurse said (who was a preceptor for the other new nurse on my floor), it is my license.
I guess I should announce that I am now a volunteer at my local rape crisis center. This is one of my passions in life. I had been wanting to do for a long time, and I did not have the time/commitment to do it while I was in nursing school (and don't know why I delayed doing it while in college). I have finished my 30 hours of training to be a volunteer and hope that I can help someone in need some day. And......maybe down the road, I am thinking of getting trained as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), in addition to plans for grad school. This is one of the specialties of forensic nursing, but the individual must have 2 years of nursing experience before becoming one. So if I do decide to become a SANE, it will have to wait until at least August 2011.
And lastly, my niece is so cute. She can now roll over onto her back! I miss her. I wish I could figure out my schedule for next month, but I don't even have my schedule for Thanksgiving week yet. That schedule is probably not made yet because I am still in orientation and we'll have to see if I am "competent" enough to be on my own before making the schedule. | | |
| I enjoy shopping at Sam's Club. I feel like a "smart shopper" when I go there. Now that I live closer to a Sam's Club, I go there more frequently than I did before. The great thing is that it also has a gas station, so whenever I need to fill my tank, I go there and then pick up a few items (or more!) inside the store.
Just today I went shopping for a few items. I am running low on disinfectant wipes, so I got a 4-pack of Clorox wipes for $12.67 (78 wipes per canister).  I use these wipes sparingly. I mostly use them (+ EtOH swabs) to wipe down my stuff (stethoscope, pens, bandage scissors, PDA, etc.) when I get home from work each day. Other solutions I use to clean surfaces and such around my home are Clorox Anywhere Spray and 100% vinegar in a spray bottle.
Among the other things I bought were two loaves of bread for $3.48. At my usual grocery store, $3.48 is pretty similar to the cost of one loaf of bread. I also bought 2 bags of chips for $5.98. Sam's Club has it where the customer chooses two bags of chips, puts them in a bigger plastic bag, and then the cashier scans the barcode on that plastic bag. Btw, I usually do not buy chips for myself. These chips are for a special occasion at work. I bought Baked Lays and Sun Chips. Even though I may not eat them, I tried to choose chips that were somewhat "healthier." Most of the other chips had partially hydrogenated oil or MSG in them.
I do not do my main grocery shopping here, however. I have to buy my soy milk, yogurt, jam, peanut butter, rolled oats, tofu, etc. at my main grocery store. The reason is because I am a bit picky about certain brands (when eating by myself - I am certainly not going to refuse the above foods if I am staying with someone temporarily). Sam's Club carries general items, but sometimes they do carry different variations of a food product. For example, I prefer the following:
- light soy milk (esp. the 8th Continent Vanilla one - makes my overnight oats taste a tad tastier!)
- plain nonfat yogurt (which I mix with homemade granola and honey for my "dessert")
- Polaner jam (an all-fruit spread with no added sugar)
- Peanut Wonder
- old-fashioned rolled oats (Sam's Club does carry Quaker oatmeal, it's just the instant kind - I know that and the old-fashioned kind have the same ingredients, but I heard somewhere a while back that the old-fashioned kind were "better" for you)
- and well, I haven't seen Sam's Club stock tofu yet 
Sam's Club does not accept credit cards. However, they do accept cash, check, debit card, and their own store's credit card. Once when I was shopping there, the cashier said I was pre-approved for a Sam's Club credit card. I chose not to get one at the time. The most money I spend when I run errands seems to be at Sam's Club because they sell much of their products in bulk. It would be so nice if I could use my regular credit cards here because I could accumulate much rewards dollars on those. But for now I guess I'll use my debit card.
Also if you use to become a Sam's Club member, they do not use plastic shopping bags. They sometimes provide boxes at the check-out line, if they are not already all taken.
One thing I think they should have are shopping cart wipes at the entrance like some stores have. The Wal-Mart in town provides shopping cart wipes. Since Sam's Club is a part of Wal-Mart, I think they should start providing shopping cart wipes too.  I have memorized which stores have them and which do not. For the stores that do not have shopping cart wipes, I bring my own disinfectant wipes - one of the reasons why I like keeping disinfectant wipes in my car trunk.
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