Ready...Set...Go...

(Image retrieved from Clipart, 2008)
Being young and single the possibilities are endless in my mind as I have nothing to tie me down at the moment. This is why travel nursing looks so appetizing to me and maybe for you too. I have always been a person who lives for exploring new areas and meeting new people. While researching information about traveling nurse and what it exactly entitles I found an article written by a registered nurse that lists some great benefits to pursuing this career. Being a traveling nurse can provide you with a broad range of experience within your specialty area of nursing, such as critical care. It can also provide you with the opportunity to move around in different areas within nursing. As you travel around to new facilities it can be very challenging as you get accustomed to your new work area and the people. This can help you grow as a nurse and challenges you as an individual. As you work within different facilities you can also learn a lot from your co-workers and may learn some new advanced techniques and skills. Another great aspect about traveling nursing that your housing is usually paid for and you are encouraged to take advanced courses for free. Also as you travel to different provinces or countries you get to see new places, meet new people, and it pushes you to do things you never would do in your home town (Murdock, 2008). To me this all sounds like a dream come true. I can’t wait until I can experience nursing in another province or country on my own. Just imagine the possibilities.
Reference:
Murdock, G. (2008). Traveler stories: Small town girl enjoys new experiences with travel nursing. Nursezone. Retrieved November 20, 2008, from http://www.nursezone.com/Explore-Travel-Nursing/traveler-stories.aspx?ID=18450

Does Technology Help Health Care?

In my opinion technology in health care has advanced the way we communicate today between patients and other health care professionals. Working in the hospital I have experienced many of the benefits technology has made in health care. One thing that I really enjoy is that the internet is right at my finger tips. Anytime I need to look something up concerning one of my patient’s diagnosis or a new medication it only takes five minutes or less. The internet also has great resources for patient health teaching and websites that can help you when there is a language barrier. The Intranet is also extremely handy as messages can be posted to inform all staff of important information. You also have easy access to all of the hospitals policies and procedures.

My Trip to the Dominican Republic

In April I had the amazing opportunity of going to the Dominican Republic to provide nursing care. My team consisted of twenty-two other students from the Georgian College RPN or BScN program and four nurses who were teachers at the school. There were three other teams that went as well but to different areas and at different times. My group stayed in the Occa Mountains, which is in the middle of the country. While we were there we set up health clinics in local communities or would travel to rural areas and perform health assessments. We brought many medical supplies and medications with us, which were all donated by a variety of sources. As we set up our health clinics each day we would have an area for health assessments, a treatment center, a desk for parasite medication, and a desk where individuals could receive new medications or refill expired medications. While I was there we also got to work in the local hospital for a day and did many home visits within the community. This experience was very challenging as I did not know the language and was fresh out of school. Over the ten days I was there I was stretched in my nursing knowledge and felt much more confident returning back to Canada. If any of you ever have the experience of going to another country to use your nursing skills do not hesitate in going, as it is the experience of a lifetime. One major thing that I learned while I was in the Dominican was that we are so privileged here in Canada to have the health care system that we do, so do not take it for granted. Above is a picture of my group and I travelling to a town in the mountains. It was a very bumpy and scary ride along narrow roads that wrapped around some very steep mountains.