Nurse Katie

So I realized yesterday that I haven't told a lot of people about my new job. So here is the background on Nurse Katie.


Right before Christmas I quit my home health nursing job. It was defnitely a good and necessary move.
Anyway I came back to Boston in January without a job. About a week after I got here, I got an e-mail through our ward e-mail list or whatever about a nursing job opportunity at a private Catholic school. I figured, "Hey. Why not?" So I interviewed and the interview went really well. And they knew I was Mormon because the family that referred me to the job is Mormon. And anyway, they called me and offered me the job the next day but then I told them about the 1-month vacation I have planned with my family and that I would understand if they couldn't give me the job because unlike a hospital or something, there just isn't the same type of coverage built-in. They said that they thought they would have to give the job to the other candidate. Fine. I mean, I wanted the job, because I needed a job and I like kids (especially in cute little plaid uniforms) but it wasn't my dream job or anything or I would have considered cutting the trip short or something. But then they called back on Monday (the offer was made on Friday) and offered the job to me again and I took it.

I only work 20 hours a week. Usually 9:30-1:30 or 10-2. So I try to supplement that with doing 20-30 hours of work on this research project for the VA Hospital and University of Utah that I can do from home on the computer (kind of like the one I did last summer).

The school is great. It is K1 (pre-school) through 8th grade. They have uniforms. The teachers are all way cool and really care about the students. And one of them I think might actually turn into a real outside of work friend. (Which is good, because that was the only sad part about quitting my last job, was leaving the friends I had made behind.)

I mostly work with the younger kids (I mean, think about how many times you went and saw the nurse when you were in middle school) and they are SO cute. There is this TINY little K1-er that I love and that comes in every day for some medicine he has to take and then sometimes comes in other times because he misses his mommy and we get to read books together. There is another kid in 1st grade who I LOVE. He is black and has lived in England until last year and is SOOOOOOOOO cute. He usually comes by to tell me what good things he ate for lunch. And I know I probably shouldn't have favorites, but I guess I kind of do.

And yeah, that is pretty much it. They call me "Nurse Katie" or "Miss Katie" which I also love.

The actual nursing of it isn't exactly my dream. I mean, I was made for the ER, and so bloody noses, bumped knees and paper cuts don't really do much for me. But I do like the pediatric aspect of it. And I feel like I get to use a lot of creativity which is something that I missed about the ER. (For example, a little girl came in a couple of weeks ago that had been eating her crayons. (Luckily they were non-toxic) Try getting crayon out of those back molars without a toothbrush. Trick? Gum.)

New trick tried today: my rolling desk chair can serve as a perfectly great wheelchair for transporting wounded basketball victims