Bay Cove
I oriented at Bay Cove Treatment Center (a methadone clinic for heroin addicts) for about 2 weeks and then worked my first shift on my own on Valentine's evening. It went well! I am scheduled to work 2 more shifts this coming week too. I really like it there. All the nurses are per diem and work other jobs in addition to this one. They want the nurses to work 5-6 shifts per month (which is about 20 hrs a month), so it was really nice when I got paid for 33 hours of orientation.
Arbour
Valentine's day was also my first day of orientation at Arbour Hospital, where I will be working as a per diem psychiatric nurse.
Note: Arbour is a free-standing psychiatric facility with 5 units - they have to send patients to nearby hospitals for any medical issues. They let me leave early Valentine's day so I could work at Bay Cove, but I had to commit to 2 full weeks of orientation (so I had to cancel a shift at Bay Cove). Yesterday was the end of the 2 weeks, but they are asking us to orient for one more week so that we can see each unit twice. I have already signed up for 2 shifts at Bay Cove next week, so one day I will leave early and the other day I will work an evening shift at Arbour. Thankfully they are flexible and willing to work with my schedule.
Anyway, Arbour orientation has been going extremely well! I really like it there and everyone is so nice, including the manager who hired me, Nancy. She is always saying how happy she is to have me there. :) With me in orientation are 2 other RNs - one for full time and another for per
diem - and also 1 mental health associate (MHA). The 2 nurses are in a program like mine and just got their RN licenses recently and will be getting their Masters as Nurse Practitioners (in Psych) from Northeastern University here in Boston. Therefore, it is great being around other new grads/nurses and I am happy that the manager is so excited to have us there! Although, Arbour doesn't know what is coming - the 3 of us have so many great ideas and plans (i.e., smoking cessation classes, new grad program, Arbour jackets/polos for casual Friday, renewal crisis prevention courses - just a few of the things we've talked about lately - haha).
This week: Tuesday was computer training all day; Wednesday I oriented on the adolescent unit, which was a fun unit and brought me back to my Youth Ministry days; Thursday I oriented on the acute adult inpatient unit (the really "crazy" people). Not too many stories to share at this time, but there was one patient who was swearing and saying mean/hurtful things to some staff the other day - something that happens often that I am going to have to get used to and of course not take personally. There was a patient who told me "God has truly blessed you", to which I said "thanks" and went back to work. There was one patient who only spoke Spanish and I was so proud of myself when I told her to do something in Spanish (using one word- haha). And Friday was our safety/restraint class - crisis prevention, where we learned various techniques for deescalating a patient, holding them (a "physical hold" restraint), and, if necessary, how to take them down to the ground (and probably put them in "mechanical restraints", such as tying to the bed).
The medication administration is completely different than what I am used to. It is very old-school, but I actually like it and am glad that I am able to see how it was done before computers. Overall, Arbour has been a great experience and I am so happy that everyone is so supportive - it makes such a difference! Yesterday the nursing supervisor gave us our schedules for next week and said that it would be totally fine to have a few extra days of orientation if needed, which is wonderful. I love that they are so flexible and low-key. I'm excited to get started there!!
Massachusetts General
Saturday, Feb 12 I had an interview at MGH for an oncology new graduate program - it is EXACTLY what I've wanted! It starts March 7 and runs through August, where I would be full time Mon-Fri going to classes and orienting to the hospital/unit. There were over 100 candidates interviewing that day and there are about 20-30 positions available (which is actually a lot more than I thought!). They said that they would get back to us withing 2 weeks (which would be today), so I was expecting the call by yesterday. I haven't heard from them though. :( I guess that gives me permission to call them now - so maybe on Monday I will do that. They really aren't giving us a whole lot of time, since the program starts a week from Monday!! MGH is an impressive hospital and I would LOVE to work there. I know this program would be an exceptional experience, but I continue to put the situation in God's hands. If I did get this job, I still plan to work at Arbour (probably on weekends that are available, and Bay Cove when possible [it would be hard to work there since I would only be able to work on weekends, but Bay Cove weekends are taken by certain people]). (Side note: MGH and Bay Cove are about an 8 minute walk away from each other). So for now I am just waiting to see what happens.
Whidden
On Monday I got the call from Whidden HR (my first interview) extending an offer for employment (for a per diem position in the hospital's psychiatric unit). I asked the HR rep if I could have a few days to think about it and she told me to let her know by Wed am since she has another candidate waiting. I was REALLY hoping to hear from MGH before having to call Whidden back, but of course that didn't happen. So, I called Whidden on Wed am leaving a message accepting the offer (for job security in case MGH doesn't work out). The next step for Whidden is setting up a pre-employment physical and will be trying to squeeze that in sometime soon. I haven't signed anything yet with Whidden, so if I do end up getting the job at MGH I can let go of Whidden (which is the job farthest away and with the highest starting wage).
Summary
It has been very stressful this week for me not knowing what is happening with MGH. Everything is up-in-the-air because of it and I hate that feeling. As I mentioned, MGH would be an amazing experience and I would love to be part of a new grad program where they really ease me into nursing (and I would get chemo certified). (Oh, and of course I love that it would be full-time + benefits!). However, I have really been enjoying my psychiatric experience and would be happy doing the 3 per diem jobs for now too. I am just so incredibly thankful that these opportunities have come along and can't thank you all enough for your prayers & support during my unemployment period and frustrations of job searching. Stay tuned as I wait to see what God has planned...
I was so happy last Friday when I came home from orientation and saw that my thesis manuscript has been published!! The last version was submitted around the end of August and I knew it was going to take some time, but it is done! :) Such a cool feeling!! Here is what comes up from a google scholar search: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03501.x/full
About a month ago I started babysitting 2 days a week for 9.5 hrs a day for a family close by (about an 8 minute walk away). The mom works from home, but I keep Jake happy and quiet. :) They like to leave classical music on during the day, but one day she left to go into the office and I put some Toddler Tunes on for a bit (bad me!) - but he loved it! This is me dancing and making a fool of myself to keep him smiling (he's teething) and he was pretty fascinated with the blinking timer light on the camera. I should also add that I was given a W4 on my first day of babysitting here...that was a first for me in my 15 years of babysitting!
Brian has been doing the dog walking for me still and plans to continue that for a little longer. We housesat for them a couple weekends ago, which went pretty well. Only 1 thing of ours was 
destroyed by chewing (Brian's insole - I think she was going for his snow sneaker but discovered the insole was more interesting!). They didn't bark much and were actually more well behaved while we housesat than when we walk them! They are the cutest beagles!! This is Millie, the younger more crazy one, on the left, and Baxter with the bone on the right.
diem - and also 1 mental health associate (MHA). The 2 nurses are in a program like mine and just got their RN licenses recently and will be getting their Masters as Nurse Practitioners (in Psych) from Northeastern University here in Boston. Therefore, it is great being around other new grads/nurses and I am happy that the manager is so excited to have us there! Although, Arbour doesn't know what is coming - the 3 of us have so many great ideas and plans (i.e., smoking cessation classes, new grad program, Arbour jackets/polos for casual Friday, renewal crisis prevention courses - just a few of the things we've talked about lately - haha).
