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Friday, April 29, 2011

Great quote

Good morning,
I subscribe to daily quotes sent by Donald Neale Walsch.  His daily messages are very inspirational, and more often than not, they seem to coincide with whatever I am happening to be thinking about on that particular day. 

As you can see from my recent posts, I have been getting slightly cold feet about this whole career change lately, but I can assure you, that they're not cold enough to not go through with this.  As I hope I made clear earlier, right now the whole career change seems somewhat surreal, or even theoretical.  This is partly what is contributing to making the transition somewhat scary -- the simple fact that it is not happening yet.  As those who know me know, I am not renown for my heaps of patience!  LOL!  However, come September, when classes finally start, I am certain these feelings of uncertainty will quickly dissipate.

Here is the quote I received today, which is again, very timely considering what my thoughts are focusing on lately.

********************************************************************

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that everything is perfect Right Here, Right Now. And
Right Here Right Now is all there is.

Forget about the past. It does not exist, except in your
memory. Drop it. And stop worrying about how you're
going to get through tomorrow. Life is going on Right
Here, Right Now -- pay attention to that and all will
be well.

Embrace the present moment with gratefulness and
wonder, and you will turn it into whatever you have
been waiting for.
********************************************************************

Cheers,
Future RN!!!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Scrubs Magazine and Allnurses.com

I'm still somewhat 'addicted' to allnurses.com (how does a site generate approx. 6,000 users online, every time I look at it -- guess I'm not the only one 'addicted'!) Lol!  Seriously, it is very useful in that I've read many questions asked (and even answered!) of things I'd wondered about nursing and nursing school.

However, I also recently came across another neat nursing site.  This one is less interactive (AllNurses.com is essentially a Q&A forum, a discussion group, with just a few articles and links).  The new site is Scrubs Magazine, and it is more of an information site (versus a discussion site), containing many articles about anything and everything nursing.

http://scrubsmag.com/







Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Interesting websites

In the remaining weeks leading up to leaving my job and starting nursing school, I'm trying to focus more on gratitude (a prevalent term in this blog) and happiness.  Gratitude and happiness about this opportunity to follow my medical career passion, rather than stress and worry about jumping into the unknown.

I have come across two sites that look interesting, and that I've been spending time on recently. 

Here they are.  Maybe they'll be interesting to somebody else too:

Action for Happiness http://www.actionforhappiness.org/

Happy Rambles http://happyrambles.com/

Future RN, trying to spread gratitude and happiness.  :-)

Monday, April 18, 2011

"What if...???"

If I was (were?) a betting woman, I'd wager to say that many people fall into the trap of "what if?" thinking, and in their minds they outline all kinds of probable (and unprobable!) outcomes of situations, the vast majority of which are very negative. 

While I wouldn't generally consider myself a chronic 'worrier', certain elements of worry have certainly cropped up in this year of career transition.  I'd like to think that is to be expected (actually I think I'd worry if I wasn't worrying about the career transition, at least a bit!!! LOL!), when one is making such a big change in mid-life, especially when one has responsibilities to others than just to oneself, to consider.

However, it seems that recently I've been doing more than my required share of worrying about various short-term implications of my upcoming career transition.  For some reason, I'm not at all worried about successfully landing in the nursing field (or is it better/more positive to write 'I am confident about successfully landing in the nursing field'), but I am worried about the years of getting there.  This is where the "what if" scenarios are coming into play.

It seems I have honed this skill to a superior level, and I'm finding that it is not a particularly useful skill to have honed this well (in that it is not very useful!) 

Over the weekend, I came across a book at the library, entitled CALM, by Denise Marek.  It has really opened my eyes about chronic worriers, and it gave some excellent suggestions to re-wire the thinking process to a more useful one.  For example, when one finds that the brain is generating yet another catastrophic "what if?" scenario, then realize it, and change the question to "what is?"  I logically know that the "what if" scenarios are completely useless, and the chances of any of them coming true are highly unlikely.  So when I change the scenario in my mind to "what is", I find I come to a much more rational (and useful) conclusion about that scenario.

The book goes on to outline another way to look at worrying situations.  One realizes that "what if" situations are possible, yes, but then one should go on to ask "Is it probable?"  The answer to that one is quite likely 'no'. 

For some reason, I've found these two very simple alternate questions really resonated with me, and are extremely helpful in my career transition stress.  They seem to help quash (don't you just love that word???) the unfounded and non-helpful worrying thoughts that I've been generating lately.  This is good!  :-)

I thought I'd put this out there on my blog, as these alternate questions can definitely be applied to any worrying situation, not just a career transition related one.  If it can be at all useful or helpful to anyone else, I'd like to get it out there.  And it is a fantastic little book.  I'd recommend it to people, as it contains many gems of practical, logical information.  I'll be buying my own copy of it.

Cheers!

P.S.  21 more weeks until classes start!!!  (Then I just might be writing about replacing my 'what if -- insert hypothetical situation here -- worries, to more immediate anatomy/physiology and exam-related worries. Hopefully I'll come up with a strategy to help with those too!  Lol!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Is this 'normal'???

I am tired of being in this transition phase.  This transition phase is all currently playing out in my head.  Only in my head, because everything else having to do with this so-called transition remains as it was before. 

I am still going to my job every day, I am still rushing around in the evenings with family obligations, basically nothing in my life has changed, except for the fact that I am apparently starting work towards a brand new career 5 months from now.  It remains just a theoretical concept for now.  Only in September will it become a physical reality, and finally seem real.

In the meantime, given that it is still only theoretical, my thoughts oscillate back and forth whether or not this is a good idea or not.  Part of it is that it is hard to leave the known for the unknown.  I know I don't enjoy my job and get no satisfaction or sense of accomplishment from it.  I know that the higher I climb the corporate ladder, the less I like my job, as it is management-related.  I can do it well, but derive absolutely no pleasure from it, apart from being able to mentor.  But it is secure, stable and I know (more or less!) what I'm doing in it.  And I know I face another 25 years doing it if I say put.  That very thought fills me with dread.

However, I'm not getting any younger, and sometimes wonder if I'm physically up to working as a nurse (or even up to the physical and mental challenges of nursing school!)  I'm fit and active, go to the gym regularly and spend as little time as possible sitting during the work day, but still, that does not compare to the reality of working as a nurse. 

Then there are the politics to consider.  Workplace politics exist everywhere.  Some groups are better than others, and one cannot generalize any workplace in terms of its politics and/or dynamics.  But the workplace reality in the hospital is very different from my current experiences, given that there are many more players, and that contributes to more complicated interractions.  I know how to play the 'game' in corporate reality, but it will be an entirely different reality to figure out in the medical (particularly hospital) setting.  Is my skin thick enough???  But I've also seen groups of medical staff who work together exceptionally well, with minimal negative interraction.  I've spent close to a thousand hours volunteering in a hospital, and got to know the staff very well, so I can genuinely say I've seen a healthy dose of reality of my future work place.

So I continue to oscillate, back and forth, back and forth -- should I change career or stick with the unfulfilling present reality?  Sometimes all it takes one day is to read posts on my beloved allnurses.com site to turn me off nursing, and the next day, to read several more which underscore exactly why I need to make this career change.

But when I think of being present as a nurse in a labour room helping a woman through the stages of labour and delivery, then all worries and fears drop to the wayside, and I am secure in my decision to make this change.   I cannot imagine doing anything else, given a choice.  And I guess I am being given that choice now.  (And if all else fails, I can always go back to my current career.  However, I really don't think it will ever come to that!!!)

I want to be able to say that after my career change, I've never 'worked' a day in my life.  People who love their jobs say that, as they don't really consider it 'work'.  Rather, it is a pleasure.

Any hey, what and who is really ever considered "normal" anyways?  Lol! 

Onwards and upwards!!!

Friday, April 8, 2011

A long time

Applying to nursing school has been a long, drawn out process.  I have been actively thinking about doing this for the past 12 years now, but 'life' somehow had other priorities in store for me (i.e. career, marriage, pregnancies, having babies...oh, those glorious newborn months!!!). 

But nursing was never far from my mind, even when all the other events were happening.  All it would take would be for someone to mention that she is a L&D nurse or a public health nurse, and I'd mentally be so wishing I had followed the nursing career path earlier in my life. 

And now it is here, but it seems like it isn't really.  This gets be back to the topic of this post, which is 'a long time'.  I submitted my application in October 2010.  I waited and waited and waited, and in March 2011 I got notice of my acceptance.  Now I wait and wait and wait until September for classes to start. 

So although it is 'real', it really isn't!  In the meantime, and for the coming five months, my life carries on exactly as it had before I applied to nursing school.  This is what makes it feel very surreal.  I told my boss about my upcoming career change, I'm now telling colleagues and friends about it, but I guess because it is seemingly so far off in the distance, it feels somewhat odd to be talking about it.  Don't get me wrong -- I am thrilled and excited to both have this opportunity given to me, and I love telling people about it, but on some level, it just doesn't seem real (and as I've mentioned before, I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world!). Lol!

I guess I just have to remember gratitude, and that when September actually rolls around and classes start, I'll look back to these months of waiting, and realize that they actually went by quite quickly. 

In June, I will be able to register for my classes, so that is the next 'milestone' to look forward to, which will help make the reality of my career change more tangible.

And on the flip side, the closer the start of classes comes, I'm sure that part of me will dread actually, really, truly, leaving the known cocoon of my current job and salary, to go embark on a new, unknown adventure. 

All this to say is that perhaps it is truly the best idea to just 'live in the moment', be grateful for where we're at, at this particular moment, and just be content. 

Have a great weekend!

Monday, April 4, 2011

If this lady can start nursing school at age 57...

...and graduate top of the class, then I have nothing to worry about!  She's still going strong at age 81 and loving what she's doing. 

Now THAT's a second career nurse inspiration story!

Way to go, RN Morris!!!!

:-)

Here is the link to the news article:
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20110329/NEWS/110329584/1070&ParentProfile=1058

Friday, April 1, 2011

Great quote

A dear friend sent me the following quote today -- inspirational to many situations in life, and very appropriate to my career change situation.  Thanks T.E.!!! :

"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."
John D. Rockefeller - American industrialist and philanthropist