Start of the New Year

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to 2010. I know I'm getting pretty excited about it. I finished my fall quarter at SPU in early December and learned soooo much. I spent the first 5 weeks of the quarter at the Family and Childbirth Center at Highline Medical Center in Burien, WA. I was able to assist with and be present for a number of "regular" deliveries and c-sections and LOVED every minute of it. I could definitely see myself being a labor and delivery nurse. What a privilege!

During second half of the quarter I was working on the psychiatric unit at the Veteran's hospital in Seattle. What a contrast and what an eye-opening experience. I entered this rotation with a fear and huge lack of understanding about mental health. Over the course of 5 weeks, I was able to work with patients who were bipolar, schizophrenic, depressive, manic, suicidal, and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. These were men who have been through so much in their lives. I learned more during these 5 weeks than I have in all of my nursing program. I was humbled to the point of tears during my discussions with our amazing veterans. I count it a huge honor that I was able to work with these men.

I do not believe it was a coincidence that I was at the VA hospital this quarter so shortly before leaving for Vietnam. I was able to hear firsthand experiences about the Vietnam War from our own vets. I'm beginning to learn so much more about what this war was like for people on both sides though my experience at the VA and through my own personal research into Vietnamese culture in preparation for my trip. I have about 6 more weeks before I leave. Will I ever be completely prepared for this journey? I doubt that I will, but for now I will do all that I can.



I leave Friday, February 5th for Hue, Vietnam. Before then, I will be completing a whole quarter's worth of work during January. Once my group is in Vietnam, we will only be doing our "practicum" experience. All of our course work needs to be completed before then. Needless to say, I will be quite busy over the next few weeks.

I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to the nursing team that is going with me. These women are not just nursing students. They are pre-licensure nurses who are highly educated, highly motivated, and some of the best-trained nurses I have worked with....in or out of the acute care setting! They are (from back left to right) Patti, myself, Krista, Betsy, Lynn, (second row left to right) Annika, Julianne, Caitlin, Angie, (front) Kelly, and finally my amazing professor Barbara Jabbusch. Barbara will be traveling with us to Vietnam as our instructor and leader.

That sums up my update for now. Stay tuned for more...