Big Changes in 2015

I don’t even know the last time that I blogged, and I’m not going to break the momentum of this post to check it now. But I’ll just cover all of 2015 so far to be safe. Briefly, though, because I have a lot of recent stuff I want to discuss.

2015 started off in a whirlwind. I rang in the new year with some variation of the flu that was untreatable (except with rest and fluids), and suffered some of the worst aches/pains I’ve yet experienced.  But I did survive, and I was distracted in part by the NCLEX that I took a week later. That test was so surreal, and I’m not supposed to talk about it even if I could remember any of the content (I can’t…it was such a whirlwind).  But even though I thought I failed (the test cut off at 75 questions, the minimum possible), I found out the following day that I passed!

Just in time to pack my bags, drop off the dogs, and head to Florida to run my first marathon! James accompanied me on the vacation, and we visited both of our families.  While we were in Disney for the race we hung out with Kelly and Cody. Sidenote, when Kelly and I finished the race, I would STILL say that I was in more pain after the flu I had earlier in the year.

Then, upon our return, it was a matter of finding an actual nursing job. I ended up going on two interviews that were unsuccessful followed by two that were, and because the latter two were with the same hospital system, I had the good fortune to have both offers on the table simultaneously. I ended up choosing the smaller of the two hospitals because I felt more comfortable there and knew it would be a great learning experience.

But let me tell you, the period of time between when I returned from Florida and got hired was rough. I struggled with running, self-doubt, and a fear that I would never be good enough to be hired as a real RN. And while the period since the job started has been a definite improvement, it has not been without its struggles. At work, I keep feeling like I know nothing and I am constantly running around, accomplishing very little. Away from work, the erratic schedule has been tough to cope with.  I feel like I barely have time to get done what I must, and I can’t get a handle on how to fit in what I actually want to do.

However, I have had two revelations recently. I had a dental cleaning and my dental office has hired a new hygienist who is absolutely splendid.  Not only did she do a very thorough inspection and cleaning of my teeth, she explained everything as she was doing it and she also provided me with oral education and answered all my question. In a roundabout way, that’s how i want to structure my patient care. I’m going to start off each day not only asking what their goals are but explaining to them what my goals are for them, based on their health status and reason for hospitalization.  I was to feel more in control of each day and I also want them to feel in control and understand how we are providing care for them.

In terms of my health, I have also taken a big leap. I’m joining James on a sugar-free diet for the next two weeks.  This also included no fruits or artificial sweeteners (hits me hard with gum and diet caffeine drinks), and limiting carbs even from veggies and nuts.  My mainstays are meat, cheese, green veggies, and nuts. And lots of water to try and keep my mouth from tasting odd.  It’s been a struggle and my first day back at work this week (tomorrow) will probably be the worst yet.  But I’m trying to make it the full two weeks and hopefully see some marked weight loss and overall improvement in my control of food.  I had really started to lose control of my sugar consumption AND that was even more of a problem because I’ve been running so much less.  I don’t think I’ll be able to keep this up indefinitely (and I only plan to do so until I lose the 15 or so pounds I have put back on), but I’m hopeful that the long term change will be a drastic reduction in all processed foods in my life.

What else? Things with James are pretty good.  We’ve worked through most of our disagreements at this point, so all that remains is how to decide what to do with our limited time together.  I’ve only been at this job 2 months, so there are still kinks to work out.

I haven’t been seeing nearly as much of my friends, but now that my spring classes have ended, I’m hoping that will change for the better.  And I’m starting to make friends at work, which will only improve with time.

All in all, a pretty good start to the year.  Hopefully I can finally get an even keel and move forward confidently in terms of my career growth and my health.