Nurses in Ontario

No I am not a plitician nor am I wanting to be one. However there is one concern/issue that is near and dear to my heart. Nurses in Ontario.
You see we had a course in University on Nursing and the Canadian Government. In this class we discussed issues of our health care system and how it relates to nursing.
Well here is an issue I wanted to bring up....
Ontario is working with a real nursing shortage...or are they actually working with it? Is it easier for nurses to get education and work in Ontario then it is in other provinces or countries? Does Ontario accept nurses from other countries including the states with open arms or do they make it really difficult for them to get their license here? Does the province fund hospitals with ongoing funding to recruit and keep nurses...or is it just a temporary "fix", "bandaid" to the problem in Ontario?
I would love to hear your answers to these questions....and I will give you some of mine in the near future! Till then.....

Experience of camping....

So next week I will be camping with my family for a few days. You know I am really looking forward to it...the time spent with my family is highly treasured time! I think that is what makes living away from home so hard...but enough of that.
So what is it that makes camping so fun? Is it the campfires at night, the beach during the day, the constant source of fresh air, the tenting? Is it the time spent playing with my younger sisters and brothers on the beach? Or is it the times spent sitting or walking and talking with Dad and Mom? Is it the times spent with my other brothers and sisters sun tanning, playing batmantan, or just hanging out? You know camping is an awesome experience and I can not wait till next week!

More about me....

Actually that title seems to be a very self-centered title...why would I write a paragraph about me anyway...well if you don't like it then stop reading now cause I am going to keep on writing!

So you know I live in Ottawa....I live on the South East end of Ottawa in a twelve story apartment building. Yes I live on the twelfth floor which is not all that bad until there is a thunderstorm overhead and I think about the fact that we are the tallest building in the area....

The apartment is a nice place....clean and large enough for me and my kitty. My apartment is about a two or three minute drive to the hospital and if I walk it ....it takes me about half an hour....I know I must be short cause that is even walking fast! :( Somedays I walk to work, other days I take the bus, and yes there are a few days where I will drive. Not bad really....

The church I attend is about a three minute drive south west from my apartment. It really all seems odd to have things so close but I guess I just have to keep telling myself that I live in the city now.

Well that is all for now! More later.....

Dealing with change....

I have been listening to Pastor James McDonald's sermons on "Change"...which by the way are really good. These sermons really made me think how we as human beings have such a hard time with accepting change. This difficulty accepting change really hinders our walk with the Lord, as the Christian life is full of change. I used to think that I did well with change until I moved here to Ottawa and realized how much I disliked change. And yet this change in my life is the will of God to shape and refine who I am. Its a daily struggle to accept this change in my life...but yet the Lord never gives up on me nor does He give up on any of us.
We as Christian's need to be more ready and willing for change in our life so that the Lord can continue His perfect will in our lives. Change draws us closer to Him, shaping, refining our lives and changing the lives of those around us. Sanctification is a daily change in our lives...are we open to that change? David cries out in Psalm 51 "Create in me a clean heart...", that calls for change...are we open to accept that change?
Lets continue to ask the Lord to help us accept the change in our life that He brings to refine us!

Some more about me....

So I live in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. For those who don't know it is the nations capital. I work in one of Ottawa's bigger hospitals and compared to Orangeville, my home town, it is huge. Ottawa is a beautiful city as far as cities are concerned. Generally I prefer the country but if I had to live in a city Ottawa would be a good choice...definitaly a far cry from Toronto.

So I work in a eight floor hospital that is part of a group of three hospitals. Its a very nice teaching hospital and even as a new grad I have learned so much.

But that is all for now...more later! :)

You know....

You know I always thought Paramedics were pretty cool...however I never thought that I would have the gut to be the first person on a scene of an accident. Yet flight nursing seems really appealing....Unlce Brian watch out....I am thinking of heading closer in your footsteps! :)

A little bit about me...

I was born in Brampton, Ontario and raised in Orangeville, Ontario. We lived in the beautiful hills of the Hockley Valley. To this day Orangeville is still considered my home!
Since I was six years old I had the dream of becoming a nurse. Throughout elementary school and highschool that dream never changed. My parents encouraged me to follow that dream...and the journey began. At fourteen years of age I started volunteering at a local nursing home. I did that for four years at which time I had a job there in housekeeping/laundry and then as a nurses aide. After the four years of volunteer work at this nursing home, I started volunteering at the hospital in Orangeville. I had the opportunity to volunteer in the emergency department as well as a patient escort. This was the highlight of all my volunteer experience! I did that till my last year of university..and to this day I still miss volunteering there, working with the many nurses and doctors and volunteers who helped me reach my dream! I owe them alot!
I started college in Florida for one semester and then tried to transfer back to Ontario. After half a year and after having help from HomeSchool Legal Defense Association I was accepted into the Bachelor of Nursing Program with the University of New Brunswick/Humber College. But that was not the end of my difficult journey to reach my dream. By the second year of nursing school I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that made school that much more difficult. I had surgery just before Christmas that year...and in the fourth year I was told by one doctor that I probably should slow down and finsih school a few months later then planned. But thanks to my school as well as a specialist who believed I could do it...I graduated in June 2007! This was such a happy time for me....but my dream was not quite completed yet.
I moved out to Ottawa, Ontaio to work as a Registered Nurse (Temporary) at the Ottawa General Hospital on a surgical floor. I wrote the RN exam on June 6, 2007 at the Algonquin College...and in late July I got the letter from the College of Nurses of Ontario stating that I had passed the exam! Now I felt that my dream had come true...I was finally a nurse!
To this I owe many people thanks for all that they had done....my parents who prayed and supported soooo much, my brothers and sisters who kept pushing me forward, my grandparents, aunts and uncles who kept praying....
And then there were those who I worked with that were so supportive...I will never forget the doctors and nurses in the emergency department in Orangeville who took every opportunity to help me learn...you guys were awesome! And then there was Barb, Bev, Carol, Beryle, and the many doctors who helped me through my last clinical in Ambulatory Care...the time you all took meant so much to me....thank you sooo much!
But most of all it was the Lord who helped me get to this point in my life. The Lord never gave up when I wanted to give up...instead He sent so many people along my path to encourage and pray for me! Thank you Lord for being my Shepherd!
As for the rest....adventures in Ottawa....I will keep you posted... :)

Can't believe I am doing this....

I never thought myself as some computer geek....I hardly know how to use a computer...and yet here I am with a blog. Well, that just makes me feel proud of myself for jumping out into the computer world and starting something like this.
So in the future you will get a glimpse of what it is like to live in my world...in the far north eastern part of Ontario...the nations capital! And no I am not a computer geek...I just try to look like one! :)