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! ;)

an update

Hi all,

I hope this finds you all well. I can't believe how fast time has been flying by -- shouldn't we be in school or something? (I'm really, really glad we're not.) Anyway, the last few months have been some of the busiest, most all-over-the-place times I've had in awhile. Where to begin...

After I took the NCLEX, I started working part time hours again with my caregiving agency, Right At Home, waiting on my results...and waiting...and waiting. Clara and I took our tests the same day, and Clara got her results fairly quickly, about two weeks. After three weeks, I started checking the website every day, and eventually called the BRN. Turns out, they hadn't received my transcript and couldn't tell me my results til they had it. I found out that Biola's registrar had goofed and not sent it, and I ended up finding out I passed six weeks to the day that I took the NCLEX. Talk about learning patience. I felt confident that I had passed (that backdoor Pearson-Vue check worked), but it was so frustrating to wait, especially knowing that it didn't have to take that long since Clara had already passed. I definitely struggled with putting that in God's hands and letting it be in His timing.

Since then, I've been working more, around 30 hours a week. I'm working as a caregiver, still working at the messianic Jewish nursery, and helping my sister's neighbor who's a quadriplegic (gotten lots of practice with his Hoyer lift). In addition to my three paying jobs and occasional babysitting, I'm helping Andrew's grandmother with her showers, volunteering at my church nursery, applying for nursing jobs, and planning my wedding. I think I have too much on my plate. (Still working on the whole saying "no" thing, if you can't tell.)

Currently, I'm fed up with my hours from the caregiving agency and I'm pursuing a short-term (i.e. I can't commit because I might get a nursing job at any point) nanny job to replace it. So more applications. I'm concerned that I'm burning out on the type of work I do, and I want to recognize that and avoid it. We'll see what opens up, but I am very grateful to have a job at all, let alone more than one.

Andrew and I are doing well, though seeing each other is made difficult by our different and changing schedules. We just started a premarital class, which I think will be a great blessing and a good investment. We are excited to get married and see where we end up. Our plan is to move to wherever I can get a job, and I'm hoping that's out of state with California's cost of living so high. Ideally, that will also be an area that has a grad school that offers a paleontology program, as Andrew has decided to pursue his Master's when we're able.

Some of you who saw my Facebook status awhile back may be wondering what's up with me and the Army. I did decide to pursue military nursing, applying to both the Army and the Air Force. Before I even turned in the application (but not before spending a ton of time working on it -- it's 55 pages), I found out I was not eligible because of my fibromyalgia. That was a blow. I felt so strongly it was something I was supposed to pursue, but now I think I was meant to do just that and no more. I was disappointed, the idea of traveling and a guaranteed job sounded great (a huge challenge, too, but an amazing experience). Yet I knew that this was not what God had for me and Andrew, and that was ok. Incredibly, despite my Type A/control freak nature, I have been blessed to be able to give this job search up to God. I know that I can apply everywhere, but unless God opens the door, nothing will happen. I also know that anxiety about it helps nothing. This is, of course, easier said than done, but God has given me a measure of peace about it.

Oh! One more little thing, whose name is Fritz. In June, I took in a kitten, who was about 6 weeks old. Andrew and I named him Fritz because he is *crazy* and we like to say he's "on the fritz". It's fun to play with him and watch him grow (At 8 weeks, he weighed 2.5 lbs. Now 4 months, he weighs 7 lbs!) but the scratch scars on my arms will tell you he's not always nice. I haven't had a pet in about 6 years, so it's fun to have one again, but I will definitely be glad when he stops going nuts in the middle of the night (he sleeps -- or rather, doesn't -- in my room).

I think that about covers it. Thanks for reading this lengthy update, and I hope to see some of you in February!

Blessings,
Jacy

A post.

So, I imagine most of you know... but a quick recap:

I picked up an Alaskan nursing license. I bought a car that died and then had to finance a second one. I enjoyed a couple weddings (IL and CA), said a difficult goodbye to my wonderful housemates, and then moved to Alaska. I live in rural, interior Glennallen, Alaska. I live in my own apartment and I'm learning how to cook a few things (I have only set off the smoke alarm once!). I'm a nurse at a small clinic where I "wear lots of hats"--from immunizations galore, to ER nursing, to dispatching ambulances and calling in helicopters, to assisting providers...in whatever they need assistance with...to coordinating care with village clinics, to arranging appointments and counseling over the phone, to even calling insurance companies and figuring out billing. There is only one nurse on duty at a time, and I start working alone this Sunday! Scary. I will be working both days and nights...about a week of nights every month. I'm still confident that God has me here, but I still wonder at times what might have been if I traveled down a different road and stayed in Los Angeles... I did my first big grocery run since living here this past weekend...something different to have to drive four hours to stock up on hundreds of dollars of groceries. I love Alaska a lot, but miss a lot of things too. Mesmerized by the beauty, miss my friends and familiarity....I miss Chickfila, Target, Trader Joes...even stupid things like traffic, palm trees and sandy beaches. I have traded in my California's driver's license for an Alaskan one. Life has been crazy.

Check out my blog anytime: radkeatcrossroad.blogspot.com

I update it frequently with pics, prayer requests, stories and the like!

Love you guys...and miss your faces...a lot!

Changes [insert Tupac reference here]

Hi everyone,

I do hope that we keep using this blog as a way to communicate events in our lives. It really is so cool to see how God is moving in each person's life and where He is moving us too!

Speaking of moving: I moved to Burbank about 2 weeks ago.  I live in Burbank Hills, in a 3 story townhome with a lovely British woman named Sandra.  She is a Christian and has an amazing life story. I could talk to her for hours and sometimes I do! I am really thankful I moved. I felt like it was the right thing to do and it's been such an incredible blessing.  It's only about 20 minutes away from work.  It's nice to come home to a quiet, peaceful home... AND my own room :) 

Work has progressively gotten more challenging as I inherit or come to realize what my responsibilities really are.  I still feel very much that being a charge nurse at a clinic on Skid Row is where God has me, but the days can be long and difficult at times.  If you think of me, please pray for me and for the clinic as we are in a time of transition.  I love our patients, but they are difficult in more ways than one.  Please pray against the enemy, as I really do feel the spiritual warfare on a day to day basis.  Pray for our leadership, that they would have discernment and wisdom and be sensitive to God's leading.  Pray for my staff and the clinicians, or providers, that work at our clinic--the morale is low at times and they are fighting against burn out.  There is just a lot going on.  But amidst the difficulties, there are amazing stories of people, more specifically our patients, making significant changes in their lives or being touched by God's love and compassion. I am able to see and assess patients, which is great cause my skills don't have to go to waste.  Recently, I've also decided to get my ACRN (AIDS certification) due to the large volume of HIV/AIDS patients that are seen at my clinic. That was never part of my plan and never was interested in it before, but after seeing the need for it, I feel that this is something that God wants me to move forward with. Over the last few weeks,  I've been learning a lot from Rachel regarding how to teach and give care to HIV/AIDS patients and I want to be as useful as possible at the clinic.  I am excited about this! If anyone else is interested in doing this, let me know! Maybe we can do it together :)

Lots  of changes in my life! Including...a boyfriend.  This is still fairly recent, as in we made things official last Wednesday. His name is Clay. He graduated from Biola.  Some of you might know him.  I met him a few years ago, actually went on a group date with him, Clara, Krichelle and her now husband Chris and Paul Doyle.  I thought he was cute then when I met him, and kind of had a crush on him because I found him mysterious. HAHA. Anyway, nothing really came out of that...and as you all know, I kind of dated a few other guys.  This year, Clay and I would run into each other at birthday parties in L.A a couple of times (a dance party in February and another in March). We would talk briefly and nothing else.  We ran into each other again in July because we were actually in Krichelle's wedding...he was a groomsman and I, a bridesmaid.  He asked me for my number at the end of the day and then asked me out a week later.  We've been hanging out/talking ever since! We are taking things one day at a time and thus far it's been so good.  He is a lot of fun to be around and I feel pretty relaxed and chill when I'm around him.  He's also incredibly talented. He sings and plays guitar and writes his own music. He's in a bluegrass/folksy band called The Show Ponies and they play some shows around L.A.  If any of you ever want to come, let me know! They are really good... and I'm not just saying that because I'm the supportive girlfriend/groupie. HAHA.  Oh geez.

Well that's all for me. GEEZ. So many changes in such a short time! But such is the season of life we are in.

I hope that we can all be reunited soon.  It would be good to see your lovely smiling faces. 

Blessings,
Linell

a little update

I feel like the past couple months have been the longest in my life.

So much has happened and is happening, it would be rather long and boring to list here. Suffice it to say, God has an amazing way of working. The perfect timing of all the events, how he turns the bad things into blessings.. I'm in awe of it all.

When I walked out of the building after taking the NCLEX, I literally sat in my car, feeling the tears gather as I fervently prayed for God to show me the next step because there was no way I had passed. That's when I learned to surrender my plans, my dreams, my pride, and to trust God to provide all things. My sister was going to quit her job at the end of the July, my dad was unemployed, my grandma and my cousin were living with us, and my mom's salary was not nearly enough to cover a family of 6. I had to pass. I absolutely had to get a job as soon as possible. But God taught me to let go of all of it. God is good, all the time. He would provide.

I have a job now. I start tomorrow. And even though four out of the six members of this family have no income, I am absolutely confident and feel complete peace in knowing that we are in the hands of our loving Father.

**The Covenant Prayer**

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

PS:

My sister and me in Canada for vacation

Walking in Memphis

It’s been a whirlwind of decisions these last couple of months and I just wanted to let you all know what our plans are for our near future.

As you know, this entire last semester of school, I was applying to a lot of jobs. What I really desired was to find a new graduate position on a medical/surgical floor in a hospital. Starting in February, I started applying to different hospitals. First I started just looking in California. Then I sent some applications to some other states. As time passed, I still was hearing nothing from any hospital, so I continued applying many different hospitals all over the country. After five months of applications, I ended up applying to a total of 35 hospital jobs. And still, all I ever got were rejection emails. One nurse recruiter in San Diego actually told me that they had received 2800 applicants for only 15 positions.

In the middle of all this process, I had a potential job in a cancer clinic in Memphis, Tennessee through a family connection. This was something that I just kept in the back of my mind. Like I said, I really wanted a hospital job.

We were really hoping for a job in San Diego. But all in one day, that door closed. I received three or four rejection emails in one day. It was a difficult day for me. I was really struggling with feelings of inadequacy. I was thinking, “What’s wrong with my application? What’s wrong with me?”

In addition, at the end of July, our lease in our apartment ended, and we couldn’t afford to stay in Orange County anymore, because Joe had had surgery on his knee so he could no longer work. So we quit our jobs, packed up, and moved to Mammoth to stay with my mom. It’s weird to be out of job, without a home, and no immediate plans for that to change. It’s been a great experience in growing in my trust in God. It’s so funny how I can hear messages my whole life about trusting God. And I think to myself, “I’ve got that down. I trust God.” But as soon as my life was facing a type of crisis, I realized that I really actually had a lot to learn about trusting God. I found myself praying frequently, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief.”

Throughout this entire process, the idea of Memphis continued to come up. Many different people in our lives would bring it up. And, still, it was the only job opportunity. So last week, I finally resolved to call the clinic back in Memphis.

I flew out this past weekend for an interview. The interview went well, but to be honest, I left feeling terrified. The nurse manager warned me, “You need to be thick skinned; you will need to commit to doing your homework and looking stuff up that you don’t understand when you go home; you should be willing to come to every teaching seminar and dinner we put on; you will need to be very flexible; you will need to be willing to drive to the different clinics around the city; this is going to be a very big learning curve, because I have never hired a new graduate before.” I left feeling so intimidated and overwhelmed. I felt like I would never succeed and that my whole life would be dedicated to my job for the next several years.

But after spending quite a bit of time in prayer, God really reminded me of His great love for me. His loving kindness is never ending. And because of this, I know that God would never set me up for failure. He is my rock and my strength.

So over the next couple of days, I was starting to feel a lot more peace about this whole experience. And by the time the nurse manager called me to offer me a job; I was starting to feel very excited. When she did call and offer me a job she said she is going to help make me a great nurse. She is going to work personally with me to help identify my strengths and weaknesses so she can help improve my weaknesses and make my strengths even stronger. I am going to start out working in phlebotomy to strengthen my IV skills, and I will become chemotherapy certified at the clinic, and eventually I will work as a chemotherapy infusion nurse. It was such an incredible encouragement to hear her support.

So, Joe and I are moving to Memphis! We plan to leave on August 22 and drive across the country to get there. I will hopefully be starting working very shortly after that, but a lot of it will depend on how soon my license will transfer.

So thanks so much for all your support and prayers. We are very excited to see what God has in store for us for this next season in life!