Month: October 2019

Teaching~No go in the USA

Part of the reason I became a nurse was because of the opportunity to teach.

Many years ago, I was given an opportunity to go back to school. I was faced with the decision of what career path to take. After talking with many teachers and nurses, I realized that if I chose teaching, that’s what it would be, but if I chose nursing, it could be anything from research, patient care, and even teaching!

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Throughout my nursing career, my goals and direction were always clear to me. In my early nursing days, I took workshops in mentorship and volunteered to orientate and preceptor students and new staff. I felt pride in guiding the next generation of nurses towards a safe and fulfilling career. My health authority supported these efforts with available mentorship programs and my employer must have felt I was proficient at the mentorship process as they entrusted me with the role.

In 2012, an opportunity came up to clinically teach in the emergency nursing program. I enjoyed this level of teaching and stayed with the program for 2 years. I had so many amazing ED nurses in my clinical groups and felt so proud to be a catalyst in those nurse’s careers. But alas things change, and off to the USA we went.

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Shortly after starting my travel nursing career, I embarked on the difficult task of balancing life and the MN (master’s in nursing) program at UVIC. I won’t delve into this topic here as I have previously written about this topic but be sure to check out my previous posts!

We stayed long enough in the USA that not only did I start the MN program, but I also graduated!! So naturally, I wanted to use my new skills and move towards the career I had chosen for myself so many years ago.

I applied for any and all teaching/instructing opportunities both within the hospital system that I was working and at local colleges. As a travel nurse working on a TN visa, I’d need more than luck just to get my resume looked at!

I was able to secure a couple of phone conversations and a few interviews; however, each time the TN status became an issue. The outcome was always the same with a local person getting the job. I couldn’t help feeling that my credentials were valued but just not enough to trump someone local. Although I lack evidence, I am aware that at least one job I applied for that was rewarded to someone without an advanced degree, whatever the factors were, I can only know that I was completely qualified for the position.

After multiple denied applications, it became increasingly clear that I would not be teaching in the USA and the only way to further my career would be to return to Canada. Now, how could we make that happen?

What career decisions have you made that took a lot of effort to accomplish? I’d love to read your story in the comments!

fullsizeoutput_1e3c Trudi MN, RN

Life with Indy~ the car ride

Everyday I am learning something new about having a rescue dog live with us. I think the case with Indy is she has multiple factors impacting her ability to cope. One she’s a rescue and I don’t think her previous life was very good and two the hooman she bonded with was required to leave her for several months; hence why we are taking her in. Of course it’s not ideal and certainly an adjustment for both her and us, but beyond the antics, she is loved.

Day 9

It’s been nearly a week and a half that Indy has been living with us. Overall, it’s not been too bad. We’ve had a couple of adjustments to make regarding sleeping arrangements and a minor incident with a fence but we are getting there. While roaming the property and inside the house, she listens quite well and is a good doggie. I decided it was time to start venturing out with her and expand our walking environment.

On Wednesdays, I typically take my grandson swimming but this Wednesday I was tired and still had to walk Indy, so instead Tristan agreed that taking the dog for a walk would be just as much fun! So I piled Indy into the car and off we went. Her behavior in the car was pretty typical for a dog, she would sit or lay down for brief moments but mainly stood and poked her head out the window, she seemed super happy for the outing!

As we arrived at our destination, I could not have anticipated what would happen next! Yes, she was excited to get out of the car but I underestimated her!! One click of the hatchback and her head was protruding out the bottom of the hatch, I was now stuck with her half in/half out and no way to control her. Her excitement continue to build and she became forceful on the door. If I close the door, I squish her neck/head, if I open the door she’ll jump out and I don’t know what will happen from there. At this point she’s not listening or hearing my commands to sit or stay, she’s hyper focused on getting out of the car. In hindsight, I feel that she might have thought the car ride was to take her home and that we would find her master, if we could just get out of the darn car. She finally overpowered me, remember she’s 92 lbs, and was able to slip out of the car.

The next thing I new she was running all over the neighborhood, up the sidewalk and across the street. Thank goodness it was a park area and cars were moving slowly as she jetted out in front of them. The looks I was getting from drivers and pedestrians demonstrated a judgmental attitude of “control your animal”, if only they knew…

What seemed like a very long time, but was probably about 10 minutes, I was finally able to wrangle the dog and get her back to the car. I literally had to lasso her, calling her, and trying to get near her to pet her was definitely a no go. I was told that if I showed anger she wouldn’t come, so I had kept the calling light and fun, like we were going on an adventure but that was unsuccessful. I was terrified that she would run out in front of a car that couldn’t stop, or that she would just keep running; how would/could I explain that!

We did get our walk in, and the ride home was uneventful. Once home, I tethered her to the back seat of the car and we practiced sitting and waiting before we were allowed to jump out. Hopefully, this new routine is rememberers for next time. I know I’ll never forget it!

Do you have any suggestions about how to help this doggo learn new routines?

fullsizeoutput_1e3c “I think I hurt my shoulder” Doggie Momma

Trudi