Life on the 8th Floor of Duke Hospital

Duke huddle previous week: CareDoc Go Live Week! (Interpretation: all nursing staff will have new computer documentation.) I guess it's not so bad but I've only done on shift so far. There's tricky icons, and ways in which you could do excessive charting.
God has been gracious to help me find some friends among the staff. People of opened up to me when I least expect it. I also like John's model of remembering what's going on in their lives to allow them to know I care about them more than superficial stuff at work.
I took care of a patient the other night and their heart rate increased to the 160's! Most people regular rate is 60-80's/per minute. However the patient become stable enough to stay on our floor but God is gracious to provide the care I can give her through Him. My mom has said that He uses our hands! I am also reminded that Christ is the ultimate Physician.
Then to top of the night we had a code, my heart starts racing whenever that alarm goes off! EVIDENCE OF GRACE: another patient had pretty poor color (by that I mean blue) I couldn't see much of this patient's breathing , and someone tried getting a pulse rate, so after our charge nurse started doing compressions I also helped out doing compressions - then the patient started breathing on their own again while the respiratory therapist was on the verge of intubation...wow cool the patient's color came back! Then because this patient was not able to get the intensive monitoring they need this patient went to the MICU which is right around the corner from our unit...lucky us huh.
If you can remember to pray that John and I are a light and illuminate sketchy places of unbelief in peoples hearts if God is willing at my work picnic on Sunday. :-)

BIG NEWS

Today was my interview at Duke University Hospital. I awoke to my alarm or should I say alarms because I set two just in case. Anyone do that? At 5am I'm in the shower by 6 I'm out the door driving to Durham (approximately 36 mins away from Raleigh). I set up a shadow experience and the day shifts start at 7am. I am greeted well by the staff on the 8300 floor. (General Medicine) very warm and friendly maybe that's the Southern way.
Lea (pronounced "Lee") was willing to let me shadow her for part of her morning rounds. My interview was at 10 and I had already met the nurse manager Sue Tabb. Wow - she's caring, and totally for her staff. She said, "I want you to give 110% here". The interview process wasn't an interrogation but a very relaxed setting where Sue asked is there any Q's? What a relief! And clearly helping me feel at home and competent....I wasn't intimated or felt like I had to sell myself as this great nurse! God had it planned all along that I would be in this department have this interview on this day and leave there knowing He is so faithful and I would be offered the job. So I start July 6th.
Thank you Lord for being my Rock and the Horn of my Salvation. Amen

Registered Nurse

This morning I woke up and looked at my alarm clock it read 6:49. I tumbled out of bed and turned on my dad's iMac and quickly popped on the state board of nursing site to see if I had passed my NCLEX exam from yesterday. I typed in my name "A-m-y tab G-a-t-w-o-o-d clicked verify" and it read applicant passed test. ! I was soooo excited. I went in my mom's room and told her I passed she embraced me and was so excited with me. Then I refreshed the page with "verify" and it gave me my license number!! Next I called John.
Yesterday my test was in Mesa. It gave me 256 questions. I took one break - but I felt like I had a reading disability the length of how long it took was agonizing. About 55 minutes were left from the original 6 (hrs). All that to say it was an experience & so glad I don't have to retake it! But I'm so happy that people of my church family were praying for me.
Tonight my family went out to celebrate at La Casita....my mother and father both had the idea of bringing me a celebration gift - dad brought home a cheesecake, yum. While mom brought a card, flowers, monkey, and balloons. How special to celebrate with the ones who have seen you gone through the testing, nursing school and homework assignments. Thank you Lord for my family. They are so greatly appreciated all the time.

Phoenix Spring Break

This is my first Spring Break that I'm actually out of school for YAY! Celebrate! My parents have a reservation in Phoenix and I have been asked to coordinate the activities. I think the Imax theatre will be fun, there's always shopping, eating out, Yum. God is so faithful this morning I got a phone call for my first nursing interview for Duke Hospital in Durham. I'm so excited & nervous it's March eighteenth. I was able to schedule my NCLEX/State boards on the 23rd. So here I go at the books again. So much for Spring Break. :D

Phew Last test at EAC

The Lord is so Good! I passed my Hesi exam this Thursday with score of 890....Hip Hip Hooray! I felt "relief" and "success" instead of an excited emotion. I now am allowed to take my state board exam (aka NCLEX) so thanks for your prayers and words of encouragement as I was studying to take my Hesi. Then excitement came later as I realized that I could text pple I passed!