My most memorable experience as a nurse
By Bob Goldnetz My most memorable experience as a nurse is probably one of my saddest, but also exemplifies why I became a nurse and do what we do. They never found out what was wrong with him. He had a lot going on from previous co-morbidities, admitted with COVID. All the tests were negative, but in retrospect they think he had tuberculosis. He had been in the ICU previously and had been doing well. I had actually sent him to the floor. That was about a month before I came back after vacation and saw him again. It had been a month of complications and deteriorations. He was going to be transferred to hospice and life support withdrawn later that day. He was unrecognizable; every kind of tube possible, swollen, pale, surrounded by IV poles all clustered with drips. The family came to say goodbye. His mother and father apparently had become estranged from him. Unfortunately, they could not enter the room due to his COVID diagnosis. They had their own co-morbidities. So, impossibly, they said goodbye to their son from a small window in the door. As a new father I cannot imagine how they felt. I also find it unfathomable how to sum up what I needed to say or express from a 6×6 window in a door. At that moment, several feet from a doorway to a bed felt like miles. They asked me to tell him that they loved him. To let him pass peacefully. And to make sure he was not in pain. It’s a great responsibility we face every day. Perhaps one of the greatest obligations we can only learn from experience is how to guide someone into passing with respect, compassion, and dignity. What a sad experience. What a humbling task. What an honor. I was responsible for how he would leave this plane. I was the last person, the last human contact, voice, presence, touch, and energy he would feel. I prepared as best I could to make sure he was comfortable. It felt quiet as we prepared to terminally extubate him. “Don’t Worry About a Thing” by Bob Marley came into my head and It felt right. I will never know if he could hear me, the music. But I like to think that he could and that it soothed him. We withdrew the breathing tube and stopped his life-sustaining medications. He lasted barely a minute. I told him I was sorry. I was sorry we couldn’t do more and that we had not been able to save him. I told him that his parents loved him and everything was going to be okay; to not be scared. It’s okay. He can go. And he did. So, although it was an incredibly sad situation, I think of what a mercy it was that he was allowed to pass in peace. What a courageous last gift of a parent to a child. This is a patient encounter I still think about often. A time where I felt I fulfilled my calling. I relied on my experience, feelings, and instincts to provide what I think of as one of the greatest services to another human being. No one should be alone or in pain when they pass on from this world. As nurses, we deal with many moments of heartache. Sometimes we just have to remember that “every little thing, is gonna be alright.” Bob Goldnetz is an ICU travel nurse who has worked at various levels of hospitals across the country. When he’s not learning how to be a new dad or taking care of patients, you may find him backpacking, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, mountain biking, paragliding, or rock climbing.
12 Holiday Travel Nurse Adventures Posts That Will Make The Grumpiest Grinch Smile
Look, we get it. Working during the “most wonderful time of the year” can really suck. You’re stuck at a hospital while everyone else is getting to cozy up by the fire. Not to mention you’re tired, cranky, hangry, and all of this holiday cheer is bringing you to the brink of strangling the next patient who hits their call light. via GIPHY Unfortunately, we’re not here to change that. What we can do is momentarily distract you from the existential dread of working a holiday shift by reminding you of why you got into travel healthcare in the first place—for the awesome #TravelNurseAdventures that you could have never had as a permanent staffer. So without further ado, check out these 12 wonderful social media posts that will hopefully inspire you to make your own travel nurse adventures during the holiday season. Or at the very least will keep you from going insane. via GIPHY 1. BRB, going to buy a camper and renovate it to look exactly like this because it’s gorgeous. View this post on Instagram Have yourself a merry little camper… I mean Christmas 😊 I’ll be home for 5 whole days including Christmas Eve and Christmas. Anyone who works in healthcare knows how big of a deal that is! I am so excited to spend time with family and friends. The past four years I’ve had to work at the hospital and this year, my husband and I are both off! Excited is an understatement. I’m ready to celebrate! A post shared by EMILY (@ems_traveldiary) on Dec 16, 2018 at 4:27pm PST 2. In Hawaii? During Christmas? Now that’s living the dream. View this post on Instagram Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains, can you paint with all the colors of the wind 🍃🎨 I hope you sang that and it’s stuck in your head now 🎵 A post shared by Anna Nguyen (@annannna__) on Dec 16, 2018 at 12:13pm PST 3. Remember to equip your doggo with the latest winter fashions when bringing them along for fun in the snow. View this post on Instagram Glad my baby had fun today 💛💚 #mustard X #lettuce A post shared by Wendy Diane Mendoza Lozano 👑 (@weymendoza) on Dec 17, 2018 at 5:34pm PST 4. Taking a good look at The Monkey Face in Smith Rock State Park in Oregon. View this post on Instagram None of that monkey business Prince. 🙈 A post shared by Andrea Hahn (@drehahn) on Dec 17, 2018 at 2:22pm PST 5. Snow plus barn equals perfect Christmas cards for the family. View this post on Instagram It looks like a winter wonderland at my papaw’s old barn. . ❄️🎄❄️ . #asheville #winterwonderland #snowday #redbarn #winter #somanymemories A post shared by Courtney (@courtney.dowell) on Dec 10, 2018 at 1:48pm PST 6. Remember to drag your SO along to Christmas light displays because they have the perfect lighting for great selfies. View this post on Instagram The holidays are in full swing 🎄🎁 ⭐ I personally love this time of year and am lucky enough to travel with this guy ⬆️⬆️ who will gladly come along to all the light displays and Christmas events. ⭐ I know that a LOT of travelers aren’t as fortunate so this week I’m sharing some tips to keep your spirits up as a traveler over on the blog today ▫️ Link in profile ❤ A post shared by Alex McCoy- Peds Travel Nurse (@fit.travel.life) on Dec 17, 2018 at 5:22am PST 7. Wait a second, is that Boba Fett decorated with HOLIDAY LIGHTS? Move over Santa, everyone’s favorite intergalactic bounty hunter is here. View this post on Instagram Who needs a visit from Santa when you can get a visit from a Storm Trooper, Darth Vader, a Rebel Fighter Pilot and Boba Fett?!? JK, Santa arrives next week 🎬 . . #starwars #darthvader #jedi #pedsnurseshavemorefun #picunurse #movietime🎬 #sundayfunday #travelnurselife #travelnurseadventures A post shared by the wandeRiNg RN (@the_wandering_rn) on Dec 16, 2018 at 9:21pm PST 8. Time for a winter wonderland weekend road trip? View this post on Instagram Man oh man… what an adventure the last couple days have been. We made it though! Me, most of my belongings, and two (very annoying) cats, all packed tightly in a little Hyundai Elantra. Can’t beat that view though 😍 I would make that drive again in a heartbeat. Excited for the next 3 months ☀️ #welcometomontana #cowboycountry #travelnurseadventures A post shared by Samantha (@raygammas_) on Dec 16, 2018 at 7:15pm PST 9. A family is great, but friends are also fantastic to spend time with during the holidays. Also, we are digging that hairy dude sweater. View this post on Instagram I may be 3,000 miles from home but having great friends close by makes these holiday times easier 🌲🎁 A post shared by j1marie (@j1marie) on Dec 16, 2018 at 10:21am PST 10. Christmas pub crawl? Christmas pub crawl. View this post on Instagram #12pubsofchristmas #shenanigans #imgonnamissthisplace #sixmonthswentsofast #travelnurseadventures #cctctravel @crosscountrytravcorps A post shared by Andrea Rea (@andie1026) on Dec 16, 2018 at 6:25am PST 11. This time of year is the perfect excuse to hang out with your fellow travelers! View this post on Instagram Getting close to finishing our #travelnurse contract at SJMC #stockton so our travel nurse group got together for #dinner tonight at #seoulsoondubu #korean #koreanbarbecue #travelnurselife #travelnurseadventures #thewrights #jeffandheatherwright #notwv @klanerh @jswright75 A post shared by Jeff Wright (@jswright75) on Dec 15, 2018 at 10:21pm PST 12. Do pajamas count as scrubs? View this post on Instagram Good morning world! #california #nevada #laketahoe #tahoe #northlaketahoe #travel #travelgram #vacation #winter #travelnurses #travelnurselife #travelnurseadventures #gypsynurse #nursesofinstagram #snow #pjs #instagood #me #happy #victoriassecret A post shared by Samantha Garcia (@samanthagarciasg) on Dec 14, 2018 at 8:39am PST
Find Your New Happy Place: WalletHub Releases 2019 “Happiest Cities In America” List
Some travel healthcare professionals already know that where a job is located can have a big impact on how much they enjoy working there. It can be difficult, though, to narrow down which city they will enjoy working in the most. A new list released by WalletHub, a personal finance education website, could help with that issue. WalletHub released the 2019 rankings for their annual “Happiest Cities In America” study Monday, which evaluated 182 of the largest U.S. cities based on 31 indicators of happiness, like the depression rate, income-growth rate and average leisure time spent per day, according to their website. Those key factors were combined into three main categories—”Emotional and Physical Well-Being,” “Income and Employment,” and “Community and Environment,” which produced a composite score for each city. While not all of the indicators listed in the study affect travelers directly—like the rate of separations and divorces in each city—others have a more direct impact, including ideal weather, crime rate, access to parks and open spaces, commute time, and illness and disability rates. The top 10 happiest cities in America, based on WalletHub’s rankings, are: Plano, Texas Irvine, California Madison, Wisconsin Fremont, California Huntington Beach, California Fargo, North Dakota Grand Prarie, Texas San Jose, California Scottsdale, Arizona San Francisco, California Among the top 10, Fremont received the highest rank for “Community and Environment” and San Jose for “Emotional and Physical Well-Being.” Seattle, Washington, which ranked overall at No. 54, received the highest ranking in the “Income and Employment” category. The results are intriguing, but should not be used as the ultimate solution to fixing the blues, experts say. Most studies suggest that finding and fostering happiness is less about a location and more about how people engage with their jobs, their communities and the experiences they choose to have. Travelers can view the full results of the analysis on the WalletHub website.
Tall Man, Tall Van: Nate Hemann Shares His Experience Travel Nursing While Living The Van Life
Like many travel healthcare professionals, nurse Nate Hemann wanted to pursue traveling to experience new sights, meet new people and gain experience working across the country. Before starting his journey, Hemann decided to make his first major commitment to the travel life in an unconventional way—by converting a freshly purchased 2018 Ford Transit into his permanent home away from home. Hemann started documenting his experience building and living in his van on August 2, 2018, through his Instagram account, @thetallmanvan. From his posts, Hemann shares messages of positivity, his enthusiasm for nature and all the highs and lows of living in a van while working as a travel nurse. I spoke with Hemann to find out more about his nursing career, how he converted his ride and why he decided to tackle the #VanLife. Editor’s Note: Photos in this story pulled from the @thetallmanvan account were used with permission. Some of the answers below were edited for clarity. Q: How did you get involved in the nursing profession? I decided I was going to go to school for nursing in about the 10th grade. I honestly don’t remember a single moment that sparked it. I did, however, grow up right next to the Mayo Clinic, and with both of my parents working there, as well as nearly every other adult in my life growing up, it’s really no surprise that I ended up with a career in the medical field. I have also always loved people and science, and to me, nursing is the best fit for me with my strengths in both of those areas. Q: What made you want to pursue the travel nursing route? Travel nursing was not something I had ever thought about until holiday break during my senior year of nursing school. I went on a study abroad trip with 20 some other nursing students to the Philippines to learn about and dive into the culture and nursing practices there. This single trip set me on the travel path that I am on now, both in my career and in my personal life. I made it a financial goal of mine after graduating college to always be able to say “yes” to travel when asked by anyone around me, and so far, I’m surpassing my goal of traveling whenever possible far more than I ever imagined I would. Q: Being that you’ve just started your travel career, what has the experience been like so far? Although I technically began my travel nurse career the beginning of October 2018, I feel that it really started in July of 2017. After working one year as a staff nurse in Duluth, Minnesota, I packed up my car and drove to Seattle to be a part of the amazing team and culture of Harborview Medical Center. After a year at Harborview, and meeting all of the countless, amazing travel nurses there, I knew that I had to be one as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Hemann (@thetallmanvan) on Feb 6, 2019 at 6:59am PST The experience so far has been supportive and educational, as well as beautiful considering I have gotten to be in Northern California and Central Oregon for my first two contracts. I feel fortunate to have gone to two hospitals so far with an overall good attitude toward travel nurses because I know that that is not always the case. Q: What have you learned? Any unexpected challenges? I have learned that I love to float, which as a traveler is something you have to learn to like, or you certainly won’t have a good experience. I love the challenge of a new unit and a new patient demographic outside of my specialty. I will say that I am not learning as much nursing-wise as I would like to, and that’s why I will seek out more trauma and teaching hospitals, like Harborview. For now, I am trying to keep up to date outside of work. However, I am learning so much about myself being in these smaller cities and hospitals. It is giving me more financial freedom and time to explore the great outdoors with my van and any friends I meet along the way. As far as nursing goes, the main challenge I have found is that staff nurses tend to be resistant to change, and as the new nurse on the unit all the time, that can make me feel isolated. I have picked up skills and knowledge in various ways and places, and some nurses I work with only know nursing from the college in the same community that they work in—and perhaps have lived in that very community their entire life. As someone who constantly wants to learn and understand the world from other perspectives, it frustrates me to work with complacent and inflexible individuals. Q: Where have you visited so far? Considering that, what’s your most favorite moment from the places you have visited? My two contracts so far have been in Eureka, California and Eugene, Oregon. I have visited countless places outside of these two locations since I drove from Minnesota to get here, and in between contracts, I took two-and-a-half weeks off to ski in Wyoming and Utah. Top of my list since starting travel nursing would be as follows in no particular order: Grand Teton National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Redwoods National Park, and the Southern Oregon coast. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nate Hemann (@thetallmanvan) on Oct 19, 2018 at 11:24am PDT I’m not typically a man of favorites—usually a top three or five kind of guy—but there was an instance during this travel nurse journey that I felt absolute bliss. I hiked down a steep and wooded part of the Southern Oregon coast, made my way to rocky outcrops, and it was all just after a big storm system had rolled through. The waves crashing against the coast were absolutely massive. I