FIRSTS...sorry, but this word just encompasses so much!

I originally wrote this post almost 2 weeks ago, but my poor internet connection failed to save the post and it leaves me starting fresh, trying to live up to just how great I thought my FIRST post was. So here goes...

FIRST DAY: Monday (10/18) was my FIRST day at UCLA, and it was also my FIRST experience with early morning rush hour LA traffic. Monday was also the FIRST of several rainy days (which I'm told by all the locals that rain is almost unheard of here!). Monday felt like a scavenger hunt where I ran all around campus trying to obtain and ID badge, parking spot, and the dreaded mandatory uniforms. All in all it wasn't a bad day. I had my FIRST glimpse at the unit. I met my managers for the FIRST time. Had my FIRST "fight" with HR about my uniforms...basically, since I'm "temporary" they gave me the bottom of the barrel and these scrubs were not only ugly (very faded, some stains, etc.) but also were the wrong size and had the wrong title on them! To be fair, the uniforms could be a lot worse...as in white. I'll take navy blue any day over white uniforms! However, it has been a 2 week ordeal to obtain 3 shirts correctly sized and labeled. I know some people would argue that mandatory uniforms make it easier to get ready in the morning, but because I'm only provided with 3 sets I find myself doing laundry ALL the time :( And to be honest, I really miss wearing my zebra print scrub top!

FIRST SHIFT: Tuesday (10/19) was my first shift where I oriented to the unit. I could not have asked for a kinder or more upbeat nurse to "shadow" with. Lisette made my first day quite enjoyable, and we had some great patients! Each hospital is a bit different in their orientation. At DC I went to a whole week of basic hospital orientation, but here they literally just throw you in and call it "on the job" training. I got 3 shifts to basically learn their online charting system, their new bar code med scan system, where they keep supplies, how to do this and how to do that, etc. Like I said, Lisette was great, but so were our kids. One of my kids was quite a rambunctious little guy and had way too much energy to be cooped up in a hospital room! The children's area here at UCLA is the "Mattel Children's Hospital" as in Mattel the toy makers. Let's just say they left a good FIRST impression on me when they provided this little boy with a halloween costume that rocks! He's a huge Toy Story fan and they brought him a Buzz Lightyear costume and it even had wings that expand and an automated voice that says "I'm Buzz Lightyear, I come in peace". Now I know you are wondering about the wings, picture a back pack like contraption and then wings that pop out with the push of a button to be about 3 ft in wingspan. The look on his face was priceless! For 10 short, yet very long minutes we let him run loose through the unit, showing off his outfit and attacking his "girlfriends"...I mean nurses. It's so sad that these 10 minutes are the only time he gets outside of the room. Sure, he has plenty of visitors, and he is definitely a favorite among the nurses, but 10 minutes is just not enough....however, considering his condition, and his energy level these 10 minutes can feel all too long when we (the medical staff) think about him being off the monitor, his respiratory status, etc. However, it was worth the untangling of wires and cords, worth the momentary stress, it was priceless. Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that God was so kind to give me a familiar face at work. Back in June, when I FIRST visited California Jenn was unable to get away from camp and sent a friend/stranger to pick me up and her name was Emily. Emily happens to be a nurse at UCLA (and her husband is a pastor at a Southern Baptist Church---crazy that those exist in LA!) and occassionally works in the PICU---and she was there on Monday! So essentially I went to my FIRST day of work and was greeted by the FIRST friend I made once landing in California! God is always looking out for me :)

FIRST LA TRAFFIC: What is the timeframe for this? It's ALL day, EVERY day! Honestly though, I don't mind driving through traffic and large cities, and I can handle the amount of cars on the 6 lanes, but I can't handle the road conditions! In my opinion, driving here wouldn't be half as bad if the roads were smoother. You can easily tell that a roadway was expanded, and where potholes weren't filled, and where lane dividers used to be. All of these factors leave your car bumping along, and there you sit just waiting to bounce into another lane and hit a nearby car! Fortunately, being on the hospital schedule has allowed me to avoid the busiest times on the road. 

RANDOM FIRST IMPRESSIONS: My apartment is gorgeous! I feel completely spoiled by my marble and granite counter tops, and stainless steel whirlpool appliances! This is SUCH an upgrade compared to my accomodations in DC. The apartment building itself has a "Tuscan" feel and looks totally out of place amidst the buildings downtown. Yes, I am living in downtown LA! This is my FIRST time actually living in the heart of a city. However, one could argue that LA has multiple city centers. I'm more on the business side, not the Hollywood or acedamia side. To give you some perspective, the Nokia and Staples center are about a half mile from me, and I'm also within a mile distance of the LA Fashion Distric (don't get too excited, this is more for wholesale). Hm....parking is annoying. It's all about validation here so you better do your shopping in 90 minutes or be prepared to pay for it. I haven't attempted the metro system here yet, but not many coworkers suggest using it. I'll have to try it out and post later about my impression of it.

WEST COAST NURSING IMPRESSIONS: I'd been warned that it's a different style out here, and I'd have to say it's good and bad. I'm not a fan of their IV pumps, they look ancient, and they don't have guardrails (a program which allows you to label the drug/infusion and sets parameters). However, I am a fan of their breakfast and lunch breaks! Never before have I left to take a breakfast or lunch break without feeling guilty for spending so much time away from the bedside since there is always so much to do...not that I ever really took a breakfast break before now, and I'm pretty sure 75% of my lunches at Duke were spent sitting outside my patient's room at the ready to silence alarms, reset pumps, change diapers, etc. I'm LOVING my lunch breaks! I have eaten outside on the patio every day I've worked, and during the 40 minutes I'm not eating I walk around Westwood Village, grab a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks or chat on the phone with various friends and family on the East Coast. It's amazing. At night, people expect you to eat a fast dinner on your "breakfast break" and then go sleep for an hour on your "lunch" break. People take this to the extreme, as in I've seen them stretched out in the backseat of their cars, wrapped up in blankets! I'm not sure if I'll get to the point where I can sleep while at work. I was one of those kids that could never sleep during class, and it just feels wrong to sleep while on the clock (yes, I get paid for half my hour break!) Maybe if I tell myself that I'm eating during the half hour they pay me and sleeping during the half hour of not being paid...then I'll feel it's ok? I know you're thinking that this really isn't that bad, but when people don't know how good they have it they tend to complain about stupid things. It's hard to not yell at them  about how lucky they are to get breaks, and have shopping/restaurants within walking distance.  Oh well, moving on...

I think that is pretty much everything I wanted to write about to encompass my FIRST week. It was a busy week where every day was spent at UCLA, with just enough time to find the closest grocery store and unpack my belongings. Overall, it could have been a lot worse! Sadly, I've not had a chance to explore much of LA yet but I will, no worries. I'm open to suggestions of places to go and things to do!