Eating at snack at Dad's desk at work

This week..

-- was uncomfortably scheduled. T or I had something every evening (CPR recertification, staff meeting, youth group, dinner with friends, etc). It left little time to hang as a family. We spent the weekend with little plans which was such a refreshment! We started a little project turning an un-optimally used closet into a simple desk/office space. We found a home for all the misc linens that were stacked on the floor, painted an accent wall, and have stained some wood that will be the desk. Should be an attractive and functional space!
-- Elle rediscovered her love of pretzel sticks and can eat her weight in them if you allow. She also loves to "play" a Sesame Street game on the computer where she points and giggles at all the images and you have to play the game for her. She has a new puzzle board covered in hooks and latches that she mastered in one evening. It probably holds her attention longer than any other toy has before. She is on a highchair strike and is very particular which chair we each sit in at dinner. She desperately wants to help with every step when we are cooking and stole the cut carrots off the cutting board to put in "her mixing bowl" then covered them with a random spice from the drawer! She is a ball of energy who keeps us smiling!

xo,

Krista

This week..
-- end with me being on-call where I am the primary provider in the hospital and the ER. Often when I am on-call, someone else is the primary provider and I am available as needed for advice/backup/OB. A few times a year, every patient that walks in is under my care. This past weekend was one of those weekends. Elle got a lot of great Daddy-daughter time! And they made many quick trips up to the hospital to visit over the 72-hour stretch. Call was a lot less complicated when there wasn't a baby at home! I am so grateful I get to work in a community where I get to work in such a variety of settings but also get to divide the call among so many providers!
-- T and I met with a landscaper to discuss possible options for our property! We are both excited to add some variety and color to our yard, but geez! Landscaping is expensive! We are still making some adjustments to the plan and then figuring out how to do it in budget-friendly stages.
-- we are finalizing plans for Elle's first birthday! We are under two weeks until this sweet baby girl turns ONE!

xo,

Krista

This week...
-- started with a bonus day home with Dad for Elle (yay bank/federal holidays!) and then frequent rearranging of our plans due to snow (or the threat of snow!). We ended up with a relaxed weekend including Saturday lunch at the local coffee shop with friends. They had a fantastic black bean soup and T finally caved and tried the iced chocolate bundt cake. Elle continues to try everything off our plates and share Dad's jalepeno potato chips and dill pickles. She has also mastered the pouch-purees which are a super convenient way to get in multiple fruits/vegis/grains when we are on the go.
-- had some excitement for me at work! I happened to be the on-call physician when our city had a triple-homicide (the last homicide was in the 1950's!). Today was busy too as I was asked to deliver a baby for my partner and the delivery fell right between a morning meeting and the church service I was asked to speak at. Thankfully everything was within probably 1 mile of each-other (gotta love small-town living!).

xo,

Krista

HO3-- WEEK 23

This week..

-- was fairly festive! We started with a Mannheim Steamroller concert Thursday night (tickets were courtesy of T's Mom's Boss - and were in their cooperate box! Plush seats. Free Drinks. And no cost to us!) The concert was exactly as you would imagine - complex scores of mostly Christmas music with intense lights, dramatic video, extreme volume, and heavy on the harpsichord. The best part was watching the two percussionists who played an insane number of instruments in each arrangement. 

-- we also had T's Christmas Party for work (of which he was volun-told to be on the party planning committee and was in charge of the party bus!) It was at a new venue in Grand Island with drinks, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, an open bar, and entertainment including a team karaoke contest, raffle prizes, and a professional musician. We even had party favors (Christmas ornaments!). This bank definitely has more holiday cheer (and allotted budget) compared to T's last job where they had a catered lunch as their celebration! We've been total scrooges this year missing most of my work Christmas Parties and with minimal decorations at home (some are already in storage at the new house!) so these were welcomed events!

-- we can officially call the garage complete! (Aren't you glad to be done with weekly updates!) We have one bill left from the electrician and then we can finally regroup and see what we may or may not have left for any furnishings or window coverings at the new house. We can both be pretty type-A, especially when it comes to finances, so we both feel relieved to have a final invoice.

xo,

Krista

HO3-- WEEK 4

The orange spray paint is the size of the future garage - considerably more functional than the existing!

 This week..
-- T was in Omaha all week for work. Well, at least he tells me he was working 8-5 because all I heard about was dinner with friends, golfing, and watching the USA soccer game with friends. He work is starting to ramp up and he's enjoying shifting away from the full-time training.
-- I was able to deliver my coworker's baby! It's always a privilege to be part of a delivery but it is even more special when it is someone you know outside of the doctor-patient relationship. It's also a great when it's complete and behind you and you're no longer wondering - will I miss the delivery if I run this errand to Omaha? Should I nap this afternoon on-call incase I'm up all day on Labor and Delivery? I LOVE that in our practice we deliver our own patients (instead of working purely on a shift-work schedule) but it can be stressful trying to be prepared for an unpredictable event!
-- I did a lot of squinting and making attempts at imagining changes at our new place. We got a good start planning the window coverings for the main floor and talked more details for the new garage. It's amazing how fast the budget can evaporate with only a few projects! A few more months and hopefully we won't feel "on display" in the new place with many windows and few spaces for privacy!

xo,
Krista

K Contributes to the Bank Accounts

MY JOB

I love my job. period. 

I originally applied for this job because I was (1) anxious that when I applied to residencies I would be less competitive because I didn't do research this summer (like many of my classmates. Now I can say I helped UNMC implement their EMR and EMRs help improve healthcare quality.. yada yada) and (2) jobs pay money. However, I didn't realize how much I would learn from spending > 60 hrs/week on a hospital floor and how appreciated and satisfied I would feel at the end of each day. I love being in a profession where I feel like I make a difference.. and surprisingly, I've found that same feeling in this tech support job as well.

Lied Transplant Center

LESSONS

- EXPOSURE  Being assigned to the transplant floor, we have patients with many, complex problems.. so I get to learn a lot about medicine. I find it is easier to memorize medical conditions when I have a patient face/scenario to relate it to.. so this should help me study in the future. I also get to follow around providers working in a field I've never observed.

- PATIENT CARE TEAMS  Rounds on our floor can include up to 15 people (often including dieticians which I love since that was what I studied in undergrad). I've learned a lot from watching the different specialties interact. People feel super comfortable around me because I am just the young computer tech, so they open up about who they like/dislike to work with and I've learned lots of good lessons about how to be a good team player and what irritates other staff.

- WORK FLOW  I am now very familiar with how many providers spend their time throughout the day. I was aware of the documentation involved in admissions/rounding/discharges, but I had not stepped through every aspect until now. (If you don't know, the majority of the day is spent writing notes & orders.. not working directly with  patients. Welcome to a major downfall of our US health care system.)

- STUDENTS  On the floor, there are also many students and residents who rotate through the service so I am able to observe what my rotations may be like in a year. 

- SYSTEM  I will have one less thing to learn and stress about next year when I start rotations because I will be using this same system. It will be really fun to be back in a year and see all the bells and whistles people have implemented. Right now, most providers are still mastering the basics of the system.

- JARGON  I am constantly exposed to the terminology and abbreviations which should help for the future. 

- COMPASSION  I better understand the toll of a 12-hour nursing shift. I've always had tremendous respect for nurses.. but I'd never experienced being on your feet for 12 straight hours until this week.

I'm very thankful to have this job for all the reasons above.. and then some. I was blessed to work on a fascinating floor with awesome staff and another fantastic medical student. Everyone is very kind and appreciative of what we do. Even when people get extremely frustrated with the system (for example, one provider threw her stethoscope) they never direct their anger towards us. I honestly expected more people to take out their fear & anger on us. Finally, although my day begins early, I get home when T does.. have my weekends off.. and I have a lot more hours than many other students.

FAMILY

After a busy work week, we've had an awesome weekend- first with T's family and then with mine. (yes. I did still wake up at 3:15am on Saturday out of habit.. but don't worry.. I fell back asleep.)

SATURDAY we celebrated Gram's birthday at T's Aunt & Uncle's new home. I included the second picture because this may be the first time we've ever gotten together without doing a project. T helped carry a desk outside and that was it! We love spending time with our family. Plus.. they always cook delicious food :)

SUNDAY we headed to my family's after church. The boys power washed the deck (just like old times! If you don't know, T used to own a deck business and my brother worked with him for a few years). Now I am on my Mom's schmancy computer writing the blog while everyone plays ping pong. Next will be dinner together to celebrate Ryan leaving for college Tuesday!

 

Next week we expect much of the same except no Olympics to watch :( Have a good one!