When I went horseback riding in Hawaii, I didn’t think that I would get a life lesson out of the experience but I did.

When I first saw the horses at the stable, there was a brown horse with a blonde spot in his mane that was eating.  When the bucket was empty, the horse tried to get to the other horse’s bucket.  I thought to myself that I don’t want that horse because it was aggressively trying to get to the other horse’s bucket.

As the tour guide started to pick the horses for each rider, it became apparent to me that the brown horse was going to be mine.  The tour guide told each rider a little bit about the horse while picking the horses.  My horses name was Meko.  The tour guide told me that Meko liked to be first and liked to eat.  I laughed internally because this was a good description of how I used to be.

As soon as I got on Meko, he went straight to the water and started to drink.  The tour guide told us while we were riding not to let the horses stop and eat or drink until we got to the river.  Almost every time we passed a puddle, Meko would try to stop and drink.  It had rained the day before and it was muddy.  I laughed internally because it reminded me of myself when I passed doughnuts. I would always want to eat.

The tour guide also told me that Meko didn’t like any other horse to pass him.  The tour guide started out in the back of the group and tried to pass Meko to take some pictures of me.  Meko would get in front of the tour guide.  The tour guide had to go off of the trail to get in front of Meko.  Meko and I ended up being second in the line.  I could feel that Meko wanted to be in the front.

The group stopped to take pictures at the top of the canyon.  My pictures were taken first and then Meko started to go down the trail.  I tried to pull the reins and get him to stop but he wanted to be the first one on the trail.  The tour guide had to get him to stop and put him back with the group.  I started to talk to Meko in my head and told him that it was ok to be second in line.

As we became comfortable with each other, Meko became calmer and didn’t try to get in the front of the line anymore.  After the first hour, I didn’t have to pull the reins anymore.  Meko knew what to do and I trusted him. There was another woman whose horse was just doing his own thing.  The horse was going off trail a lot and wouldn’t stay with the group.  The woman was scared to pull the reins.

On the way back, I was watching Meko.  I wanted to pay attention to the change that I felt that Meko had undergone.  Meko was looking down at the first horse’s feet.  The first horse was slipping a lot on the rocky trail.  Meko and I weren’t slipping a lot on the rocks because Meko was looking at the first horse’s steps and adjusting his steps.  I learned a lesson from this.

Sometimes it is better to be the second because you can learn from the first person’s “mistakes” or missteps.

Meko hadn’t changed completely.  The second time we passed the river and let the horses drink, Meko was taking a long time drinking.  The third horse tried to pass behind Meko and get behind the first horse.  As soon as Meko felt the other horse, he stopped drinking and cut off the other horse and got back into second place.  I laughed out loud and told the woman sorry.  He literally almost head butted the other horse out of the way.

Over all I had a great time horse back riding.  I didn’t expect to learn a life lesson or to meet one of my spirit animals.

 

I’m seeing a trend in nursing that I don’t like.

The trend is nurses having 7 patients.  Some of my patients have said that that isn’t a lot of patients to have.

When you break down all the things to do for those patients in a 12 hour shift, it becomes a lot of things to do.  I got into nursing to help people.  I like to connect with my patients on a human level and talk to them and hear their stories and struggles.  Not only does that help the patients but it helps me as well.  I can learn life lessons and the patients have someone to talk to.  Some of the patients don’t have anyone to talk to.  When I have 7 patients, I’m not able to do that.  I become task oriented and my patients become more demanding and impatient because I’m being pulled in so many directions.

Also when a nurse has 7 patients, if something goes wrong with one patient, then the other patients unfortunately get ignored for a while.  I’ve seen this too many times.  For example, a few weeks ago, one nurse had to call a code blue for the patient.  In the middle of the code blue another of the nurse’s patients called for some pain medication.  All the other nurses were busy because they all had 7 patients.  The patient ended up waiting about 30 minutes for pain medication.  The charge nurse was busy with the nurse in the code blue.  It was my first day on the floor of this hospital but this was an all too familiar situation.  At the end of the shift, the nurse said she felt bad because she felt like she had ignored some of her patients because of the code blue.

Another example, my preceptor and I went on lunch.  We asked another nurse to look after our patients for our lunch.  When we got back from lunch, one of our patients was screaming.  The patient was mad that the pain medication had not been given when the patient had called 20 minutes ago.  The nurse that was covering for us was very busy and didn’t answer the call light.  I understood that the other nurse was busy.  That nurse was covering 14 patients when we went to lunch break.  It’s hard enough to take care of 7 patients.

This hospital makes the nurses take 7 patients on a regular basis.  To me this is setting up the nurses to fail.  Nursing is more than just doing tasks.  A nurse doesn’t just take care of the patients.  The patient’s family members can sometimes need the nurse to take care of them.  When the patient is dying, the family members need the nurse.

For example, I was teaching my patient about the new diet because the patient had just found out about a new diagnosis.  The patient wanted to have the significant other taught about the diet too.  This is a not a requirement for a nurse but that helps the patient.

Almost every time that I have 7 patients, I leave that shift feeling like I’ve done the best that I could do but I wish I had more help to do all the things that I couldn’t do because it became too much to do in a 12 hour shift.

I was recently talking to a nurse about the 7 patient situation.  The nurse stated that as long as the patients didn’t die then it was a good shift with 7 patients.  He referred to a meme.Sometimes after my 7 patient shift, this is what I feel like telling the patient.  I did the best that I could do.  Yes it may have taken me a few more minutes than the patient liked to get to the patient’s room but I’m only one person.  Yes I have a PCA helping me, but the PCA can’t give the patient pain medication.  The charge nurse is busy because sometimes the charge nurse has patients also.  With all the nurses on the floor having 7 patient the nurses are busy.

At the end of day, a hospital needs to make a safe environment not only for the patients but for the nurses as well.  Giving nurses 7 patients is not making a safe environment.  I’ve seen a lot of nurses take 7 patients and end up complaining about it.  If all the nurses came together and said no then the hospital would have no choice but to hire more nurses.  As long as the nurses keep taking 7 patients then the hospital isn’t going to make a change.

Recently one of my patients read to me the mission statement of the hospital.  The patient stated that not one employee has upheld the mission statement.  I couldn’t say anything to the patient but I agreed with the patient.  Effective care wasn’t being given at all times.

The nurses need to talk to the charge nurse and the director of nursing to let them know how they feel.  Just talking to other nurses isn’t going to be enough to make a change.  I recently had a talk with the charge nurse and the director of nursing at the hospital about this.  This hospital is losing a lot of nurses because of the 7 patient situation.  I let them know how I felt.

A nurse can not be an effective nurse with 7 patients.

Procrastination has always been a problem for me.

Lately, I’ve been using a different strategy to combat my procrastination.

I ask myself the question, “Why Not Now?”

Usually when I ask myself this question, I can’t think of a reason why now isn’t the perfect time to do what I know I need to do.

It doesn’t always work but it works enough that I’m not procrastinating as much as I used to do.  I’ve learned that when I procrastinate a lot of things, I’m just making more work for myself later on.  If the task has to be done, why not do it when I first can do it.

For example, I packed a day before I was supposed to move to Florida.  I had been off for a whole month.  I ended up forgetting some things, that I ended up having to buy at the store when I got to Florida.  I could have been packed a week before and maybe I wouldn’t have forgotten my things.

Sometimes its perfectly right to put off doing some tasks.  I’ve put off some things because I want to have another opinion on the task.

When I really examined why I was procrastinating, it was really just because I wanted to relax at that present moment.  If I relax in the present moment, the task will still be there for me to do later.  If I do the task in the present moment, then I can really relax later.  I can relax and not have to think about the task that I didn’t do yet.

I have a tendency to worry about the what ifs.  What if what I plan doesn’t go exactly how I plan it?  What will happen in my future if my dreams come true?  Asking myself these questions has caused me to worry and be anxious about things.

Usually even if my plans don’t go exactly like I planned, the situation still works out in my favor.

For example, I had multiple dreams that I had become an RN.  During my L&D rotation, I ended up making a 74.4.  I was anxious and worried about my future.  I worried about how I was going to get into another nursing school.  I worried about how my dreams were going to come true.  The dreams would only work out if I graduated from nursing school in 2010.  I still worried even though I have had multiple other dreams come true word for word.  After 3 weeks, the teacher ended up giving every one the 6 points for the take home quizzes and I ended up passing the class.  For 3 weeks, I had worried myself for nothing.  I knew I was going to be an RN but looking at the evidence in front of me, it was still hard to have faith in my dreams and God.  In 2010, I graduated and became an RN.

Like my life coach tells me, “I don’t need to worry about the how.”

I don’t need to worry about how things are going to work out.  I already know that I am guided and my history has proven that I’m always taken care of, even when I make a “mistake”.

Recently, I became worried about a situation that hasn’t even happened yet.  I’m going on a cruise by myself this June.  I know that I’m meant to be on this cruise.  I’ve had multiple dreams about it.  I was nervous about the crowds, who I was going to meet, and if it was going to work out like I wanted it to.  In talking with my life coach, she talked me through my worst case scenarios.  I told her my fears and why I was feeling that way.  I began to realize that my fears weren’t based in reality.  I knew that God wouldn’t just lead me to this and then leave me to come up with the plan on my own.

I was worrying about the how.  Its not my job to worry about how things are going to work out.  Its my job to show up and do what I need to do. If I had not applied to nursing school, then I would not have become an RN.  I would not be a travel nurse, if I had not become an RN.

It is very easy to get myself worked up and worried about the what ifs in life.  I’m learning to just stop and pause.  I’m learning to look at my past and realize that things usually work out.  They may not work out like I want them to, but they do work out.

I could have saved myself from so much worrying and anxiety, if I would just trust that God is going to help me and take care of me.

How much time and worry could you save if you just trusted and had faith?

 

I’ve never liked changes.  I like routines.  Routines make me feel comfortable because I know what to expect from routines.

The life of a travel nurse is all about change.

So how do I handle change or a transition?  I ask for help.  Thank God I have a life coach.  Together we make a plan for the new changes.  Sometimes even with the plan, I still feel overwhelmed.

For example, when I first moved to Florida for my travel nurse job yesterday, I still felt overwhelmed.  I had just drove over 8 hours.  I was tired and hungry.  I still had to unload the car and get some groceries.  That was a part of the plan that me and my life coach had planned.  I still had to call my life coach and talk over the plan with her.  We changed some things and I felt better after that.  I didn’t finish the whole plan that was set up because I feel asleep but that’s ok.  I did the things that felt right for me to do at the time.

I’m going through some transitions both personally and professionally right now.  It is very easy for me to feel overwhelmed at times.

I’ve learned that I have to do things that make me feel relaxed and take time to really take care of myself.  I have to meditate, do yoga, read a book, or just watch my favorite DVDs.  Doing these things helps me not to feel too overwhelmed.

One of these transitions that is taking place is one that I have been looking forward to for about 8 years now.  I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not scared.  This transition is going to lead to a new phase in my life.  I’m going to try not to tell the people that doubted me, I told you so.  I’m also learning that I don’t need their approval to know that my dreams are real.  I used to want people to say that they believed in my dreams when I shared my dreams with them.

Some transitions are sad.  For example, I used to have three best friends.  Now I only have two. I’m grateful for my two best friends.  I’m realizing now that I can still survive without that person.  I still have love for her but I can still be happy without her in my life.  That was a very hard transition at the time.  It has become easier over time.  If some one had asked me two year ago if that person would still be in my life in ten years, I would have said yes.  I wish nothing but happiness for her.  It was always supposed to happen the way that it happened.

I don’t think its a coincidence that my life coach is doing a video series on transitions.  I admire her so much.  She recently with through a major transition and she was still able to help me with my stuff.

Transitions happen in every bodies life.

Sometimes just listening to uplifting music helps me to not feel overwhelmed.  Following is a song that helps me.  I just watched the movie, “Sing”.

 

 

 

The number one complaint that I heard from travel nurses in Hawaii was I wish other travel nurses had told me about how to handle the assignment.  I’m going to give some tips on how to.

Transportation

You’re going to need reliable transportation.

I chose to do a rental car.  That can get really expensive.  I found another travel nurse that gave me a rental car company that charged less than anybody else.  It worked out great.  I could just trade in the car when something went wrong with it and get another car.  I didn’t have to pay for oil changes and the upkeep of the car.

Another traveler just bought a cheap used car and sold it when he was done.  I probably should have done this but I didn’t want to have to find someone to buy the car.  This route can save money so that you can spend more money on experiences.  You’re going to want to island hop as much as possible.  Every island is different.

Another traveler just had her car shipped to Hawaii.  I looked into that and it can be expensive depending on where it is being shipped from.  It would be less expensive if I had of drove my car to California and shipped it from there.  It was about $2100 to ship to Hawaii and then another $2100 to ship it back to my parents home.

Another option is to just buy a bike.  One traveler did this because she lived so close to the hospital.  She only rented a car when she wanted to go to the other side of the island.  She saved a lot of money and was able to go to the other islands on a weekly basis.

Another option is to check with your landlord and see if they have a car to rent.  I stayed at the Bayshore Towers and the management at the apartments had a Jeep that they passed from travel nurse to travel nurse.  At the time I stayed there, it was being used by another travel nurse.  Some apartments will advertise that there is a cheap car that they can rent.

When I go back to Hawaii, depending on the length of my assignment, I’m going to buy a cheap car and sell it.

Housing

One option is to rent a room.  I rented a room from airbnb for my last month.  It was an interesting experience.  Just make sure to ask questions about who else is living in the house.  Ask about the quiet hours on the weekend and during the week.  Going this route can save a lot of money.  Its cheaper than a hotel sometimes.

Another option is rent an apartment or condo.  There are plenty of these to choose from.  I found that a lot of people own vacation properties and rent them out when they aren’t in Hawaii.  It can be expensive.  I wanted to have an ocean view.  If you are comfortable with having a roommate then the rent would be cheaper.  Many of the travel nurses I met were traveling in pairs.

Another option is a hotel.  Most of the hotels are expensive in Hilo.  I stayed at the Hilo Naniloa Hotel.  It was gorgeous.  I had the most beautiful ocean view and the mountain view is gorgeous.  I loved it.  If I could have afforded it, I would have stayed there but I wouldn’t have been making any money.  I got a discount but it still was too expensive.  It was $100 per night.  There were other hotels that were a tad bit cheaper but this was close to the hospital.  There were also bed and breakfast hotels.

Another option is a hostel.  It was really cheap.  I found one for about $30 per night.  I’ve never tried a hostel and decided against it.  I just need my own space.

There is also a work housing option.  It was only $23 per night.  You just had to work for 1-2 hours a day in the garden.

Housing and transportation are the biggest items for a travel nurse.  My agency doesn’t pay for the housing or the transportation. I had to rent a room for my last month because it was cheaper than anything else that I found.

Adventures

Set aside some money for adventures.  If you live in Hilo, most of the tourist things are on the other side of the island.  It takes about an hour and a half to get to Kona from Hilo.

You have to fly to the other islands.

There are so many things to do on the Big Island.  I went horseback riding, hiking, para-sailing, Segway tour, zip lining, whale watching and a lava tour.  There are so many beaches to go to.  Some of the waterfalls can only be seen after a long hike.

I can’t wait to go back!!

Recently I had a conversation with my landlord that reminded me of who I am.

It was 3 days before I was to leave Hawaii.  The landlord told me about a woman that had rented the room after me.  She cancelled the room which she was supposed to rent for a whole month.  He told me the woman’s friend had cancelled at the last minute and she decided to cancel her trip.  The landlord had offered to take a few days off of work and show her around.  The woman had told him no and that she would be too anxious to be in Hawaii by herself.  The woman didn’t even ask for a refund.  She lost out on over a thousand dollars.

From that conversation, I realized how far I’ve come.  Two years ago, I was that woman.  I waited around for other people to go anywhere.  I was afraid to go in public by myself except for work and the grocery store.

For example, I was meeting my best friends at the mall.  I was the first one there.  I sat in the car until one of my friends got there.  I even called one of my best friends and talked to her until she got there and then I got out of the car.  I remember her asking me why I just didn’t get out of the car and wait for them in the mall.  I told her that other people would think that I didn’t have any friends.

Being scared to go places by myself led to me not having a vacation for 8 years.

My life coach even reminded me of how far I’ve come.  A year ago, one of my action steps was to go to an exercise class.  I had chose to go to an aerial silks class.  I had always wanted to try it.  I called my best friends and we were supposed to go to the class together.  Unfortunately, my friend ended up cancelling.  I thought about just sitting at home.  I had already paid for the class.  I asked myself why not go by myself.  I was so nervous while driving to the class.  I ended up going by myself and having a lot of fun.  That was a huge deal to me. The old Shavawn would have just sat at home, missed out on an opportunity, and wasted her money.  Now I go to exercise classes all the time by myself.

Now this doesn’t mean that I still don’t get scared to do things by myself.  I do.  I want to go on a cruise this June.  Not one of my friends are available to go with me.  I feel like I need to go on this cruise for so many reasons.  All the signs are there that I need to be there.  I am so nervous to go on this cruise.  I’m getting that excited nervous feeling.  My life coach reminded me that I went to Hawaii by myself and turned down the apartment that I had set up because it didn’t work for me.  I stayed in a hotel until I found an apartment a month later.  I did all of that.  So I’m going on a cruise this June by myself.  I don’t want to stand in my own way.  My destiny awaits.  I told my life coach, “I’m freaking out but I’m doing it any way.”

Sometimes I just need a reminder!

Well my assignment is over in Hawaii.

I have to say that I’ve had a lot of fun and learned a lot of things this assignment.

I’ve learned a lot about “mistakes” and blessings.

A mistake is defined as a misconception or lapse in judgment related to insufficient knowledge.

When I first got here, I thought that my assignment ended at the end of January.  I found an apartment that had a beautiful ocean view.  The landlord wanted to come back to Hawaii for a festival at the beginning of February.  She told me that I would be a perfect tenant because I would be leaving at the end of January and her and her husband could use the apartment at the beginning of February.  When she told me that the price was $4100 per month, I was in shock.  I told her that my agency would only allow $2100 per month.  She actually agreed to let me rent the apartment for that price.  This apartment came with a maid, a gym, and laundry services.

I felt a pull towards this particular apartment building.  When I first saw this apartment building, I just knew that I would be living there.  I didn’t worry about how it was going to happen.

In the middle of November, my agency said that I would have to move out of the apartment in December because the apartment was rented in February.  I told the housing agent that my assignment ended in January so I didn’t need an apartment for February.  She said ok and didn’t tell me that my assignment actually ended in February.  I was able to stay in the apartment until the end of January.

In the middle of January, I called my recruiter and started to talk to her about what I wanted for my next assignment.  She said it was way too early to start applying for jobs because my contract didn’t end until February.  I was shocked and went online to look and sure enough my contract said February.  Thankfully I hadn’t bought my plane ticket home yet.  I was looking for one for the end of January.  Something was holding me back from actually buying the ticket.  So my landlord had already rented the apartment for February so I had to find another place to live.

I believe that I would not have been able to rent the apartment if I had not made the “mistake” of thinking that my contract ended in January.  The landlord needed someone in the apartment until the end of January so that she would be able to use it for the first week of February.

If I rented the apartment until the end of February, would I have gotten that discount?

I’m learning that God takes care of me even when I make a mistake.  He turns it around and makes it a blessing.

I wanted an ocean view and I got one for 5 months and a huge discount too!

Just last week, I made another “mistake”.  I was looking for a rental car for 9 days.  I wasn’t finding anything cheap.  The cheapest I found was for $730.  I was booking my rental car on a new website and I made a “mistake” of putting the dates for March 19th – March 28th instead of February 19 – February 28th.  On February 19th, I went to the rental car agency and showed the person my reservation.  She quoted $950.  I said that that was way too much for just 9 days.  She showed me that my reservation was for March instead of February.  Luckily she had some cars and gave me an amazing price that I hadn’t even found online when I was looking.  I saved so much money.

I wonder what would happen if people starting looking at their “mistakes” as blessings?

The “mistake” might seem like a mistake at the moment but maybe in time that “mistake” could be seen as a blessing in disguise.

Every body makes mistakes.  I just gave you 2 example of my “mistakes”.  Trust me I’ve made more than that.

One of my favorite movies is the movie, Signs.  The movie is directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

The movie is about a preacher, Graham, who has lost his faith in God.  His wife is killed by a man who feel asleep behind the wheel.  Before his wife dies, she says, “Merrill swing away”.  The preacher then quits his job.  His little brother, Merrill, comes to live with him and help.  Merrill was a baseball player but he never made the big leagues.  The preacher has two kids, a boy and a girl.  The boy has asthma.  The girl keeps saying that the water has a funny taste.  The little girl leaves glasses half full of water around the house.

Earth comes under an alien attack.  At first Graham doesn’t accept the fact that there are aliens.  Lights start appearing in the sky around the world.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie is, “People break down into two groups.  When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence.  They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is something up there, watching out for them.  Group number two sees it as just pure luck.  Just a happy turn of chance.  I’m sure the people in group two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way.  For them, the situation is fifty-fifty.  Could be bad, could be good.  But deep down, they feel that whatever happens they’re on their own.  And that fills them with fear.  Yeah, there are those people.  But there’s a whole lot of people in group one.  When they see those fourteen lights, they’re looking at a miracle.  And deep down, they feel that whatever is going to happen, there will be someone there to help them.  And that fills them with hope.  See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you?  Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles?  Or do you believe that people just get lucky?  Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”

The movie is filled with signs that help Graham and Merrill defeat the alien.  The little boy having asthma is also a sign.  The poison doesn’t get into his lungs because he was having an asthma attack.  The little boy lives because he has asthma.

I used to believe in coincidences.  Now I don’t.

Everything happens for a reason.

I don’t believe that God or the universe wants you to be confused about what you need to do.  I have asked God specific questions and gotten answers to my questions.  Sometimes the answers are through signs.

When I was looking for my first house to rent, I asked God for a sign to guide me.  I wasn’t finding any thing that I liked.  The signs were so specific that it couldn’t be a coincidence.  Even the realtor’s name was a sign that was specific not only to me but to my future husband.

If I want to know what to do next, I ask God a specific question and then I look for signs that will come.

I always listen to music when I write my blogs.  Every time while writing, one of my future husband’s songs comes on.

Signs are every where.  “Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”

 

I recently watched a movie that changed my life.  The movie is called, “The Secret”.

I learned two important lessons from this movie.

The first important lesson is that your thoughts really do create your reality.

You attract into your world what you think about.  When I was depressed and negative, I attracted that into my life.  Now that I love myself, I attract very positive people into my life.  I’ve had two other nurses offer me a place to stay when they barely even knew me.  I had told them about my living situation problems when I had first gotten to Hawaii.

I sometimes use the people around me to check myself.

If I notice a lot of negative people suddenly showing up in my life, I check myself.  I ask myself, “Am I being too negative?”  That stops me from thinking a lot of negative thoughts.  You can also manifest your fears if you think about them too much.

The second lesson I learned was that your actions have to be in harmony with what you are asking.

To me that means that if I think of something I want, I then have to take the necessary actions to get what I want.

If I don’t put myself in a position to receive what I want, then what I ask for will just stay a want.

For example, I want to learn how to swim.  I am a still a little scared of putting my head under the water.  I’ve paid for swimming lessons, but if I don’t show up to swimming lessons then I will not learn how to swim.

After watching the movie, I was able to make a very important decision.  Recently, I had to find another place to stay.  I thought that my contract ended at the end of January.  My landlord had already rented the apartment for February.  I loved the apartment because it has a great ocean view.  I could go back to the hotel that also had a great view but then I wouldn’t be making any money.  I would be working just to pay my rent.  After the movie, I decided to rent a cheap room for the last month.  It doesn’t have an ocean view but I had an ocean view for 5 months, I’m grateful for that.  Now I’m not worried about not being able to do anything in my last month of being in Hawaii.  I can still make some money and still go on adventures when I want to.  I was losing sleep over having to make this decision.  After the movie, I haven’t lost any sleep over the decision.

The Secret has become one of my favorite movies.