Hello whirlwind

Wow. Okay, so a lot of changes in the last...week. I'm still whirling.

Basically I've been putting online applications in since July. At first they were all for hospitals in this area, but in more recent weeks I got started applying out of state to new grad positions or other hospitals that looked semi-promising. It's been overall very discouraging....one gets very frustrated putting in application after application and not getting any responses.

Thursday morning I was driving home from visiting Luis on my days off from work....I was stuck in traffic, still in PJ's, hadn't showered in a couple days....and essentially had an interview over the phone without even knowing it. I spoke with the nurse manager on the restorative care unit at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, TN...she asked a few questions, explained the job, the unit, and the process of hiring and integrating new graduates into the unit. By the end of the conversation, she'd unofficially offered me a full time night position on the unit and told me to begin the process of transferring my license to TN and making plans to come out there to see the unit and complete some of the technicalities of getting hired.

Needless to say, the last couple days have been crazy. Getting over the shock...looking up the hospital...figuring out what the license transfer process looked like...then actually beginning that process (paperwork, fees, fingerprinting, requesting transcripts, making phone calls...). Today I scheduled a flight to/from Memphis and will be going out there the 18th-20th. Hopefully during that time I will meet with the nurse manager, nurse recruiter, get fingerprinted, see the unit, complete the pre-job offer pharmacology test, and then get a physical done (assuming that I get offered the job). It should be exciting.

Assuming I get the job....I'll begin working on moving out there. Given that the license transfer process could take up to six weeks, I may be out in Memphis by the end of November. Not sure how all that will play out, but it will be an adventure.

On top of all that has been the added questions of whether Luis will be able to move out there as well....whether he can find a job...how long he and I can handle long-distance if that is required...what the future may look like for us if we can't handle long distance....it's getting really complicated and the lack of support from my family for Luis and me isn't exactly helping with those decisions. Anyway. He and I definitely have a lot of thinking and praying and talking to do just to figure out how to best pursue our relationship in light of these potential circumstance changes.

Regardless, it is pretty exciting. I'm so thrilled to finally have a potential job opportunity after months of searching and it's in a unit that really fits with what I want to do. Maybe it's a bit too intensive for me, but I like the thought of the long-term aspect and the opportunity to provide more psychosocial care for patients who may not get better. I hope that God is able to use me in a powerful way in this unit and at this hospital...the way this door has opened makes me think that it probably is where God wants me.

SR c 1st deg block, 3 bigeminal unifocal PVCs, and ST depression

Hey y'all, John Quan dawg here.

I apologize in advance for my lack of rhetorical eloquence, as I have never posted in a blog before. Anywho, I miss all of you and I am so glad that we have a blog/online forum to keep in touch with each other all at once, in addition to social media. It is really fun to read all of your posts and see the amazing ways that God is working in each of our lives. It is crazy how just 5 months ago we were all together still, getting ready to graduate.

For the first couple of months after graduation, I really missed you all, even school. Don't get me wrong, it was a great relief to finish school, but there was and still is a weird part of me that misses all the classes and group projects. I guess I just got too used to seeing each of you every day and took it for granted.

Anyways, like so many of us did, I started applying for jobs back in May (late, I know). Since then, God has worked in miraculous ways and has taught me so much. I am so thankful for His love, mercy and grace He provides on a daily basis. In total, I applied for 36 different nursing positions at 25 different hospitals/facilities. My dream job was and still is to work in the emergency department. For those of you who I haven't told before, my original aspiration senior year of high school was to become a pediatrician, then a pediatric nurse. However, as I progressed through nursing school, and experienced the pediatric rotation at CHOC and all the other clinical areas, I realized that had a heart for both children and adults. I also really enjoy working at a fast pace; I thrive on organized stress, however paradoxical that may sound, and constant activity.

During the last year of nursing school, I had the opportunity to try out emergency department nursing at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, by the recommendation of Amanda Gill, who was one year ahead of us. I loved it there! I worked the swing/relief shift from about noon to midnight. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more - constant activity, both adults and pediatric patients, various diagnoses, and I learned a lot. Needless to say, when I started looking for jobs in May, I hoped to find a new grad program in the ED at St. Joseph. However, nothing ever opened up there.

The first set of applications that I did send out was to PIH. I applied to PIH for various reasons, besides the fact that they had a bunch of new grad openings at the time. First of all, I am from PIH, literally. I was born there, delivered by Dr. Purdom, who still works there and delivered some of the babies born during out L&D rotation. Second, we did many of our clinical rotations at PIH, and I was very impressed with the facility and the staff there. Third, my desire was to work in the general Biola/Orange County area, and this was the perfect location.

To make a long story short, I got hired at PIH on 1 Tower (Cardiac Telemetry) and I have been there since July 25th. Let me just say that God has been and continues to be so very faithful and full of grace and mercy! Out of the 36 applications I submitted, my application to 1 Tower at PIH was the very first one that was submitted! Working at PIH is like a dream - I love telling people about how faithful God has been in bringing me full circle from birth till now at the same facility. I am breathing the same air that I was breathing when I was born (figuratively speaking, perhaps literally...)

I love my coworkers and I am learning a lot every day. I recently finished my new grad preceptorship and now I am working independently..I work my 5th shift this Saturday. One thing I have noticed is that are other Biola grads working at PIH, but I think I am the only one on 1 Tower. This has been both good and bad, as it forces me to get to know new people and create new relationships, but it's also nice to see familiar faces once in a while in the halls.

In other news, no girlfriend, fiance, or wife yet :)

I am living in an apartment in La Mirada on the Biola block, on the corner of La Mirada and Imperial with some Biola grads. Maybe I can host one of our future get-togethers/reunions at my apartment. If anyone ever needs a place to crash or wants to stop by and visit, just let me know. On my days off I spend a lot of time in the Biola library just hanging out, or doing errands/shopping. I have recently taken up reading for fun again, which is something I really used to love to do, and now I can start because of the 4 days off every week nursing schedule :) I also play basketball whenever I can, and I just purchased a membership at 24 Hour Fitness so I can get ripped..

I am really looking forward to our next hangout and to hearing from the rest of you. I love you all, and I can't wait to see you soon!

P.S. Some (or all) of us should take a trip to the East Coast and Washington state to visit those of us that have migrated! ;)