If you couldn’t tell, I really like the work I do. I love being a nurse and I can’t imagine doing anything else in my life. I love the challenge, I love the science, I love that I know I’m making a difference. That being said, the thought that I love this work so much scares me sometimes. What if I got hurt and couldn’t be a nurse anymore? What if some freak event ended with me losing my license? What would happen to me if the one thing that makes up such a big part of my identity – was gone? I recently started reading Tao Te Ching. It’s a book about Taoism which is a Chinese philosophy (I’ve been reading a lot about these minimalist philosophies – Baghavad Gita and Marcus Aurelius’ Stoicism are a couple more that I’m looking into too). It’s been helping me realize that I need to be less attached to things like this… There was a couple things in just the first two chapter that left a really big impression (it also made me really confused because it is too meta): “Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets…
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That New New
I have officially taught my first quarter as a new clinical instructor! I teach fundamentals and introduction to med/surg skills lab and let me tell you, it has been the weirdest transition I never expected. There are a lot of things I’ve though about as I chose this path in nursing, like why I wanted to pursue this, why I think it’s important, and of course, whether or not I think I’m capable of making the impact I want to make. I find myself constantly reminding myself of these things as I go through these challenges… Many of the things that make this transition weird is because I still look like a baby nurse. I never like wearing my lab coat, but I wear it because I need to stand out from my students (I really still look like I’m still a student when I’m standing next to them). And like I said in my last post about the workshop too, most of the educators I work with are much more experienced and seasoned – the age gap is that wide. Now the pros and cons of this situation are pretty significant too. I really like that I’m a younger…
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NLN Faculty Intensive
This past June, I took another mind changing conference with the National League for Nursing at their headquarters in Washington DC. I had a great experience at the previous summit, so I thought, this is a good investment in myself and will help prepare me more for the role as clinical instructor/educator at my new job. I wasn’t wrong. In the weeks heading up to this event, I had really pushed my management to let me go to this event. I needed approved vacation time, and I didn’t have it. I talked to my assistant nurse manager and then I talked to my manager… and then I had to talk to them again. It frustrated me that I had to work this hard for something that was supposed to be an investment in myself. I don’t know that I’ve ever fought for something like this before, and it helped me realize that I don’t always need to back down. If I want it to happen, I can make a way. From the get-go, I was blown away just by the participants in this workshop. I was surrounded by doctorally prepared DNP’s and Ph.D’s – many were deans and directors at…
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NLN Summit 2018
#1: Nurses can do anything. #2:we’ve come this far from standing on the shoulders of giants. It’s our duty to do the same for the next generation. Still on a mini high after attending the #NLNSummit2018 in Chicago. Our keynote speaker was Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent Adams. The journey of her nursing career is humble and where she is now is a testament to how important nurses can be, especially in the political realm. I was captivated during the entire time she spoke and I definitely was inspired to do more than what I have planned so far so that I can make a similar, if not greater impact in the nursing realm. I hesitated coming to this conference because I wasn’t sure if it was the right one to go to, even though I am adamant about following through with a nursing education career. I was surrounded by doctorally prepared nurses and I felt like an ant in comparison to what they all have accomplished. I even met the authors of the textbooks that I read in nursing school! I used to be a bit annoyed that older nurses held the curriculum of new nurses when the information that…
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Professor M?
It’s not a secret that I don’t like public speaking. And it’s pretty ironic since I chose the path of education for my graduate degree, where I’ll probably have to do a lot of that. A week before I needed to present my lecture, I got to talking to one of my patients, who conveniently used to coach performers and singers on improving their “presence”. As we got to talking, she started to probe into the reasons why I lacked so much confidence, when it seemed evident to her that there was so much I wanted to offer my students. I even had to practice in front of her! She gave me the most solid advice that I didn’t even know I needed… She said, you need to believe that what you’re saying is important and the things you want to pass on are what they need to be good nurses. *cue mike drop* Obvious, right? I’m about to graduate with my Master’s and before deciding on this path, this was exactly the reason why I chose this part of nursing – because I wanted new nurses and nursing students to know not only the challenges of this profession, but…