TRAVEL NURSING: ASSIGNMENT #2

I wrapped things up at Cobb Hospital with tears in my eyes... this was an amazing time of growth and change in my life. 13 weeks led to  lifelong friendships, new nursing experiences and a new man in my life. God was moving in my life in ways I could of never imagined. When I started this adventure I had no idea what it would bring but I am so thankful I took this leap of faith!

I am blessed beyond measure in so many ways but I must admit one of the biggest and most unexpected blessing is the man God brought into my life.  He is loving, encouraging, inspiring, full of life, a child of God and to top it off strikingly handsome! We are building a strong Christ centered relationship. I'm so thankful for him in my life and his willingness to support me as I travel!

J&J

When I started the discussion of where to next with my recruiter I was dead set on spending the summer on the beach!!!! I mean, what more could a girl ask for?!? Well, little did I know God had some other ideas for my summer on the beach...my recruiter called to ask if she could send my resume to Albany Ga, wait a minute...was I speaking English when I said beach??? My resume was submitted and next thing I knew I was signing a 13 week contract at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. But before heading to the middle of nowhere Ga I headed to Amelia Island with mom and dad for a week at the beach.

So what does one do when it is raining the day you arrive at the beach? Test drive cars in Jacksonville of course! Well test drive would be an understatement because I actually bought a car!!!

Acura RDX 2011

After a fantastic week at the beach and a beautiful new car that I absolutely love I packed up the RDX and headed to Albany... J was wonderful and agreed to help me get settled in! We made a quick stop in WR to see his parents (love times like these) and then headed on to Albany to the mother-n-law suite the Sugg's helped me find. 

After unpacking the over stuffed car (the only way I know how to travel is with WAY too much stuff) we settled on a place for a late and much needed dinner (I was HANGRY). Sunday brought a day of adventure and shopping. We found a great lil breakfast place, Roosters, which has become our breakfast place. We found Sherwood Baptist Church the home of Fireproof and other Christian movies, this was J's favorite thing for sure. It was such a long day but a much needed one to get somewhat acclimated to my new home. I started work Monday, April 29, and although it has been a very different experience then my first assignment it has been good none the less. I have continued to grow as a nurse as well as a person. It has been challenging making friends outside of work but God has been faithful. I am headed into the final 4 weeks of this assignment and whether I renew in Albany or find myself moving to a new location I know God will be faithful to provide all of my needs! 

TRAVEL NURSING: ASSIGNMENT #1

At the end of 2012 I found myself working with a recruiter to find RN jobs outside of my comfort zone and my current living area. During this overwhelming process I was also completing my final stages of studying for CCRN (a certification test for critical care nurses, I like to describe this test as "nursing boards on crack"). The day before I was to sit for CCRN I received a phone call from my recruiter asking to send my resume to Cobb Hospital. I agreed and by mid-afternoon I had completed a phone interview with the Nurse Manager. I was mortified by this experience and just new I had completely blown it. I needed to get out for a bit so I went for a walk with my roommate and during this time i received another phone call from my recruiter. She asked if I wanted the job...wait what?...I was being offered the position...I stuttered for a minute, asked her if I should take the job and then accepted! The excitement was overwhelming but bitter sweet as CCRN weighed heavy on my heart and mind. I tried to subside my excitement while I continued to prepare for CCRN. Thursday January 3, 2013 I sat for CCRN and by the grace of God PASSED!!!!!!!

JILL MARIE THOMAS, RN, BSN, CCRN

After taking the test I had to deal with the heartbreaking task of resigning from my first career job, the job that taught me how to be a nurse, it helped to mold me into the nurse I am today. With this lingering on my heart I decided to stay PRN at MCCG (this means I am required to work once a month but can work as often as I would like). Three weeks into this adventure I am slightly regretting this decision but know that it is only for a season!

Cobb Hospital 

(Medical and Cardiac ICU)

Cobb has been quite the experience! I had one day of orientation with another nurse and then was on my own. All of my coworkers have been amazing! They have taught me so much and worked with me on the things I don't know about the particulars of the hospital. Management has been wonderful and extremely supportive! I could not be more thankful to being have such an incredible experience on my first leap of faith assignment!!! 

Maybe traveling is in my blood... and maybe I will be making it my career... at least for a season...

Long overdue...

Long overdue for a post...

It has been a hectic start to 2011 to say the least...between classes, clinicals, running, friends, family, and the beginnings of the job search I have little time to breath. I have been working hard at balancing life but I always seem to hit bumps in my ambitious roads...

- CLASSES are not bad, still keeping my grades in check to maintain my place in Sigma Theta Tau International (the honor society I was inducted into last semester qualifying for this honor by being in the top 20% of my class) but this feet is definitely a little bit time consuming


- CLINICALS, I just completed my leadership rotation in a neuroscience ICU (weekend shift, leaving little time for a personal life) and loved every moment of it and just may have found my calling. During this experience I had several firsts...first patient death, first code, first emergent intubation, and so many more. My preceptor for this rotation was incredible and I now call her a friend! I have now moved into my Pediatric rotation which I hope I will enjoy but I don't think will be the best rotation I have ever had.


- RUNNING has still been an incredible stress reliever and a huge part of my life. As many of you know I ran my first 1/2marathon in NOLA Feb 13, 2011. I would like to tell you that every mile of the 13.1 was wonderful, joyful, and fulfilling but instead I will be completely honest and tell you it was instead 13.1 miles of HELL but I will conquer more 1/2marathons in my life and one day a full marathon but I need to forget the last 13.1 before I go at it again!!! During my training I hit a couple of road bumps...literally! I took a nasty fall on a long run which left we with scarred knuckles, an infected toenail, and then the loss of that toenail. Well I should have known that I would not just lose the one toenail that others would follow in sink...NO more infection but I have since had to remove 2more toenails for a total of 3 toenails lost (NO cute summer shoes for me...). This led to the buying of a t-shirt in NOLA that says "toenails are for sissies!"

- FRIENDS have been wonderful through all of my crazy schedules, working with me so that I can have at least some time for fun and relaxation. So Thank You!!!

- FAMILY, still living with the parents but am so incredibly grateful for all they have done for me during this season of my life! Kelly, my sister-n-law by my oldest brother Mark, helped make my 1st 1/2marathon possible by putting up most of the funding for an incredible weekend that I so desperately needed. But even more so this weekend allowed us to spend some incredible quality time together making me miss her more regularly and simultaneously making me so thankful my brother picked such an incredible woman to join our family! Also during this weekend I got to spend some time with Mark and my nephew, an always welcomed gift. JM and I continue to bond over kayaking and I continue to grow more jealous of his fun adventures!

- JOB SEARCH, during my leadership rotation I had the opportunity to meet with the director of the unit I was working in. This was an incredibly productive meeting and although No promises of a job a definite contact has been made opening doors for a future job!!!

LIFE is crazy and full of ups and downs but every day is a new day given as a gift from the Lord...so I work diligently to make each day valuable...

2011 will be an EPIC year...

2011 will be an EPIC year in the life of jillmariethomas...

and theses are the reasons why...

1. Read the Bible from cover to cover

2. Run "11" "races in 2011" including Warrior Dash with the one and only racequ

3. Graduate from nursing school

4. Pursue nursing jobs in South Africa and hopefully make a move across the big blue

5. Run my 1st half marathon

6. Run my 1st marathon

7. Pursue God in a new and different way

8. Make a difference in the lives of the people around me

9. Continuing on my journey of healthy living

10. Make friendships a priority

11. Kayak a class 3

12. Finish knitting the scarf I started over 2 years ago

13. Learn to snow ski or better yet snowboard

14. Jump out of a plane for round #2

15. Serve the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul, and all my mind

One "word"...

One "word"...

I recently saw the movie Eat Pray Love for the second time. While Julia Roberts character (Elizabeth Gilbert) is in Rome her friends ask her what her "word" is. Gilbert is unsure what they are referring to and so her friends give her examples...

Rome - sex

Stockholm - conform

New York - ambitions

Gilbert already on an incredible journey begins to dig within to determine her one "word;" a "word" that can unlock a city or person and his or her meaning...by the end of the movie Gilbert, after pouring through books determines her word to be...

attraversiamo "let's cross over"

So in watching this movie I found myself longing to determine what one "word" unlocks who I am...when I began digging within I realized that I had already determined my word and in fact already blogged about it...

fighter

I am and will always be a fighter...

Often or Offen..

Often or Offen...

a word in the south spoken as "offen"

One night, this little word that is used so frivorously in everyday conversation became very intriguing as racequ and I pondered the difference in the way the word was spoken and written...after much conversation we decided that we should silence letters in other words and the one that stuck for us was "awe-ome" better known to the rest of the world as awesome. This new pronunciation of this classic adjective has even made a debut thousands of feet in the sky on a recent skydiving adventure. We use it "offen" and even correct ourselves when we slip and say awesome with the "s" instead of "awe-ome"!

So, you are asking "why blog about this now?" well...today racequ asked if I remembered what word led us to the creation of "awe-ome"...I had no idea...A few hours later the phone rings with racequ providing me with the word often as the answer to the question...and so with that I decided that I needed to document this word so as never to forget its origin again!

Reigning in the mind of a fighter...

Reigning in the mind of a fighter seems to be an impossible task...





As graduation nears, once again, I have opened my future to the wealth of possibilities for the next step. I have known for so many years now that God did not ordain my life for a white picket fence in the suburbs but instead for a life of great adventure sharing his name with all I encounter. My heart never seems to be at peace unless I am in motion for the Lord. Every part of my selfish being wants to stay here in the city I love...get a great flat, furnish it with shabby chic furniture, have drinks with the girls several nights a week, fall in love, and strive to move as high as I can on the job ladder...but if I were to choose such a life I would be missing out on all the Lord has to offer. I would never be at peace with anything around me and at some point would more than likely self-destruct. Instead I am currently looking for nursing jobs in South Africa, Cape Town specifically. The Lord has already been faithful in so many ways by providing incredible contacts with a wealth of information. Though this journey will be excruciatingly long and hard I am prepared to FIGHT until success is achieved. At some point I plan to further my education more (a masters or nurse practitioner degree in public health, two great programs at Emory) but for now I will see what the Lord has in store across the big blue sea!!!