When I was about twenty-five years old, I had been a nurse for three years. During those three years I had picked up a pretty good amount of experiences working with very high acuity inpatients. So when a patient didn't want me to access his infusaport and wanted another, more mature looking nurse to do it, I was annoyed. I was annoyed because this nurse had been a nurse for a shorter amount of time than I had, even though she was probably old enough to be my mother. Stuff like that happened time to time when I was younger...but now that I have my fair share of premature gray hairs, not so much.

And in the meantime, I have truly come to appreciate second career nurses, like the one I was working with the day I just described.

Second career nurses are coming to us at a time when we really need them. We are facing this nursing shortage, and need people to help make sure patients receive safe care. And even though many hospitals are facing budget crises and hiring freezes, nursing is a somewhat safe career choice in an otherwise scary job market.

The nurses I know who once had other careers bring such unique skills to their present work. I have a friend who was a former music therapist. She has used her music therapy skills to help her patients deal with nausea and anxiety while giving them nursing care. Another friend of mine is a former machinist. During his time working in a machine shop, he developed a strong work ethic and good problem solving skills.

When I taught at a community college, I had a clinical group in which each of the students had previous degrees in things like engineering, social work, biology, massage therapy, and more. It was so enjoyable to be their instructor. Because of their previous work, they had developed a maturity and certain life experiences that really helped them in their pursuit of nursing. Even for my students who had never worked outside the home but raised several children, they sure knew how to multitask!

So what I'm saying is, we are going to meet more and more second career nurses as the economy changes and more and more jobs are eliminated. While a few of the folks are not entering nursing for the ideal reasons, many of them make fantastic nurses. So if you meet one of them on your unit, make them feel welcome. And don't be annoyed if your patients think they've been a nurse longer than you because they are older than you..

How many of you reading this post are second career nurses?

Mary Engelbreit: Welcome to the warm and whimsical world of Mary Engelbreit. Inspired by the quaint and lavishly colored illustrations in the children's books handed down from her mother and grandmother, Mary knew early in life that she would someday be an artist.

Her imaginative and richly detailed pictures bring a sense of joy and a touch of nostalgia to everyday events.

Mary's warm, witty, and wise insights into love, family, nature, life, and friendship give you guidance in all that is enduring, valuable, and important in our lives.

Look at life through Mary's eyes and in case you've forgotten, believe in goodness once again.
 
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Here's a review from our customer Sharon in North Augusta, SC:

Best Scrubs Ever

I love these scrubs, very comfortable.

Happy holidays everyone! First of all, I would like to congratulate all of the December graduates out there. I was a December nursing school grad ten years ago, and it is a magical time to be finished with college. Best of luck to you all!

We're in the midst of the holiday season. Are you scheduled to work on a holiday that you celebrate? Kind of a bummer, huh? And it's not just a drag if you have kids, because single people have families they like to be with, too. I've had to work on holidays as a parent and non-parent, as a single person and as a married person, and it's not like it's better in any of those situations. But think about what it's like to be in the hospital or extended care facility for the holidays. It has to be much worse than what we are going through. At least we're making time and a half, and we have our health.

Just this morning I read a news story about a young girl in my state that is doing something for children with cancer who are in the hospital for Christmas and it made me realize, yet again, why I do what I do for a living, even if the hours aren't great and you have to spend a few holidays at work. What a blessing it is for me, and all nurses, to have the opportunity to make someone's holiday a little brighter when they are feeling down and experiencing poor health.

Here's a little info about her story:

A friend of mine from high school is facing some challenging times right now during this holiday season. She and her husband learned this past summer that their eight week old son had stage III liver cancer. Yes, that says eight weeks. He has endured many rounds of chemo followed by surgery and now more chemo and has been a fighter through the entire process. A 12 year old girl had learned of his story and decided to organize a toy drive to provide toys to all the children who were hospitalized with cancer over Christmas. When I read this I thought, how awful it was of me all those times to complain about having to work on holidays when I should have been thinking a little more about the patients and families I was taking care of.

I hope that if you find yourself working a holiday this winter that your shift goes by quickly, that you get lots of treats and goodies to eat during your day, and that you get the chance to bring holiday cheer to those under your care.

Blessings to all!
Erin

My weekly posts are usually to share a product review with you, but today I am sharing a cause very close to my heart. A couple years ago I was asked to be on the board of directors for a non-profit that raises funds and awareness for a disease called Mitochondrial Disease. Mitochondrial Disease, also known as Mito, is often called "the invisible disease". There are potentially many different symptoms and not every person will exhibit every one.

1 in 4,000 children will develop a Mitochondrial Disease by age 10. 1 in 4,000 equals 1 child born every 30 minutes who will have Mitochondrial Disease. I often think of how fast a half hour can go by. There is no cure for Mito. Many have not even heard of this disease which means less promotion, awareness and funding for research.

Mitochondria are tiny organelles found in almost every cell in the body and are responsible for producing over 90% of our bodies’ needed cellular energy. They are known as the "powerhouse of the cell.” When the mitochondria fail, less and less energy is generated within our cells. Cell injury and even cell death can occur. As this process repeats throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail.

In adults, many diseases of aging have been found to have defects of mitochondrial function. These include, but are not limited to, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, atherosclerotic heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. In addition, many medicines can injure the mitochondria.

Payton is the poster child for a non-profit called Payton’s Race for a Cure. She was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease when she was 18 months old. Now 6 years old, Payton is unable to walk or talk. Payton is 1 in 4,000... Most will tell you she is 1 in a million! Her face lights up a room and her giggles will melt your heart. She, and the many other children with Mito, are the reason this event has become such a passion for Michelle, myself, family, friends and everyone else that has volunteered, sponsored or attended this event.

Michelle Dewitt is our HR Generalist here at Lydia’s, and she is Payton’s mother. Three years ago Michelle decided to host the first motocross fundraiser; this weekend will be the 3rd annual Payton’s Race for a Cure’s Charity Motocross Event. We are very pleased to announce that the first 2 years we were able to raise a combined total of $20,000.00, and we expect Saturday’s event to be even bigger than previous years!

All of the proceeds are donated directly to the Mitochondrial Community through two organizations, Mito Action and the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF).  Both Mito Action and UMDF are non-profit organizations that share the common mission of furthering awareness and research for Mitochondrial Disease.

• Attending the 3rd annual Payton's Race for a Cure's Charity Motocross Event
• Learning more about the disease and Payton's Race for a Cure here
• Liking Payton's Race for a Cure on Facebook
• Making a donation

After working in health care, have you ever said something along the lines of, "I am getting 'NO CODE' tattooed on my chest"? I don't have enough fingers to count on the number of times I've heard another nurse say that. I wonder how many of them have actually done it. Actually, I wonder how many of them have even talked about making difficult health care decisions with their loved ones, and how many actually have filled out advance directive forms in case something happens to them.

Even if you've never experienced it yourself, you probably at least know another nurse who has cared for a patient who could no longer verbalize his or her choices to receive life support, hydration, and nutrition or not. Maybe you've heard stories of family members having to make difficult decisions on his or her behalf, and the family members may or may not have all been in agreement about what to do. It's a real dilemma for anyone who has ever been involved in that kind of situation.

Talking about what kind of care you would like to receive, or would not like to receive, in the event that you become terminally ill is not easy. It's not fun to think about, that's for sure. But it can save you from having interventions you would never want, or make sure that you do receive them, and it will make sure that your children, parents, siblings, or spouses never have to guess what to do, too.

Having the conversation with your loved ones about your plan, and filling out advance directive forms does not cost a lot of money. Choosing a person to be your healthcare representative will not break the bank, either. There is not even really a need for a lawyer. Money should not be a barrier to creating your advance directives.

The hospital in my hometown really encourages everyone to fill out advance directive forms, no matter what your current state of health is, because really, you never know what could happen to you. They have free packets with legal forms to fill out which state who you want to be your healthcare representative, and if you want to receive fluid and nutrition or not should you become terminally ill and can no longer communicate. You check a few boxes on the form and have two people who are not related to you sign it. That's all there is to it. Then you place the forms in the handy clear plastic envelope they give you and you put it in the freezer. Why? Because it's a firesafe storage place where paramedics and EMTs often look for them should you become unresponsive and need to be taken by ambulance.

The website, Caring Connections , even has free downloadable advance directive forms for all 50 states, should you want to get started planning today.

And it is probably less painful then going through with the tattoo.

• Having some form of employment during these rough economic times. Even the healthcare industry has been hit hard, but luckily I started working before all the recent hiring freezes in nursing.
• Meaningful work. There are plenty of days when I don't want to get out of bed at 5am and go to work for hours and hours and not be guaranteed a lunch break, but at least I can come home knowing that I did things to help people and make a positive difference in their lives.
• Nurse techs and unit coordinators. Maybe where you work they are called nurses' aids and ward clerks or unit secretaries, but you know your day would be terrible without them! I am always glad on the days we have a tech available on our unit, they are probably one of the most overworked, under appreciated and underpaid workers in a health system. And of course the unit coordinator is the glue who holds everything together and knows exactly what lab to order and how to do it!
• A staffing Wish List. You can sign up to have a day off in the event that the patient census is low. I'm glad I can possibly have a day off with my kids, and allow someone who needs the pay even more to keep her hours. 
• Nursing continuing education conferences. Although many institutions education budgets have been dramatically slashed, you can sometimes score a travel scholarship from the organization conducting the conference. In my career, I've had the opportunity to visit Boston, Austin, and Washington DC...and of course learn a lot of stuff, too.
• Those big, two ounce bars of dark chocolate that will last a whole twelve hour shift. This requires no additional explanation.
• The realization that I have perfectly healthy kids and a supportive husband. When you work with children and families, you see a lot of heartwarming things but you also see a lot of heartbreaking things.

• Learning new skills
• Being a role model, showing children the importance of giving and helping others
• Any amount can make the world of a difference
• Increase self-confidence
• Social bonding, connecting with the community and bringing a diverse group of people together for a single cause
• When you volunteer, you talk about your experiences and that helps to raise awareness for the need/cause
• Networking, meeting new and interesting people you maybe otherwise may have never met
• Building your resume
• Improved health, keeping active and feeling good about yourself can help boost your immune system
• Most importantly: Making a difference and having fun!

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