You Live and You Learn

As my last week in Chicago swiftly approaches I am forced to think about all that has brought me to and through my experiences here in this great city. I think back to my freshman year when I sat with my new nursing advisor to devise my plan of study for the next four years. I can still remember answering with alacrity “Yes of course, I’d love to go,” when asked if I’d be interested in completing an internship in Chicago during my final semester of college. I was warned that such an internship would require a much higher degree of autonomy, responsibility, and maturity. I had not assumed any nursing skills in my education at this point and the prospect of practicing with a greater degree of autonomy was both inspiring but also daunting. Still, I told myself that it would be a challenge worthwhile. The accretion of nursing knowledge I gained during my educational career at Hope was no doubt rich and comprehensive. However, at the conclusion of every clinical rotation I continued to evaluate myself as lacking confidence in my skills and as a professional nurse. Thus, increasing my confidence as a nurse was among my top goals as I began my internship rotation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. 

I must admit, in the beginning of my practice I often assumed “tech-like” duties. I managed the care of solely one patient and focused on learning more about the institutional policies, procedures, and tasks. Fourteen weeks later, I now manage a patient load of 4-5 patients, assuming almost all nursing duties such as assessments, documentation, IV placement, catheter insertions, blood draws etc. Every shift I am able to comfortably and confidently walk into a patient’s room and introduce myself. I participate in all aspects of their care and have greatly improved my ability to prioritize patient needs. I must say that this internship experience has truly facilitated my transition from student nurse to professional nurse. Not only do I look forward to joining the work force in a few months but I am confident that no matter what hospital I begin my practice in, I will be able to positively contribute to the interdisciplinary health care team.

Aside from improving my confidence as a professional my time in Chicago has also impacted my personal development. Living in Chicago has prepared me for my next step in life- living and working alone. As I look forward to establishing my place in the workforce I no longer feel as heavily reliant on my parents. I developed not only a sense of autonomy in clinical practice but also in my personal life. Through my values and vocations course I learned that “my life is my greatest artwork.” With my experiences and future opportunities I intend to make it a beautiful one.

~Grace Olamijulo

TWO WEEKS LEFT!

So our semester in the city is coming to a close, and so is being a college student! This semester has been one full of learning, transitions, and change, none of which I am very good at, but here I am! I’m very very thankful for the semester and the fact that it provided a little bit of an easier transition into “real life.” Living in the city this semester was quite the change from college. It’s meant navigating city transportation on my own, paying rent, setting up my own cable and internet, and checking my mail everyday. It’s meant getting up early on a regular basis and packing a lunch everyday for work. I’ve found that working (almost) full time is way more exhausting than I thought, and finding time for friends, exercise, and relaxation is definitely a challenge. However, I’m getting more used to all of this, and I’m finally starting to adjust. Having this semester to kind of bridge the gap between college and “real life” has been exactly what I needed to have a fun semester that also put me one step closer to graduation!

Living in the city has been such a fun experience! Using public transportation is great because you can get anywhere! There’s also tons to do, plenty of places to try new food, and lots of interesting and new experiences! One of the things I’ve really been loving recently with a little warmer weather is being so close to the lake! It’s a great place to walk or run, and hopefully these next few weeks will bring warmer weather and a chance to actually experience the beach!

My internship has also been quite a learning experience! I work on the pediatrics floor at UIC hospital. The staff there has been great. Everyone is interesting and nice, and they’ve done a great job of making me feel welcome. It’s taken some time to get used to the different patient population and working in a very busy high stress job. I’ve faced a lot of difficult learning situations-my floors sees a lot of abuse, poverty, cancer patients, and a variety of other chronic conditions. However, this means I get to work with a lot of the same patients over and over, and have really been able to form relationships with them. Working with different types of patients with a variety of different conditions has stretched me and forced me to do a lot of growing and a lot of studying, but I’ve loved every second of it! It’s taught me so many lessons about how to be a better nurse and how to be a better person. I’ve loved getting to know my patients and my coworkers, and feeling like I’m making a difference in people’s lives.

With only two weeks left, I can say that I’ve loved this city experience, and that it’s really prepared me to become a college graduate! It’s still crazy to think that these four years of my life are about to come to a close, but being here has made me so much more confident as a nurse and as an independent person!

~Elizabeth Meyer

Hello all!  Time is really starting to fly by in the city! I cannot believe we only have five more weeks here. Moving to the city was a big adjustment for me as I have lived in rural West Michigan all my life, but I now feel quite at home in the windy city.  Now that the warmer weather is here things have really started to brighten up. The spring break shoppers have arrived in full force and the number of joggers on the running trail has significantly increased.

My internship is at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on a heart failure floor. So far, it has been a really great experience and I have learned a lot. I am so grateful for the chance to have an extended internship, as it gives us the opportunity to feel more comfortable and become increasingly independent.

Aside from internship we have been able to enjoy many other aspects of the city as well. Lauren has been keeping us nursing students busy with a different restaurant each week after class, which gives us all a chance to catch up on each other’s internships and experiences. This past week we went to an Indian restaurant. The food was extremely spicy but great!

Recently, we had the chance to see a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center. It was a lot of fun, especially since I had never been to a professional basketball game before. It also helped that they won!

Part of our experience here includes community service and a couple of us got to work in a greenhouse this past week. It was great to experience something new and totally different from what we normally do on a day-to-day basis and see how it can positively affect a community.

Chicago Semester has been great and I am thankful that I had this opportunity to live and learn in a new environment.

-Sara 

Midpoint already!

I can’t believe that it’s midpoint already; the semester is flying by! I feel like I’ve done so much during the last seven weeks and, at the same time, I feel like there are still so many things I want to do.

Living in the city has been an amazing experience. I am originally from the Chicago suburbs, so I’m glad to be back in the middle of things. There is always something to do in Chicago and I never find myself getting bored. I’m living in the Gold Coast, which is an area known for its shops and restaurants. I share a one-bedroom apartment with two other girls. It’s super tiny, but what we lack in space, we make up for with our amazing location. I love being so close to everything; I can even walk to work!

I am doing my internship in Labor and Delivery at Prentice Women’s Hospital, which is affiliated with Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

I absolutely love my placement! All of the nurses on my floor are really smart and very helpful. I have had the opportunity to practice so many of the skills I learned in the lab back at Hope and I am really proud of the progress I’ve made. Each and every day is a new learning experience and I have seen so much in just a few weeks. I feel confident managing all aspects of patient care and I am well on my way to becoming an independent nurse. In fact, I like it so much, I’m hoping to continue working on my floor when I graduate.

Each week the nursing students meet for class and we cover important topics to study for the NCLEX. Although I’m still nervous about taking the test, I know that I am going to be very well prepared. After class, we all go out to dinner together. It’s something that I really look forward to because all of us nursing students get to hang out and catch up. This week we went to a diner called The White Palace Grill. It’s a good old-fashioned diner and was even featured on the Food Network program Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I had a delicious hamburger and chocolate milkshake.

Participating in Chicago Semester is one of the best decisions I made about my college experience. Living, learning and working in Chicago has given me a perspective on the world that Holland never could and I have learned a lot about my future career and about myself.

- Caitlin

Nursing in the City

I can't believe we have been here 5 weeks already! The craziest thing is that I haven't done ANY clothing shopping since being here. Living here has been an adjustment, but really fun. People don't smile as much as in Holland, Michigan, and everyone wears black in the winter (I sometimes feel like a cupcake in my colorful winter gear). The housing is much smaller and taller than at Hope, but the view is nice and there is less space to clean. I love not having a car and worrying about cleaning the snow off of, especially after the blizzard of '11. The public transportation is easy to use and navigate, and it makes me feel more like a local.

Living in the Gold Coast is great because Lake Michigan is so close, and the running trail along the shore is a beautiful view. Going two blocks from Canterbury Court Apartments in any direction gives a slightly different atmosphere. South to Rush street offers many upscale restaurants, clothing stores, and bars. North offers a dog park and high-rise condos, East is the lake, and West the neighborhood of Old town with many affordable restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, I have been trying to experience the diversity of eateries Chicago has to offer by searching out unique restaurants, which I visit with other Nursing students on a weekly basis. Last week I had goat in peanut soup-sounds weird but tastes spicy and delicious.

Bolat African Cuisine with the Chicago Semester Student Nurses!
(I'm the one with the green scarf.)

There is much more diversity here in the Chicago than in Western Michigan, and I love this! I am interning at University of Illinois Medical Center, and I work with staff and patients from many different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. I am working in the pediatric ICU which has many challenges, but I am learning a lot. It is a transition from taking all of the material I have learned in my nursing classes and actually applying it to real patients, families, and how to best care for them. Working in an ICU means having to be prepared for taking care of any critically ill child with any type of sickness. This requires a strong basis of medical knowledge but also fast thinking to anticipate the needs of the patient and the preparedness for emergent medical situations. Children have a strong resolve to get well but their critical state can change on a dime.

From the variety of restaurants, internship experiences, new friends, learning independence and a clearer direction of where God is calling me vocation and locationally, I am loving this experience in Chicago!

~Lauren Dice