Nursing is a traveling profession
features@beaufortgazette.com
Time brings changes, and that can be said for most careers. I can remember when nurses were the ladies in white, from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet. Now they wear colorful outfits. I can remember when they were confined to the doctor's offices and the hospital. Now there are nurses who travel not only to experience a change from the routine of offices and hospitals but to travel around the nation while helping patients.
Eve Norris thought the idea of being a travel nurse would be exciting. She grew up in Beaufort and was encouraged to take this route for her career while she was young. This wasn't something she just dove into. But a mother of a patient encouraged her to get out there and see the world while she was still young, and that was the push she needed to become a travel nurse.
Talking to Norris is like reading a book about a girl growing up in a small town who stepped to the edge of a cloud and said, "Here I am, world, let me serve." A travel nurse works for a company that will place you anywhere in the country. The company provides you with a furnished apartment while on contract and pays your salary. The company is your employer. Norris had to wait until she had nearly two years experience in specialty pediatrics before she could qualify as a travel nurse.
What a wonderful journey this is for Norris. Not only does she enjoy her work, but she gets to have a vacation while on the job. She kindly allowed me to enjoy the adventures with her as she told me of her travels and experiences:
Chapel Hill, N.C.: Norris picked a contract closer to home to help with the transition of being a travel professional. Several months were spent at North Carolina Children's Hospital.
Denver: This was her first experience out west. She was there during the winter and was fortunate to learn how to ski. It was in Denver that she experienced a blizzard.
The hospital sent someone with a four-wheel-drive vehicle to pick her up. She wore ski pants over her scrubs to wade through the 22 inches of snow.
"That day the hospital gave out gift cards to everyone who came to work," she said. "This hospital was good to its travel nurses. More than half a dozen were on staff while I was there."
Philadelphia: Norris worked in the Cardiac Stepdown Unit at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She worked with children and babies with either structural or electrical abnormalities of the heart. It was at this hospital where an adorable 9-year-old had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks, and Norris took care of her on most of her shifts. The child was alone because her mom had other children at home. She just wanted to eat her desserts and had to be encouraged to eat the nutritional food on her tray. Norris melted when the child said to her, "You know, you're kind of like my mom here at the hospital."
Memphis, Tenn.: As with any profession, there are places that don't make the favorite list. Le Bonheur Children's Hospital had a wonderful staff, but this assignment was short-term.
Washington, D.C.: At Children's National Medical Center, Norris worked two different contracts, one on its Respiratory Care Unit and one on the Heart and Kidney Unit. She also floated quite a bit to its Surgical/Trauma Burn Unit. This was the first hospital where Norris took care of pediatric gunshot wound victims and pediatric burn victims.
While working in Washington, the company housed Norris in Alexandria, Va. Here she would shop at the farmer's market on Saturdays.
"My apartment had a gas stove which was just great for me," she said. "This is when I began to dabble in cooking a little more and expand beyond the family recipes my mother had given me. I didn't buy cook books since other than the furniture my company provides, I have to move everything in my car. My company allows 30 days unpaid time between contracts. Over the years, I've been able to sometimes arrange my contract so I can be home to help out with family or travel with them."
Walnut Creek, Calif.: John Muir Medical Center is a community hospital and trauma center and was the first non-teaching hospital assignment for Norris. She was assured by her recruiter that all of the nurses placed there had extended their contracts. Needless to say, Norris loved the place and had thoughts of staying and settling in northern California.
The abundance of fresh produce made her curious about methods of cooking vegetables. Being a Southerner, she grew up knowing that vegetables were boiled all day with some bacon or salt pork, tasty but not particularly healthy. She learned how to cook artichokes, thanks to a woman with whom she attended church, boiling them in lemon water. Norris taught herself how to prepare asparagus and spinach in a more healthful way, using olive oil and garlic to add flavor instead of pork.
Pittsburgh: While working at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Norris was in the float pool, floating between Limited Stay Unit, Surgical Unit, Medical Unit and the Transplant Unit. It was a wonderful time to spend in Pittsburgh, being there in the fall and some of the winter. The travel nurses got together for a "travelers Thanksgiving," preparing dishes using traditional family recipes. Norris made macaroni and cheese casserole using the recipe of her great grandmother.
Nashville, Tenn.: It was a homecoming when Norris returned to work in the float pool at the newly opened Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University. Here she worked for a short while and reconnected with old friends.
Italy: Norris, along with her parents, brothers and sister-in-law spent time in Florence, Rome and Sorrento. They stayed in an apartment near Piazza Navona. She and her mother, Vicki Norris, shopped at the farmers market in the Campo dei Fiori to make Christmas dinner.
"One of the best meals I had was in a restaurant just off the Piazza called Zucca (Italian for pumpkin)," said Norris. "My brother Eric and I ate there twice just to get to have their pumpkin ravioli again. I decided I would learn how to make them, and I did."
San Antonio: Pumpkins were not in season in January. Norris found a recipe for pumpkin ravioli where one could substitute butternut squash. The first time she made the ravioli, the dough was too thick. She had rolled the dough using a bottle. She then traveled to the store to purchase a rolling pin. On the second try, the dough was much better and the Zucca had been mastered.
The Methodist Children's Hospital did not serve typical hospital food to patients. Most of the food was Tex-Mex.
San Francisco: At the University of California Children's Hospital, she worked on the general medicine unit, taking care of a population of patients with a wide variety of diagnoses and backgrounds.
Seattle: It's a city known for its dreary winter of overcast skies and rainy days, but it's also known for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, ranked eighth in the country by US News and World Report. According to Norris, it is this hospital that put an emphasis on patient safety like no other.
Seattle has a 100-year-old farmer's market in the heart of downtown. Norris would walk nine blocks to the market at least once a week to shop. Last Christmas, she prepared Christmas Eve dinner for a group of travel nurses, making her Grandmother Norris' Chess Pie for dessert.
With the same smile on her face, Norris talks about the patients she has worked with and incidents she remembers. Norris doesn't always enjoy the process of moving 3-4 times a year but she loves exploring new places.
Avocado Soup from San Francisco
2 ripe avocados
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine above ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Top with diced avocado or a dollop of sour cream and serve.
Cranberry Nut Bread from Nashville, Tenn.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 orange
To the ingredients, add the juice of the orange along with one teaspoon of orange rind. (If the orange does not make 3/4 cup, add enough boiling water to make 3/4 cup liquid). Add 1 cup chopped pecans and 1 cup raw cranberries, cut in half. Mix all ingredients well. Pour in loaf pan and bake in 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
Chocolate Chess Pie from Grandmother Norris
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 stick butter or margarine, melted
5 1/3 ounces evaporated skim milk
Mix sugar and cocoa; add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating and mixing using a spoon and whisk. Add butter or margarine and milk. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.