changes.

Change is good. It helps us learn. These were the words my manager was telling me and 5 other brand new NICU Staff RNs when she simultaneously told us that 18 NICU positions were going to be cut in January. Being the low man on the totem pole, I didn't have much hope. I applied to a few positions; got called for a last minute interview. I found out that I officially lost my FTE the day before said interview. Not a week later, I was offered a full time position as a Staff RN at Seattle Children's.

In the span of 2.5 weeks, I worked three holidays (willingly), finished up my scheduled NICU shifts (on a run of five 12s) and started full-time orientation at Children's the following day. I lived out of the trunk of my car for the week and was at the mercy of some dear friends as I begged for a bed. I'll be moving to a beautiful living space in Interbay at the end of January. What a Nov-Jan it's been. My dad had two knee operations and two hospital stays. My parent's house almost caught on fire. Sheesh. A proverbial rollercoaster.

Where I'm currently at: I am now a surgical nurse at Seattle Children's. I did my senior pedes practicum on this unit. The acuity is high and the population spans newborn to 21 yrs. The surgical unit houses 11 services including general surgery, ortho, urology, GI, neuro, and EENT. It'll be a whole new arena of spinal fusion and bladder augmentation patients while I still get my beloved gastroschisis and diaphragmatic hernia babies. While l love the NICU and am sad to leave the critical care setting, I am so blessed for this experience at Children's. I did not go one day without work. In fact, I worked several extra days in Dec/Jan thus far. God is good. Children's as an organization is something great. While it may sound cliche, they do great things. I am excited for the opportunities of growth there. And, I have the privilege of double dipping as I work on-call in the NICU at TG. My 6 months in the NICU will not go to waste. There are bigger things at work than I could have imagined.

Being the wimp of a person that I am when it comes to traffic, I refused to commute to Seattle five times this week. I packed up my car with some clothes, a pillow, a towel, and bags of trail mix and was on my way. My four nights of couch surfing were perfect. I lived the highlife. Two nights were spent in a beautiful three story Queen Anne townhouse with a walk-in glass encased shower. One night was spent in a boat on Lake Union: hello Seattle skyline. Beautiful. My friends were so, so hospitable. Living out of my trunk was not as bad as I had foreseen it.

2010 was a whirwind, and the first 7 days of 2011 are proving to be more of the same.

More to come [perhaps a little more consistent than merely monthly updates...:)]