Lucky Charms for Breakfast...

My first 8 hour shift on the ward is complete. I have one more orientation shift and then I am supposed to know what I am doing. Oh, my goodness! The learning curve is huge. Everything is so different and supplies are very limited. It is amazing what we take for granted at home. We recycle a lot of our items on the ship, which is good, but time consuming and it changes your entire situation. We wash our medicine cups yes, those little plastic 3 cent cups, we wash and use again. We have no IV pumps or standard forms of anything, so it is back to the basics on all my nursing care. It is amazing how things in my past have lead me to this point. At school in Canada, I learned to do a lot of things manually, without assistance from extra teams or technology, I'm not saying Canada is a 3rd world country, but the British system of training is implemented there and we use a lot of those skills here. The team here is diverse! I took report from two Dutch nurses, my bunk mate is from Sweden, mom, I told her the three phrases I know and we talked about the yuchy ludifisk. I have met two of my other roommates and they are from England, and Norway. I still have two more roommates to meet. I love the diversity and accents surrounding me. For all of you concerned, I am not starving. My stomach is feeling much better and I am finally starting to eat normally again without trouble. There is a jar of peanut butter near during ever meal, but I haven't had to use it yet. I had Lucky Charms for breakfast today! I was also wrong about my night shifts. I am working evenings Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday, then I actually get the weekend off. I will start nights next weekend. There is so much to say, but not enough time. I am doing great & thank you for all your prayers. MEMO: Linda Thompson, Pat Stockwell, all my nursing friends. The ship really needs your help, we are shortt-staffed like everywhere, your earthly wage is nothing, but the eternal difference is priceless. Think about it.