You Don't Have to Start in Med-Surg as a new Grad nurse

In reflecting on my career, I'm reminded of something I heard a lot of as a student: start in Med-Surg. I got lots of reasons. In hindsight, It would've been better to do the thinking myself regarding what I wanted instead of listening to those telling me how it is supposed to go.  Do You Have to start in Med-Surg as a new graduate nurse? No. That is my opinion after working in different specialties of nursing. It is not a bad idea to start in medical-surgical nursing but it is not a requirement or an absolute necessity. If you get the opportunity to work in a specialty you would like to end up in, please go ahead and take that opportunity. Your body will thank you later.  When I was graduating from college, a professor I admired told me to start in med-surg. And back then, it wasn't uncommon to here people say "start in med/surg". One of the reasons I sort of recall was so you can learn the basics of nursing and what not. Another rationale was that because you ar...
Post a Comment

Things to do when you Retire or FIRE: Volunteer

 I had someone ask: what do you do with your time? when I mentioned that I wasn't working. That took some maneuvering to get out of. But this is a question people ask and there are people who post asking what people do with their time when they FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early) at a young age. I used to wonder what the old people retiring would do with that time and thought they would get bored. Here is one suggesting for those who are wondering what to do when you Retire Early: Volunteer. 

A friend texted a picture of us from an event we volunteered at. Her timing was perfect because I was feeling around the moment that I'm not "serving" enough and was feeling a "certain way" about it. She shared the flyer for an event that needed volunteers to distribute food. I've been wanting to volunteer for again for some time now but I don't feel like volunteering in a clinical capacity. My volunteer activities in the last decade or so have been in non-clinical types of activities. 

This morning, I got a chance to go and it was fun. It was cold but it was fun. The laughter, catching up, getting to see some old faces I had not seen in a while, sharing information, meeting new people, finding out who has moved where and what not. Overall, I think it was time well spent. I thought of going shopping afterwards but it looks like lots of people are out today. I actually feel refreshed, hence taking time time to write. (Photo: courtesy of one of the people I caught up with who mentioned he had retired.)

Looking back at my experience today, Here are my 

5 reasons to Volunteer when FIRE'd:

It is fun and gives joy. It's not just enjoying yourself doing the activity - which I did - but it was also standing there and cracking jokes with my Namesake. I have not seen her in a while. I realized that it gives me joy to volunteer. I'm not even tired from what I went to do or being out in the cold, I feel refreshed.

It's an opportunity to meet new people: I got to meet some interesting people. It wasn't just a matter of chatting with them but it was a matter of see you at ... or are you coming to .... For those of you who volunteer while still working, it can make for great career connection. And it can also make for discovering who has started a new business. I discovered one had retired and opened his own studio. Good to know. And there were others I met so it wasn't just a matter of catching up with old friends but getting to meet and interact with new people. 

It's a good way to socialize: This is more relevant when most of your friends are busy during the week or with other things. You don't have to wait for them to be off. One of my friends seems to work everyday  but Sunday. And not, she's not a christian. On some Sundays, she works. And others I know work two jobs so they're busy. If you find yourself in that situation, you can still socialize during the week. I used to walk down the street to volunteer and it was usually in a 4-hour slot type of thing. 

Good for your soul: Volunteering not only gives joy, but there are physical and mental health benefits in terms of deriving happiness from the activity, decreased stress and anxiety as well as not being lonely. According to the U.S Surgeon's General Advisory,  Loneliness  " is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day" (https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf). Volunteering helps to combat loneliness. So volunteering is good for your health. 

Personal Fulfillment: I really felt like I was contributing to society and the community doing this. (This blog is another contribution to society😉). It also made me grateful. We ran out of food and I think they had to turn some cars away. Some of the early cars requested stuff for 2 or 3 Families and I think those at the end only got stuff for one family since we were running low. I was very grateful yesterday after watching a show and I'm even more grateful today. I realize even more how much God has done for me and his providence in my life. 

Bonus reason: Volunteers are treated nicely. There were donuts today which I didn't feel like eating but there were other things like popcorn and whatever else they had. The people who came through are grateful for the service and say thank you. I'm at the point where if I'm doing something for someone, I've considered doing it on a volunteer capacity because some people think they can yell at you if they are paying you. When some people realize that you have the freedom of choice to walk away, they treat you nicely. They realize that you are not beholden to them. Why not treat someone nicely regardless of whether they are beholden to you?!🤷

There are many more reason's to volunteer but I hope these encourages all of us to get out there. Even when you are working, you can still volunteer. And if you've reached FIRE and wonder what to do with your time, even if you have simply retired at an older age and wonder what to do in retirement, Volunteering is one way to spend your time. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Things I do more since FIRE'd

Image
 There's something I've found myself doing lately. I sometimes walk into the bedroom on my second floor and look out the window. I didn't use to do that. I had family there and they would do that. They were retired but they didn't look out always. Still I had to change the blinds so that says something. I was usually amazed they knew who lived where, who was pregnant, who did what when I didn't even know. Or I would ask "is so and so pregnant" and would hear something like "...long time". While I didn't work full-time for the longest time and so was here, I still didn't look out or bothered with what was going on around here. I had houses sell on the block that I didn't even notice were for sale.  Today, I looked out and saw a pick-up truck across the street. The man in it had what looked like a cigarette and the windows was up. I was wondering why one would smoke inside a parked car with the windows up. I was also on my computer havi...
Read more

7 Months after FI/RE

 It's been a little over 7 months since I FIRE'd. (Financial Independence / Retire Early) It's been interesting. First of all, I wasn't expecting to do it at this age but I'm so grateful to God for helping me. It had come to mind to blog but I stayed away from the idea for a few reasons. It's come to mind again recently and I'm interested in it now. I think it would be nice to share my life since reaching FIRE. I've some unexpected things happen but God has been faithful.  What this blog is not: I'm not here to sell courses or some service. I have no interest in getting a hold of your money or your account. Personal finance is "personal" after all. This isn't a blog about someone trying to reach fire and helping others along. I have already reached  FIRE. As in I handed my employer a letter saying that I've decided to FIRE. I'll have to find the letter and post it here one of these days.  I'm hoping that as I share my journe...
Read more

What I did my first week after FIRE

Image
 Nothing really.  I rested. Lots and lots of rest. Eating, snacking and rest.  It was like a burden was lifted off me. I felt like doing nothing but just living. I relaxed and just enjoyed the peace. I think my alarm still came on but I was under no obligation to get out of bed if I didn't want to. It was surreal in a way.  Another thing I did was start an exercise regimen. I figured it was the least I could do. I just wanted to keep active and I'm happy to say I've kept it up. I'm really proud of myself. For the most part, my goal the first week was to rest and recuperate. I did nothing my last day of work. There wasn't a single patient for us. I worked about 4 hours 3 days before that so it wasn't fatigue but there was some amount of burn out and just wanting to have an emotional rest that had nothing to do with nursing.  One of the things I did that week was contact my 403k custodian. I was told they had me as still active. I thought to myself that maybe it...
Read more