Thursday, January 23, 2014

I can't tell you in less than a million words how utterly rodeo my life has gone here...

...but I'll give it a stab, anyway.

And it's good, too.  I'm ridiculously busy but that's apparently the way I like it.  

I type this missive from my sofa with a toasty, insulating ring of pups encircling my butt and legs.  Think of it as a furry puppy horseshoe. Awesome!  It was great to find I can do school work on my laptop from the sofa, because while sitting in a chair a pup ALWAYS wants to be on my lap, and that's not conducive to productive keyboard time, particularly with Chuy looking balefully up into my eyes with his patented sad-puppy-round-and-glistening-eyes technique.  

On the very best days, I wake up in the morning sleeping on my side with Mochi in my arms like a baby doll.  She'll either be on her back or on her side facing me, but always with her head resting on my bicep, my arms enfolding her.  She's the only pup I've had to do that, and I love this so very dearly. Today I woke up with Mochi in my arms, facing me.  So sweet and cuddly. She is a doopie.

Tomorrow I have one test to take and Saturday I have a test to take.  Today I have a quiz and a lot of studying to do.  Tonight I go in to the PD to train for 6 hours. OH!  Did I tell you I landed a new job?

Last spring I applied for a dispatcher position at a local PD, and they called late in the Fall semester and asked if I'd still be interested.  I'll have a guaranteed 8 hours per week, but will fill in otherwise, and they won't touch my Mondays/Tuesdays which are school/clinical days.  Wednesday after school is out is when I'll work my 8 hours, so technically, my time obligations per week will be from Monday 8am through 10PM on Wednesday, and then the rest of my time will be free for study and possibly that land of leisure time of which I've dreamt so fondly.  I'll work a max of 28 hours per week if I'm filling in for others, and the extra money won't break my heart. The pay was less than I was making, but there is zero commute time/zero cost for gas and the net effect is more pay per hour, actually.  I stated training during Christmas break. It's going well, but the department is so small that even if I'm on the radio and phone most of my shift, I still haven't been in the office when there's been a fire call, and there's only been one EMT type call.  Sometimes the phone goes for hours without ringing, and I'll be able to study at work-- how great is that???  I won't be able to sign on to timed activities like tests or quizzes, because I have to be on the spot with calls from radio or phone, but it seems the best possible job.  It's a 4 block walk from my house.  The people are great, and I feel I've been taken in to a family.  Now I'm just praying not to be the Barney Fife of dispatchers.

Yesterday's lectures in Basic Nursing and Pharmacology were the first truly heartening moment for school in the past two weeks.  Both were lectures on the Nursing Process, and made me feel on much more solid footing as to my process.  I'll give you the mini-version, which is ADPIE:
  • Assess
  • Diagnose
  • Planning
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation
Since the hallowed Florence Nightingale astutely worked the whole nursing practice mud into a ball way back when, there has been an evolution of process which tweaks and refines, all in hopes of the best outcome for patients.  The awe-inspiring thing is that FN was spot-on and so right-headed instinctively, so she effectually leapt medicine forward into a modern age with her practices which focused on sanitary processes and peaceful environments for healing.  

It's profound to think how nurturing and selfless the nursing practice really must be-- it's all about the good of the patient.  I think caring for others in this way must be one of the most profoundly contemplative, humble and heart-filling vocations one could have.  I know it has its stresses and heartaches, but that is present in all of life and with every imaginable job.  If you're in for a rough time anyway, you may as well be doing something meaningful and helpful to others.  

Blah blah. I'm sure you all will get sick of me waxing euphoric about the profundities of nursing sooner or later, so I'll just stop there.

Anyway, training for 6 hours tonight, and I'm going to take a bath with a lovely Lord Of Misrule bathbomb from Lush, and study through the afternoon until I go to work.  I hope you have a lovely day.



4 comments:

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Congrats on the new job, and good luck with the tests!

Old NFO said...

Busy is good, income is better! Study+income is GREAT! :-)

Wonder Gal said...

as a newbie First Responder I say brava to your venture into dispatching! your nurse training will be a boom to all you assist by phone.... thank you for taking the challenge. The good you do will be many ripples out from your small location in the pool of humanity.

phlegmfatale said...

Thank you, Wing! It's going okay!

Old NFO - Damn skippy on the income front! I'm liking the work, too.

Wonder Gal - Thanks for the kindly words! I'm enjoying it, though it is challenging. I hope all these experiences combine to make me my best at every task! And thank you for reading!