Washington D.C. and the rest of the weekend.

I was off work Saturday and Sunday so we decided to take advantage of it. On Saturday night, Collin and I went to dinner with Stacey and Jason. I work with Stacey at Upper Chesapeake. We went to a small mexican restaurant called La Tolteca. It is a hole in the wall but the margaritas and food are great, and I don't even like Mexican. Collin told the servers it was my bday so they placed a ridiculously huge sombrero on my head and Collin wore one too. The pictures are hilarious. After dinner, we went to a local pub named Looney's. This is where a lot of the local Bel Air kids go to hang out. It was a lot of fun.
On Sunday, Collin and I went to our Nation's Capitol, Washington D.C. I had been before when I was 10, but Collin had never been. I think we chose the worst day to go because it felt like it was 100 degrees outside. We started at the Smithsonian Museums. Our first stop was the Natural History Museum. It was a little disappointing. It would probably make a great place to take children, but it was a little boring. Afterwards, we went to the National Air and Space Museum. This museum was a little more interesting with all of the planes and shuttles. I do not recommend the flight simulators unless you are 5. We rode in one and even a 10 year-old kid looked back at me and laughed.
After the museums, we went down to the Washington Monument. All of the tickets had been give out so we weren't able to take a tour. This seemed to be our theme of the day. We saw the Capitol and White House as well, but did not tour it. We also saw the Lincoln Memorial and Vet Memorial Wall.
This is all very easy to do on foot, but I wouldn't recommend it in hot weather. It made the day a lot less enjoyable. After we got back to our car, we drove to see the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Both are less than 2 miles from D.C. We drove around the perimeter of the Pentagon. It was not as big as I thought it would be. You could still see where the plane hit on 9/11. Afterwards, we drove over to the cemetery. They ushered us into the parking lot and not one guard told us the cemetery was closed until we walked all the way to the entrance, and yes, they made us pay for parking and we saw nothing. We weren't real thrilled about that.
We have decided we'll go back to do all the tours and see the cemetery and Mount Vernon. Lesson Learned: Be prepared and don't go when it's 100 degrees outside unless you are P.Diddy and someone is willing to carry your umbrella.

I survived my first week of night shift!

I completed my first week on the floor. The first night I worked, I oriented with a preceptor in the ICU. It was very similar to working at Parkwest, but the charting was a lot different. The patient care is very much the same, but it makes it challenging when you don't know where everything is and how to use all of the equipment. Thankfully, the monitors are exactly the same, but the IV pumps are completely different. It just makes it difficult when you are running around half the night trying to find something or find someone to ask. The other thing I thought was different was that nurses don't seem to have as much responsibility as I did at Parkwest. Techs take Vitals, give baths, take blood sugars, and empty foleys. At Parkwest we did most of this except we had a lot of help from techs when it came to baths. Also, at one point, my patient had a really high blood pressure. I asked my preceptor if we should call an MD. She said they would be around shortly. There is an MD on the ICU floor at all times. I couldn't believe it!
My second night, I oriented in the IMC...Intermediate Care. This was very similar to ICU but I had 3 patients instead of 2. In IMC, the max no. is 4 patients. This night was busy, but I didn't have any trouble. The only thing I wasn't used to was that the patients in IMC are a lot more mobile and talkative.
On my third night (my first night solo) I was in telemetry. I only had 2 patients to begin with but I transferred in one and admitted another before the night was through. The patients here are not as sick, but the amount of work is increased due to the number of patients. The most you can have in Tele is 5. By the end of my 3rd night, I was so exhausted, I could barely thing when I was giving report to the AM RN. She probably thought I was dumb.
One of the things that is different in this hospital that will take some getting used to is the pharmacy. I'm used to a pharmacy being open at all times. The pharmacy closes at midnight so if you get a new patient or you forget to call down for a drip before they are closed, it is more challenging to get it. One of the other things is that they used Kardex for their Medication Record. Meds are always taken off by a secretary onto the Kardex. That is weird to me. We also only have one secretary at night in the ENTIRE hospital. Something I really like that Parkwest didn't have is that we all have personal phones along with our pagers. Pagers are only used to page tele and monitor abnormalities. You can dial anyone directly instead of paging them including techs and secretaries.
My coworkers are nice and helpful, and I love the hospital. It's just going to be a matter of getting used to it all. Of course, by the time I do, it will be time to move on.

Philly Day 2!!

We went back to Philly yesterday. We started our day by picking up our tickets to Independence Hall. We went to Congress Hall first where we had a personal tour which took about 15 minutes. Congress Hall is where Congress met when Philadelphia was the Capitol of America. There is still original furniture that was used here during the 10 years the hall was used. Afterwards, we went to Independence Hall which houses original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights. From there, we had brunch at the Continental. This was a diner on Restaurant Row that was trendy and delicious. We both had omelettes. It was really good and had a neat atmosphere. From there, we went to the Liberty Center to see the Liberty Bell. It was interesting to read about the life of the Liberty Bell and how the crack first occurred. We went to the National Constitutional Center next. This is an interactive museum and has a great Theatrical presentation about the meaning of "We the People." I was able to take an oath of office as if I were the President of the US. It was a fun museum. We then went to the Christ Church Burial Ground. 5 signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried there including Ben Franklin. Ben's grave earns 3000$ a year in pennies placed on his grave. This is done in honor of his quote "a penny saved is a penny earned." After this, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Washington Square where we also visited the Moon Tree. This tree is the only seed that has been taken to the moon and back and then planted on US soil. We then got on a double decker bus which tours the city. Our plan was to go to the Eastern State Penitentiary, the first in the US. Tours were given when the penitentiary was still active in the 70's b/c it was such a new concept. It was closed so we are planning to go back one day. Instead, we went to the famous "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We ran the steps and then laughed as others did the same each displaying their own version of the rocky pose. We went into the Museum of Art. We were pretty disappointed at this museum especially since many exhibits were closed before the museum closing time. Following the museum, we went to the city tavern. This tavern has been around since colonial times and the beer, food, and servers all represent this time. We had a couple of colonial beers and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We plan to also go back to go to the Franklin Center Museum. That and the Penitentiary should have been done on day 1 but we didn't know how great they were supposed to be until they were both closed.

Yo Adrienne!!

Since I have the weekend off, we decided to spend it in Philadelphia! This was my first trip to PA. We drove so we traveled through Delaware and New Jersey on the way to and from Phila. It cost $9 just in tolls to get there, but it was only about an hour drive.
We parked near the Independence Visitor Center. We had bought Philadelphia Passes onling the night before so we had to wait til 11 to pick them up. First, we went to the Reading Terminal Market. This market is really interesting. It has fish and produce stands, bakeries, used books, cheesesteaks, dutch goods, crafts, music, and a beer garden. It was neat just to see and we got cookies from Famous Cookies and they were delicious!
Next we went to Hard Rock Cafe to pick up our Phila passes. They are also available at the Independence Visitor Center. From there we walked about a mile to Pat and Geno's Steaks. These two Cheesesteak Restaurants both claim to be the original and the best. They have been shown on Food Network and The Travel channel. They are literally right across the street from each other and have been the two biggest steak rivals for decades. We decided to try both. First Pat's! As a beginner, I learned quickly they don't like u to be slow. You must know what u want when u get in line and have ur money ready. We were a little disappointed at Pat's. Drink was flat and cheesesteak not the best we'd ever had. We headed across the street to Geno's. The line alone was proof it was probably better than Pat's. We were satisfied. The guys working were exactly how you would picture them. Greased back hair, tight shirts, and gold chains. The italian look i suppose.
Afterwards, we decided to take a Ride the Ducks tour. This tour was included in the price of our Philadlephia Pass and would have been 25 dollars without it. The tour is a bus that shows you highlights of philadelphia and then turns into a boat for part of the tour and takes you into the delaware river. Our guide was upbeat and fun! He sang songs and acted crazy! We all got quack kazoos to play during the tour that looked like duck beaks. It was well worth it.
After the Duck tour, we hopped on the subway to see if we could get tickets to the Phillies game. It was soldout but we were hoping we could buy some outside the stadium. I now know the subways in Phila expect u to have exact change. The man working at the turnstyle was extremely rude because I didn't know it had to be exact. We got to the stadium and tryed to buy tickets. We ended up with some awesome tickets behind 3rd base on the first level. The game was a lot of fun!
After the game, we went to McGillin's Old Ale House which is stated to be the oldest continuously running tavern in the US. The atmosphere was great! It was dim in the bar and had old wooden tables and doors. The beer was also tasty! We headed home after because we were tired. We will return tomorrow for Part 2. We plan to do most of the historical parts tomorrow.

My first assignment!

I started my job on Monday, July 7th. I was very nervous, and I was not at all sure what to expect. I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed so far. I am assigned at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in the ICU/IMC. I am working days this week....about 8 to 5 everyday. It is general hospital orientation. I have been told this is not the norm at most hospitals for travelers. Sometimes you're lucky if you have 2 days of orientation. The majority of this week has focused on hospital policy, watching videos, and learning equipment. I have been very impressed by the hospital and staff so far. I took a tour of my unit for the first time on Tuesday. I will start up there next Tuesday night. I will spend Tuesday and Wednesday night with a preceptor and then I will be on my own. It seems quick considering I don't know much about the hospital, but surprisingly there are a lot of similarities when compared to my hospital in Tennessee.
I have already made friends with several girls and everyone seems eager to provide information about the area and the spots only the locals know about. It has been a big help. Without them, I wouldn't have known about the Scrub outlet where everything costs about 9.99. They've told me about their favorite restaurants, spas, entertainment, workout facilities, and more.
I'm excited about starting on the unit. I do think switching to nights will be a challenge especially since Collin will be working days, but I know we'll manage. Collin has had a lot of success with jobs and will know by the end of the week where he will be working. Right now, it's between Lockheed Martin or Medstar. It's amazing how much God has blessed us. It seems as if everything has fallen into place. I'm looking forward to this adventure, and I'm glad it has finally begun!

Bel Air, Maryland!!!!!

I now live in Bel Air, Maryland! Now you know why it's been almost 2 weeks since I posted last. It was hectic. Trying to move 9 hours away was a lot harder than I thought. I had 1 1/2 weeks to get ready for the move...3 of those days I worked, and 1 I spent celebrating my 26th birthday. It took missing a lot of sleep and a lot of help from family and friends to get everything done in time, but I did it. I made it up here on Saturday, July 5th. Collin was already here when I arrived. It was a great feeling to know I didn't have to worry about finding an apartment. Everything was ready and waiting, except furniture! Due to the holiday weekend, our furniture was not delivered until today. That has been one of very few setbacks. Our apartment is nice! We are staying in Calvert's Walk. The outside looks a little rundown, but the inside is perfect! New cabinets, countertops, and most importantly.....a brand new 42" flat screen mounted on the wall! The fitness room was a bit of a disappointment. 3 treadmills and none of them work. Collin started running on one only to have it shut off instantly when he was at his max speed. I think it's time to find a local gym.
We spent most of Saturday unpacking and sleeping. Sunday, we decided to explore Baltimore. We drove to downtown Baltimore and parked at the Inner Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay.
There is a place to walk along the water with multiple shops and restaurants. The Bay has paddleboat rentals available including some that look like dragonboats. The USS Constellation sits in the harbor. This ship was used during the Civil war. http://www.constellation.org/. We decided to take a water taxi over to another part of Baltimore called Fell's Point. http://www.fellspoint.us/

The water taxi is $9 a person and can be used for unlimited trips all day. At Fell's point we visited a couple of pubs and explored the shops. The cobblestone streets were really interesting to see. We returned to the Inner Harbor on the water taxi and decided to grab some dinner. We chose Philip's, a seafood restaurant.
Although the food tasted good,
the price was a little high and the service was not the best. We're hoping for a better dining experience next time we're in the harbor.