A NURSE'S PRAYER

A Nurse's Prayer

Give me strength and wisdom,

When others need my touch;

A soothing word to speak to them,

Their hearts yearn for so much.

Give me joy and laughter,

To lift a weary soul;

Pour in me compassion,

To make the broken whole.

Give me gentle, healing hands,

For those left in my care;

A blessing to those who need me,

This is a Nurse's prayer.

Seattle Missions Trip!

So I have the priviledge of leading a group to a retirement home in Seattle this Saturday. It is a part of the Seattle Missions trip that we, as a university are doing. My husband is heading it up and asked if I wouldn't mind being one of the leaders. I immediately said yes because I have been enjoying my time in the long term care setting. I feel like I could lead the group with some good experience under my belt. I did not only take care of the residents in the clinical setting, but I was also able to attend activities with them and socialize with them. I enjoyed the conversation and so am excited to do that this Saturday! For anyone that wants to come, let me know! It's from 2-4 pm. Not a big time commitment. Just some volunteering and allowing God to use you! =) I hope to post up pictures when I get them.

My first "patient" (Resident) (#4)

So, I had to say goodbye on Friday to my resident because she is being discharged on Tuesday. I was surprised when I found that out because even as independent as she was, I personally felt like she was not ready to go home. However as I took care of her throughout the day, I found that she had come a long way since our very first day together. She was able to get and sit back down without my assistance. She poured herself a glass of milk without my help. She even started buttoning her buttons! I feel as if I am writing about a little child or even an infant. However this is an individual who has lived a full life, who was married, had beautiful children, and could never be more proud of her grandchildren. She loves to talk about her new boyfriend and I think about how weird it is for the "older folk" to have a boyfriend. I wonder what they do. =) Haha...umm - ok so to get back on track. My resident is still in a lot of pain, and she was even able to admit something to the nursing staff. I could even see it in her eyes what she was about to say. As excited as she was to live at home, she was very afraid. I think that she is nervous about not being able to have someone take care of her 24/7 like they were able to do at the long term care. She will be living with her boyfriend though. She is a strong woman and has been through a lot. I believe that she will do great.

But as I approached her to say good-bye, I felt kind of sad. I did not even think I would feel that way. I was not on the verge of crying, nor were any tears going to flow. But in my heart, I knew I would probably never see her again. I told her that she had no idea how thankful I was for allowing me to take care of her. She was able to teach me a lot of good things both for nursing care and life in general. I prayed for her that day. I prayed that God would take away her pain and that she would have many more years to live to be with her boyfriend and enjoy her kids and grandchildren. =)

I will be getting a new resident this Thursday. It should be another tough first day of getting used to their routine. But I thank God for every individual that I come into contact with. I believe that they are strategically put into my life for one reason or another.

First day of clinicals! (#3)

I definately am more comfortable in the clinical setting than I am in the classroom. I absolutely loved the past couple of days. I enjoyed the independence and being able to feel confident enough to do things on my own. I was a little weary going into it because I had not had the best experiences in the long term care. However, I had never had more fun. That may sound weird, but I find it rewarding and therapeutic just to care of other people.

During the first day, there was a woman who had been sitting by herself in her room and since I really had nothing to do, I went to go talk to her for a bit. I introduced myself and explained that I was a student from Northwest University and that I was studying to become a nurse. She spoke "Spanglish." =) She spoke English very well but added in a little bit of Espanol here and there. I asked her how her day had been going and she said that her favorite part of her day was getting to do communion with a priest that came into the nursing home. She then asked me what I was. I told her I was a Christian. Immediately she responded, "One God for everyone. We all serve the same God." Her statement got me thinking and reminded me that although many forms of Christianity exist, they are just different in doctrine. However, doctrine is not what gets us into Heaven. The simple fact that we all believe in Jesus Christ as our risen Savior is what gets us into Heaven. We are all under and serve the same God no matter how our little beliefs may differ. The only "belief" that matters is the one in which we are saved by. The woman I was talking to just loved the Lord. I was very encouraged by her words.

I enjoyed walking around getting to know the patients. When it came time to pick a patient to take care of I felt like I was choosing something from a menu. Haha if that even makes sense. But I am very happy with the individual that I am taking care of. I got to meet her the first day and then really interacted with her today. I helped her with her daily activities and just talked to her. The elderly absolutely love just having someone listen to them and their stories. And I, in turn, found what they had to say so interesting. A lot of them have such good senses of humor when you let them open up a little. One lady today was making fun of everyone around her being so old. And this woman is in her 90s. She then said, "Oh heck, I'm older than they are" and started laughing. =) I loved to see that.

Overall, I have no complaints as of yet. The nurse I worked with was extremely helpful and she is a believer herself. I definately look forward to going back next week!

Let's consecrate! (#2)

Consecration...To be honest, I was not that excited about it. People were talking it up and in my heart, I just did not understand the big deal. When I got there at 5 to practice for worship, I began to become really excited. I realized that this service was about more than just myself. It was about dedicating our lives for the sole purpose of serving people and serving God. I realized that this is where He wants me and that I am to live up every moment including the waking up early for clinicals and the crazy studying schedule.

When the service started, I became aware of the unity that was going to exist within our class as a result of consecration night. We were all embarking on a brand new journey not as individuals, but as a class. I was also impressed with the way our class planned this program and put things together. And oh my gosh - the musical talent in our cohort! I loved everything that everyone did. Ti, Sonya, Janell, Alicia, Katie...you guys blew me away! I loved it!

As I was sitting in the front row listening to Mr. Peck, I noticed my mind starting to wander. I began to think about how I finally made it into the program and that I was so privileged to be a part of the service that night. I also began to fast forward my life and saw myself as a senior sitting within the same spot and saying to myself, "I did it." And really, I saw that for our entire class. I believe that God has each of us in here and that we are meant to make it as long as we do the hard work. However my favorite part of the night was definately the free cookies! =) The whole night was a success. I love my little white Bible and my yellow flower is still blooming on my table. I hope to have more pictures of consecration up soon.