Be Prepared

I am registered nurse here in Philippines and just recently I got my license as a US RN state of Vermont. I must admit I don't have enough clinical experience for now but I can proudly say I have acquired improved nursing skills throughout my days as a nursing student and as a staff nurse for eight months at the local private hospital here.

One of the most important things I learned being a nurse is to make yourself familiar with the hospital equipments and medical supplies because you will never really know when the situation will call for an immediate response which will require the use of such equipments or medical supplies. Just like what I experienced when I had my duty at the surgical ward and we had a code blue. Unfortunately that time, our nursing assistant was new at the ward and she wasn't familiar where the needed equipments were. It was such a difficult situation because as a nurse I had to see first the patient then I had to quickly get the needed equipments myself because the nursing assistant just don't know what to do. Good thing the other health care staff rushed in immediately to help after we called for a code. After we were able to stabilized the patient, I finally had a breather. I said to myself, I should have a word with our new nursing assistant because this can't happen again if ever a situation like this would occur again. Whew! What a day!

Shifting Careers

Part of human nature is being never satisfied with what he has. It's true, like me I am never contented with my work, relationship and overall standing in life. I may be happy with what I do now but there's always something that I keep on searching.

Before, I used to work regularly at the office in the accounting department. My job was not that fascinating nor that rigorous but it was good because then I had a regular paycheck every 15th of the month. I could buy the things I want at the price I can afford and dine to some restaurants and pay for my own meal. But now after nursing, I'm all dependent to my sister and aunt who pays for my education.

I know that shifting careers is never easy. Nurses are really in demand all over abroad that's why I took chances and hoped to find a better life as a Nurse. From an accounting graduate I studied nursing. I took my exams, passed them and now I'm still hunting for a job. Which is not easy especially now with the recession and global financial crisis the world is undergoing.

Often times I feel frustrated like now because I feel trapped. Where do I go from here? I know I'm not the only one who's having this problem and I'm just thankful that my family and friends never fail to give their moral support or give me a push whenever I need it. I just need to be more patient and soon I know I'll reap all the hard labor I've done.

Managing Time

Working in different shifts as a nurse is so demanding. And studying at the same time is even more difficult. Sometimes I forget what to prioritize because working in the hospital requires so much of my physical and mental capacity.

Previously, I worked as a staff nurse reliever at Davao Medical School Foundation Hospital, St.Joseph Nurse Station, a surgical ward area with a 24 bed capacity. My job is so demanding because as a staff nurse reliever, I should be on call and ready every time the hospital is in need of additional staff nurses. I'm usually called to report on duty due to increased census or number of patients, or when the regular staff nurse assigned is on leave and this mostly happens during graveyard shift from 11pm to 7am. Although I have to go through with this kind of ordeal, I love my job! Surprisingly I felt satisfaction and worth as a nurse. Well the drawback is that I just have to attend to my review class for my NCLEX exam.

My review class is set every three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, our schedule sometimes vary because our teacher also teaches to medical students and sometimes there's conflict of schedules. This is where my problem arises. I really wanted to attend my classes but sometimes it's impossible for me because of my very unstable and unpredictable working hours.

With the demands of working in the hospital at the same time attending a review class, I finally decided to limit my work at the hospital and prioritize my NCLEX review for the moment. My exam schedule was fast approaching and I've yet to study and review a lot more things. I focused on my review and worked during my vacant days. Although there are times when I had to attend my class with just 2 hours of sleep because I had to report on duty beforehand. I also tried to catch up with my class by bringing with me my review materials at work and scan it when I'm not busy at work.

Even though it was so hard for me, I was still able to manage my time and squeezed in working in the hospital while having my NCLEX review. I guess it was just a matter of perseverance and strong will to achieve my goals. I wanted to take the exam as soon as possible at the same time accomplish an experience working in hospital. Luckily, I got both. Looking back, sometimes I ask myself how did I ever make it? Manage your time.