I cannot believe Friday is almost here. I am nervous to leave my children who are 4, 8, & 13 years old, but they are in good hands with my husband. I already miss them just thinking about it!
I am in the RN to BSN program at ND & graduate in December. Experiencing Haiti will be an exciting end to this journey :-) While working on my AA degree, I was lucky enough to experience southern England with a group of students for my Nursing Practicum. Now I get to experience Community Health Nursing in Haiti! I am very blessed.
Since 1992, I have been an RN & have worked the past 18+ years at Johns Hopkins Bayview Med. Ctr. I worked in Neuro ICU until one year ago when I moved to ambulatory surgery. I was emotionally drained suffering from burnout syndrome. I almost left the nursing field altogether, but held strong to “try” a different unit. I miss neuro, but have no regrets & wished I would have listened to my heart sooner.
I have always envied those who have done missionary work & finally doing it too, thanks to Notre Dame SON & CCH! Since reading Tracy Kidder's book about Dr. Paul Farmer, I am in awe of everything he has accomplished in Haiti and all over the world. The work he has done with tuberculosis is amazing. By “simply” giving the patients a $5.00 monthly stipend for food has significantly increased the cure rate of TB. It reinforced to me the need for good nutrition to aid in the healing process.
Looking forward to future blogging ... :-)
Thanks, Tracy, for this first post! I, too, am so glad you didn't leave the profession last year. What a blessing to have found a new home in ambulatory surgery. I am so glad to travel with you and look forward to the transformation that will happen both in and through us.
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