We Are Free! (Kind of)

 Ok, firstly, I am sorry I have not blogged. 

Our first two weeks in quarantine went as followed: wake up, breakfast, play with Emme, lunch, nap, play with Emme, go out in back garden (yard) if nice, dinner, bedtime. Repeat. 

Wasn’t much to report. It was HARD you guys, Daniel and I are such movers, we go on walks with Emme at least once per day, and we could tell by the end that we were mentally and physically struggling, but so was she. Her behavior definitely was challenging being cooped up. However, some positives of the quarantine were that we had ample amount of time to adjust to the jet lag without other engagements to run here and there to, my mother in law was amazing at grabbing us things from the store and treating us with coffees, snacks and sweets, and we were able to just slow down for a moment. That being said, SO happy it’s over. (I’ve included the video of Emme breaking out of lockdown on social media album)

Straight out of quarantine we took Emme to an amazing park they have here called Wellington Country Park that was huge and had all sorts of activities to do and see as well as Halloween themed things. Emme loved it! The next day was Halloween and we carved our pumpkin and then that evening had the cousins together (my husband’s brother has two girls). England, at the time, had in place a rule of 6 people allowed together at a time, so we had my mother in law, my sister in law, and the girls together. My husband and his brother did what they do best, watch football and eat KFC. That evening the prime minister announced that starting Nov 5, there would be a national lockdown. No longer could households mix and you could meet one person from another household outdoors for exercise. Restaurants and bars were to be closed except for take out and retail stores to be closed. This is set to go until December 2 (as far as we know). 

I was really concerned my nursing course in Manchester for 4-5 of November would not proceed, but thankfully as it was classed as work and education, it could proceed. The hotel I booked (as it’s 3.5 hrs away, also could remain open for work trips). More on this later in post. 

On the Monday, Nov 2, I went to the hospital to meet my management team and take a walk around the Paediatric Ward (yes that’s how they spell it here). I will be very honest to admit, it was a bit of a culture shock. The people were absolutely lovely (I use this word a lot now), but the actual ward was just not what I’ve ever experienced before. Those that know me, I’ve traveled all over America and worked a lot of different hospitals as a traveler and this beats them all as being the most different (obviously this is my first international nursing experience). The ward has several large “rooms” and each “room” has 6 beds in it. Each divided by a curtain. Out in the hallway is where the “toilets” are located and where the patients go to shower and use the bathroom. I will say, not all 6 beds were filled in each room, they only had one to two patients in each room and they were far apart, but my mind goes to, “6 patients can all be in one room?”. We are very spoiled in USA with private rooms and bathrooms to each patient, but we pay a hefty price for that “luxury” don’t we? If you come to the hospital in the UK, you walk away paying absolutely nothing, as you pay portions towards the healthcare system out of your wage slips. Anyhow, I only did a walk through and I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to speak to once I’m actually on the floor and working. 

I am set to start my hospital induction (what we would call hospital orientation days) on 16 & 17 of November with one of the days being virtual. But first, I’m focusing on passing my nursing test on the 12th of November (I got it moved up due to other people cancelling). 

What some of you may not know, I actually attempted this nursing test back in 2016, it was a lot different back then, and no prep whatsoever. I did fail, 2 of the 6 stations, and I never re took as it would have been such a cost with travel and test expenses. But, here I am again, doing it again (ha!). You can’t call me anything else but determined (and maybe crazy!). 

So, this time around, I definitely opted for a prep course that was recommended to me by the recruiting agency who helped me get my job. I traveled up to Manchester by train (3 hours and 45 min) on the 3rd, and arrived that evening. Another girl who I met through my recruiter from Australia was doing the same journey from London. We coordinated staying in same hotel for moral support! Haha. I checked in around dinner time and we went to a fantastic British pub for dinner! The first day of the course was quite shocking as to how much we would need to memorize and how much we didn’t yet know! The course is what I would call FULL ON, as every moment we were prepping ourselves for this test and the time just flew. We would practice the scenarios (as it’s a scenario and in person based test) over and over again. Both of us constantly “failing” for one thing or another (ex: You didn’t read out the expiration date of the box of gloves that you used. You gave the injection at a 60 degree angle, not a 45 degree angle. Your paperwork did not mention vital signs frequency. You did not give the medications in the allotted time of 15 minutes. Etc). We both left that first evening feeling very defeated. We went back in for the second day of training and while we continued to miss things and “fail” in the morning, by the afternoon and evening we were getting better. In the end “mock scenario” I passed 4/6 stations. Again, same as I had done in first try of the test. But I’ve walked away knowing what I need to practice and what I can improve on. I also learned how to properly wash my hands with the 7 steps of Ayliffe (look it up). I’ve been doing it all wrong for 15 years of healthcare! Lol. 

I’m on the train back now, I have until next Thursday to get it right, and I’ll probably have my head down studying until then. We do have a bit of good news, we found a rental we really like, and we were accepted and get the keys for it Monday. (I’ll post more once we’re moved in). 

Thanks for all of your support and messages. I’ll try to post as many photos as I can on my Social media account as and when I can. Probably won’t hear from me until after the big test. :)