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Sehsun
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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 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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| I was talking to my mom on Friday night, and I asked her if I was still covered under their (i.e., my parents') insurance. She said I was not, and the coverage actually ended on September 30th of this year. I was like, oh wow!! Because the benefits for my new job was effective starting on......October 1st. She was shocked, too! That is so neat how I didn't even go a day without health, dental, or vision insurance. What if some medical emergency happened, and I wasn't covered? God truly does provide in neat ways. Just wanted to share that.
And today I felt very "grown-up" as I went to my first dentist appointment on my own insurance (it's about time - it has been over a year since I went to the dentist! I'm not usually like that). I was filling out new patient paperwork, and where it said "Policy Holder," instead of putting my dad's name, I can now put my name. Very cool feeling. I thought I would be getting a cleaning, but I ended up getting a cavity filled. They were booked today, so I will be going back next week for my cleaning.
Random, but.....I was doing my "scrubs" laundry today, and when I was getting the clothes out of the washing machine, I found the fun-sized Baby Ruth bar at the bottom. Yesterday the nurse manager gave it to me and my preceptor, and I put it in my pocket. I am so glad the wrapper was still intact, or else I would have had to re-do the laundry again, probably!
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| I have today and tomorrow off until I go back to work. I cannot believe I'm starting Week 11 of orientation this week. Maybe 3 more weeks of orientation left, including this one? Eeek. I sure hope I am feeling better by Tuesday.
I am slightly ill with a cold, but hopefully I will be getting over it soon. The first symptom I had was a sore throat on Thursday night. I took an Airborne that night and the following morning, with an Emergen-C packet on Friday afternoon. Thankfully, I didn't develop body aches or chills. I am the type of person who will hold off as long as possible to take medicine for anything (except for nausea), and I don't even have Tylenol in my home (I don't get sick much *knock on wood*). But I did took a couple of meds which helped, esp. since I had to work on Saturday (seasonal job ). Thankfully the sore throat is better than it was, which means I can swallow better (yay), and now I've just got a runny nose. Despite the runny nose, I am so glad I can at least taste my food!
I visited a "progressive Pentecostal" church today. I had been thinking about checking it out for a couple weeks and finally went today. I actually enjoyed it! I think it is okay to enjoy worshiping God. It was a place where I could feel comfortable raising my hands in worship if I wanted to (which, on occasion, I sometimes want to) or saying "Amen" if I felt convicted. I know we should not care about what other people think, but unfortunately I am the type of person where if I am the only person doing something apart from everyone else, I feel like everyone would stare at me or think I was doing it for attention.
Any way.......it was good to at least visit it and see what it was like. I have visited two "mega churches" in the area now. I don't know if I have found the church I will be attending here, I just have to keep praying.
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