Happy Nurses’ Week! I don’t have a long paragraph today- just thank you to all my fellow nurses for collectively being the backbone of medicine. Yes, I said it 😂 #nurse #nationalnursesweek #nursesweek2019 #travelnurses #travelnursing #nurses #nursing #nursepractitioners #medicine #pediatrics #picu #nicu #pediatricnursepractitioner #pnp #rn #msn #babesinscrubs #blacknursesrock #powerhousenurses# criticalcare #baltimore #LA #newyork #hopkins #hopkinsnursing #clinicalinstructor #studentnurses #nursesthattravel #theresilientnurse (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/ashley__banksss/p/BxH_kqehLIM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=fny1qiobakkh
So excited to be a panelist at #IAmResilientATL! #theresilientnurse #emeraldhealthservices #babesinscrubs #atlanta #nurse #nursing #networking (at Switchyards Downtown Club) https://www.instagram.com/ashley__banksss/p/BuzDCXIBb6B/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8az94pq6jvqz
It’s not always about nursing... sometimes it’s about the TURN UP to WIND DOWN from this demanding job... & this past weekend was just that 💃🏽💁🏽♀️😏 (at Baltimore, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/ashley__banksss/p/BuUhpPCBNmB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1lvcjgybe77i0
“A Woman Who Cuts Her Hair is About to Change Her LIFE”
YASSS sister Coco Chanel.
THIS
Became THIS
REAL QUICK hahaha
So I’ve done this before, almost 10 years ago- right before I started college at Howard University. The first time I felt sick to my stomach as my baby tresses fell to the salon floor. This time... I felt so LIBERATED!
Funny enough, the woman who cut my hair this time, my dear friend Daryce (@styledbyReece- she’s the TRUTH) is who made me feel better about cutting my hair the first time and in general, honestly. We met freshman year at Howard and she used to style my short hair in her dorm room all the time- no wonder she’s a bomb stylist now lol. I remember she’d cut her hair off every other day and I’d always think ‘why is she cutting off all that beautiful hair?!’ One day I asked her like sis, why are you doing this?! hahaha Daryce said “It’s just hair, it’ll grow back.” I dont think she knows how much that one statement stuck with me.
I used to be one of those girls that HATED scissors within a foot of my hair. After relaxers snatched my inches, any strand I had, I held onto for dear life. “Nah, we don’t need to clip my ends- how about next time?” I’d say for years lmao. But Daryce really changed my perspective on hair- it’s okay to let it go.
So I figured out how to style my short hair and got cute as shit with it lmao
I started regularly clipping my dead ends and you wouldn’t believe it, but Daryce was right- that shit grew right back and HEALTHIER! Then When I went natural.. my hair started showing OFFFF lol I achieved a length I hadn’t seen in forever! It probably would have been longer but I was clipping them ends all the time (she created a monster hahaha)
Let’s fast forward to June 8, 2018- exactly one month before my 27th birthday. I wanted to cut it off again and be natural this time (and get rid of my heat damaged curls- story for another post) and there was only one person I could think of for the job. Now my girl is in a beautiful lower manhattan salon (#gloup) and is the natural hair slayer. She gave me this beautiful cut and color in record time and I am in love again!
How do y’all feel about hair trims, cuts and/or chops?!
Say hey to your latest Board Certified Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner! After a long 3 years of school and 4 months of studying, I am officially certified to take care of children at the provider level- assessing, interpreting, diagnosing, treating, prescribing. I am so happy to be done with this “student” part of my life and just live my life- travel more, take personal days, all of it!
But a little over a month ago I took this same exam and failed by 7 points. I was SO disappointed- I’d never failed a test in my life and I fail the absolute last real test of my life by 2 questions?! I was beyond upset. I was always a good student, passed my NCLEX in 75 questions with the flu- I didn’t even know what to do with myself.
So needless to say I was in my feelings and didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t say one word on this blog- barely talked to anyone. BUT I forced myself to get up, talk to my friends and go to one of Katie Duke’s events and got the encouraging words I needed to pick myself up and try again. I decided to go to California for Nurses Week and had the time of my life, met so many awesome people and even went to Disneyland! #nursestakedisneyland
After I got home frome LA, I resumed studying and decided I wanted to quickly take it so I wouldn’t forget anything I had already studied. So on, May 21, 2018, I passed my certification exam!
I’m not sure what tips I can offer- I haven’t had much of an opportunity to truly reflect on what led my to failure in the first place. What I know is that I just wasn’t ready to take that exam on April 13th- I was ready to be done with it. I took the test to get it over with, convincing myself I was ready. I needed more time than with the NCLEX because this test was more involved- higher level thought is required. I was working full time as a PICU nurse while studying this time versus working retail while studying for the NCLEX. Life just became more complicated.
Ashley’s Tips to Passing a High-Stakes Exam
1. Don’t compare yourself to others (I struggle with this- I know how hard it is, but don’t)
2. Give yourself a break- you deserve it.
3. Don’t consume yourself in studying- take a baecation, visit your parents, watch reality tv for an entire day, get a massage
4. Be true to yourself- you’ll be ready when you’re ready
5. Acknowledge life’s stresses- just because “everyone goes through shit” doesn’t mean it isn’t hard/ disappointing/ upsetting.
🎉🙌🏾#issa BORED CERTIFIED pediatric nurse practitioner 🙌🏾🎉 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sometimes it takes two tries but hey, I made it! I am beyond grateful for everyone that encouraged me when I was down- it’s been rough trying to gain my confidence back but now I’m here! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 cc: @dr.butta @allrealbeauty_ @nurseharris @josephine_isms @thekatieduke ❤️🎉👩🏽⚕️💊💉 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #pediatricnursepractitioner #pnp #rn #msn #nursesweek2018 #nurse #clinicalinstructor #travelnurses #travelnursing #nurses #nursing #nursepractitioners #medicine #pediatrics #picu #cicu #nicu #babesinscrubs #blacknursesrock #powerhousenurses #criticalcare #baltimore #DC #newyork #hopkins #hopkinsnursing #clinicalinstructor #studentnurses (at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks)
My Nurses Week started off so well! I spent my Sunday with some GORGEOUS fellow nurses, networked and met IG friends I’ve been following for months and of course, took a million photos 😩📸. Thank you to @emerald_health_services and @iamnursemo for hosting such a fabulous event- I had such an amazing time 😍 #nursesweeklitoff (at Hollywood Hills)
Legs for DAYS with my picture day smile 😁 💋🍊🌴 #nursebae #nursesnightout #scrubbedout #canont6 📸: @eat_travel_nurse x @crysmarie43_ ❤️ (at Clarke Estate)
I have literally run out of ink in 2 pens from underlining so much (I don’t like highlighting lol). I told myself I would comit to this blog- post weekly @ minimum and I’m failing. I have incomplete posts sitting in my drafts and I cannot find the energy to finish them.
Why?
Well, I’m taking my pediatric nurse practitioner certification exam in less than 3 weeks and I am in HARDCORE study mode. I have not put this review book down. My hands are cramping from note-taking. I am reciting antibiotic dosages in my dreams.
So please forgive me- I will resume my regularly scheduled programming shortly. But if you’re here to find out more about the life of a nurse- it doesn’t get much more real than this... Wish me luck on 4/20!
P.S. thank you to my boo for pushing me to post this- helping me stick to my goal and keep it real at the same time
And on my 27th birthday, I’ll be #ontherun to see Jay Z and his baby mama in ROME 👊🏾😍 #italia #onetherunII #issabdayadventure #floorseats (at Stadio Olimpico Di Roma)
“Everyone needs a Primary Care Provider, a Dentist and a Therapist”
I coined that quote almost 2 years ago.
There are evidence-based recommendations for basically every type of healthcare provided- vaccine schedules for babies, treatment algorithms and protocols for pretty much every medical ailment.
You should see you primary care provider annually for a check up, dentist every 6 months for an exam and cleaning, gynecologist annually to make sure everything is straight downstairs- but what’s the protocol for making sure everything is okay upstairs- mentally; emotionally?
Now ask yourself this- do I need a therapist? I guarantee more than 90% of people reading this will say no for various reasons. “I’m not crazy, what do I need a therapist for?” “I don’t need to talk about my problems with people/ a stranger- what will that solve?” “I know how to handle my problems myself- I’m my own therapist.” I’ve said all of these things too, so lets talk about it.
Why is even the idea of seeing a mental health profession so off putting for most people? Why is it insulting if someone suggests you see a therapist? Why don’t we look at mental health as a part of our overall health and wellness in the same way we look at our vital signs? In one word- Stigma. There is such a negative connotation associated with mental health- we hear the term and automatically think of people with multiple personalities, pyromaniacs, those with schizophrenia that hallucinate. That is really just a small percentage of the scope of practice mental health professionals can help with. To put it in context- thinking of mental health that way is the equivalent of thinking every time you’re going to the doctor’s office, its for a heart transplant. We don’t only wait for severe heart failure to see a doctor (hopefully), so why should we wait until we’re beyond hopeless and helpless to see a therapist or psychologist?
With all my years of schooling in the health professions, I was never given an answer to why therapist aren’t routinely recommended but interestingly enough, I never asked the question until I myself, experienced something in my life I felt I needed to see a mental health professional to help me deal with it- treat it. I could go on and on about what we discussed but the most important realization I made about myself during therapy is that I am significantly lacking a good mental health regimen- I don’t take care of my emotions or my spirit. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I write it off as a bad mood but don’t check in with myself about what is making me feel this way. Imagine we wrote off chest pain as easily as we brush off our feelings?!
Therapy taught me to stay physically AND mentally healthy and gave me strategies on how to accomplish that; ways to notice when my mood shifts and target the source; methods in which to alter my perspective to a more positive one.
Our minds quite literally navigate every move we make- it is so important to check in with ourselves to ensure we aren’t leading ourselves astray...
Last week I started orientation for my first travel nurse position in Fairfax, Virginia! Orientation was a drag (as usual) but I’m super excited to start working on the unit tomorrow night! So this is what’s going on in my life- let’s chat about travel nursing.
How is a travel nurse different from a regular nurse?
Nurses, upon graduating from school and passing the board exam, apply for a nursing position on a specific unit in a hospital, clinic or other healthcare center. Once hired, they are oriented to that unit for a period of time (to learn the specifics of working on that unit) and work there independently upon completion of unit orientation. There is no defined time of employment so you can work there as long as you’d like- forever even lol.
Travel nurses are those who have had experience on a unit as mentioned above and then choose to work in similar units across the country for short periods of time. The nurse works for a travel agency that hospitals in need will contract to provide them with experienced nurses during a time of need (shortage) on particular units. These positions have a defined end date (contracts are usually about 13 weeks in length) when the nurse can choose to extend the contract (if the unit is still in need) or try somewhere new!
So you have a new job every 3 months... what are the perks?
Two words- THE PAY! Travel nurses come home with as much as 400% more than staff nurses. For experienced nurses who are flexible, may not have a family or other obligations keeping them in one location and excited to see and experience different parts of the country- this is an AMAZING opportunity. Most, if not all travel positions offer perks such as relocation assistance ($), offer housing or a housing stipend for you to find your own housing while on assignment ($), a daily food budget ($), amazing corporate discounts for rental cars, hotels, etc ($) and all the normal benefits that come with full time employment ie: health/ dental/ vision insurance, retirement savings plans, life insurance, etc. Aside from that, since hospitals are everywhere, you can go literally anywhere for 13 weeks and experience what life and healthcare is like there. California, Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, and New York are all popular places travel nurses visit to take an assignment. On your days off, you are on a little vacation, exploring the new city you now live in.
How can you make so much money- where’s the catch? #HowSway
The catch, in my opinion, is the benefit- you’re constantly moving. Travel nurses are compensated so well to offset the difficulties of being away from home for an extended period of time.
With nursing being the female-dominated profession that it is, there are constantly shifts in the workforce. Women get married and move, have children and drop to part-time, or lately, choosing to go back to school. The patients, however, do not change to match the ever changing nursing staff on any unit. So that means hire new nurses, right? While that is the obvious answer to fixing the problem, barriers stand in the way. Hiring new nurses mean orienting new nurses for up to 6 months on some units AKA paying a nurse for 6 months to not contribute to your productivity. While a nurse is on orientation, they usually work in tandem with another experienced nurse on their unit (a preceptor) meaning two nurses are being paid to take care of an assignment appropriate for only one nurse. It costs the hospitals tens of thousands of dollars to orient new nurses.
Travel nurses, on the other hand, are already experienced with that patient population. They are usually oriented for 2-3 days on the unit to learn where everything is kept and are then sent off to care for patients on their own. They sign a contract with predefined time off, if requested, and the details of their scheduling (all nights? 3 or 4 days/ week? weekend requirement? etc.) Because the hospital can quickly resume productivity- they often are willing to shell out more $$$ to get a travel nurse in the door- skipping the 6 month period of orientation and getting right to the point, which is direct, independent patient care. So they will contract travel nursing agencies to find the best candidates to quickly come in to fill a space for someone who is staff on a particular unit who may have gone on maternity leave, needs a summer vacation, or just quit. ICUs are particularly always in need of additional staffing quickly.
Wait, this sounds lit- where do I sign up?
As with anything, do your research. Ask your colleagues who may have travelled or are currently traveling about their experiences, what travel agency they worked with and what perks they offer? I chose my travel agency because a friend referred me and has a phenomenal working relationship with. With social media booming the way it is, lots of agencies may reach out to you via that route claiming to be so much better than others for x, y and z reasons. Again, look them up, check their reviews and ratings with the Better Business Bureau, ask around and see if their claims match up with their reputation. Nothing worse than being stuck in Alaska with a crappy agency that offers nothing to help you. My agency has a 24 hour recruiter who is always available to answer any questions or address any concerns I may have during an assignment- down to getting a tow truck to me to get me gas. This was very important to me as I bounce around to cities I honestly know nothing about or have any friends/ family close by.
All that aside, if you’re a nurse with about 2-3 years experience and are ready for a change, I would strongly consider it- even if it’s for a short period of time. I have never heard of an unhappy travel nurse!
I’ll certainly keep you updated about my experiences as a travel nurse and add tips and tricks as I figure them out myself so stay tuned!
