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Monday, February 9, 2015

First post!

I have pondered starting a blog for a long time. It has been suggested to me many times and numerous people have expressed surprise I didn't already have one. This happens commonly when I do the vegan nutrition talk for the Triangle Vegan Pledge. But then I ask myself, what do I have to contribute to the interwebs that needs saying/hearing? I'm still not sure of the answer to that question, but here we are.

But here I am about to embark on some exciting experiences in my life! I am just a few months shy of finishing my MSN and taking boards to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. And just as exciting, I will spend all of April in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) finishing my residency in primary care clinics on the islands. SVG is a beautiful Caribbean country where much of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed. But it is also a country with high unemployment and other challenges. During my time there I hope to learn about the culture, expand my clinical skills and judgment and share of myself and my knowledge with the people.

There have been countless steps in preparing for the trip including 30 pages of documents where I applied to be a Registered Nurse on the islands. I have submitted proof of education, background checks, vaccine records, nursing license and more. I also met with student health to see if there were any travel warnings or recommended off the beaten path vaccines. To my school I submitted an application and my personal objectives for the trip. It has been a long process, but the end result is near!

While we won't be staying together (we are being placed on different islands), another Duke NP student will be traveling with me and hopefully we will have some adventures together.  It seems there is easy ferry access between the islands. Our contact in SVG says they are very excited to have us visit during their 4 day Easter celebrations. I look forward to immersing myself into their culture and learning all I can. To facilitate this I will actually be staying with my Nurse Practitioner preceptor. This is an exciting yet daunting opportunity. I have been told my privacy will be respected, so I hope no one feels like they must entertain me all the time. But I do look forward to true insight into the SVG way of life. As well as taking in some tourist attractions like scuba diving and a hike to a volcano! La Soufriere last erupted in 1979 with only 24 hours notice!

Ok, I think that's an adequate start. :) If nothing else, this will be an easy repository for travel pics and anecdotes. It is not like I will be living on Facebook while in SVG!

I would love to hear from you (assuming anyone reads this) what you would like to hear about on this blog and/or do you have a blog and what motivated you to start it?