Nurse

For those of you that don’t know… besides my full-time job of a mother and wife, I am also a part-time registered nurse. I felt it was important to touch on the subject to really be honest and true to those who keep up with my life as a wife and mom and the other part of what makes me, ME. Being a nurse wasn’t always a “dream” of mine, mostly because I was so indecisive of what I wanted to pursue as a career. What I always did know was that I had a huge desire to help others in any way and that I was very much interested in the medical field. As a young girl, I was that child who sat to eat her breakfast or any meal while watching all the gory medical shows in awe. Well, soon enough I was in high school and had the opportunity to be part of a medical program. I was able to explore different careers in the medical field, while originally graduating and thinking I wanted to be a paramedic… well college soon was about to begin and others motivated me to strive for something else. Not because I don’t have respect for those in that area or because their job is less important or their job title and education are any less than others… but because I would be the first in my family to enter college and well graduating with a bachelors would be so rewarding for me and my family. Well, I considered physical therapist until I sat and had a very concrete and inspirational conversation with an old teacher of mine. She was the person who would push me into the nursing field and who motivated me and felt my personality and desire to help would fit in the nursing field. Well, to say the least… I got into nursing school, had many sleepless nights and days of stressful studying but ended up graduating (and meeting my now hubby 😉 ) and now a working nurse.

Nursing is tough, is far more than it’s made out to be and a lot more than what they tell you in nursing school… but one things for sure, I love being able to help others. I enjoy learning more everyday and having patient interaction. It’s a hard job, one that most certainly everyone is not suited for but one I’m glad I’m able to be part of. Like everything, it has its good and not so good benefits.. it’s hard but rewarding at the same time. Schedules are flexible with working 3 12 hours shifts, but it ends up being a 13-14 hour day including travel to and from work with 12 hours shifts. You miss out on special holidays and time away from family but again, it can be so rewarding if it’s where your heart is at. I hope to keep learning and growing and finding a new area to be a nurse in, in the field. One suited for a family with more manageable work times but I hope to keep having an impact on my patients and family members. I hope God allows me to touch others hearts in times of need with more grace and empathy. I hope he gives me mental and physical strength to want to keep pursuing more. I hope to be a better nurse each day and to always guide me in my days at work. But I also pray to be able to find work and life balance in this stage of my motherhood life.

I’m so grateful for one thing as a nurse! And that’s SCRUBS! With such early mornings and late evenings, nothing says more than comfort than scrubs. Let’s be honest, might as well call them “dress up Pajamas!” Haha. Well they also can get a little boring unless you work in pediatrics or a doctor’s office where you don’t all have to go in the same plain colors. Well there’s one way to spruce it up a bit and that’s with badge reels! A good friend and I have partnered up to introduce you to these cuties! She makes the cutest and most awesome badge reels. Fellow nurse and co-worker is making these awesome designs in a variety of designs! Below are some of her awesome designs. With so many holidays around, make sure my fellow nurse friends and anyone who pretty much wears a badge to work, goes to check out her Etsy shop and grab one! They are sturdy and so well made. I’m loving my custom-made reel to add a bit of dazzle to my plain uniform! Lots of new designs coming up on her shop. Oh and if you’re a pediatric nurse, you’ll love all her cute Disney and princess designs. Below are a few of her latest badge reels. I’m so excited to support small businesses and this is sure one of them. Were teaming up and giving away two of these awesome badges to two individuals with your personalized initial!

Follow me on Instagram @ Instagram.com/jenni0829
Follow Tayzar creations on Instagram @ Instagram.com/tayzarcreations

***Giveaway closed***

To order some of your own check out her easy shop here.

etsy shop: TayZarCreations

Every year, one week is dedicated and meant to recognize all the nurses around our nation… and guess what??! that week is here. National Nurses week is always held May 6 through the 12th.. most nurses don’t actually know why these specific dates were chosen. And guess what? Im including myself in that group. For those of you who don’t know.. I am a nurse and another little secret…but shh.. so is my boyfriend! ( our dinner conversations are quite interesting and inappropriate at times hehe) After some reading and researching I found why these dates were chosen. The dates were chosen because,May 6 some years back, was the first date recognized as “Nurses Day.” To extend the recognition, it was then established as “Nurses week” which was to end on the 12th of May, Florence Nightingales birthday (The mother of Nursing.) <- Fun fact. =P

Well this week has been nothing but a struggle at work.. just sick sick people. Not just sick as in cough, sneeze and sniffles.. But a little mixture of that kind of sick, sick as in inappropriate and sick as in the head and unfortunately very very sick elderly individuals.

I had a lot of time to think about the purpose of celebrating nurses and recognizing the work they do. It might sound a little bias stating that.. since i am a nurse myself. Truth is i have never been asked the questions…“What made you choose this profession?” “How can you deal with all that you do and all that you see?’” as i have this past week.

Us nurses see death, crazy, sadness, grossness, unfairness, negligence, the bad and the ugly.. But we also get to see new life, love, bonding of a family, justice, relief, laughs and smiles… and whats most amazing about it all, is that we sometimes get to see all these emotions in a matter of 12 hours! eek!

When i first started nursing school, i was part of a class about the size of 92… long behold, i graduated with around 50 of those who i started with.This profession isn’t for any ‘normal’ individual. I think it takes a ‘different’ kind of person to be able to handle all these things and more in a matter of 12 hours. We have to be survivors at the end of shift, be able to go home and be able to cope with everything we just had to see in a matter of 12 hours and get our own emotions in check at the end of it all. We really are super heroes. We not only have our own lives in our hands and those of our families, but when we leave to go to work, we take on up to 7 more lives and the lives of their families in our hands… and MAN OH MAN! that’s a lot of responsibility while we hold our pee for the 10 of those 12 hours and don’t get to eat lunch till 5pm if that!

So why “ Did i choose this profession?” Because i love what i have learned in school.. because even though were not taught everything we need to know when were out there in the real world.. I chose it because ..I CAN. Because no matter how many times we get cursed out by patients, and families and yelled out by doctors. I can. I can survive those emotions and the struggles of those 12 hours. And because through it all, we get that one family, that one patient who really touches you and is grateful that we were by their side. Because from each individual i have come across, i have learned something and every day that i walk into work (and sometimes i really don’t want too in all honesty!) i walk out with a lesson. No matter how big or small. The stress is real, the demand is exhausting and sometimes i want to pull out my hair.. But i would do it all over again. I would have sleepless nights all over again in nursing school and choose to be a nurse all over again.. Because hey! sometimes i can even have a 5 day weekend! (It has its perks!)

So if you know a nurse or a nurse to be… say thank you! And to all my nurses out there. nurses Happy Nurses week!

A word of advice… stay humble.. because when we’re on the other side of our role.. when our families are sick or when we are sick ourselves.. we tend to think we know it all.. but we don’t. We sit back and let others teach us more. We know the good and the bad of it.. So be kind when you can.. stand your ground when you have too and ask for help when in need.