Traveling NP

Since I was living on the West Coast, I thought it would be the best time for me to dip my feet into Asia. Japan sounded ideal because a flight from San Francisco is about 9 hours, which is the equivalent of going to Europe from Miami.

I ended up having an incredible time in Japan! I was blown away by the culture and sophistication of its people. Everywhere was so clean; everyone was so friendly; and all of the food was delicious.

A few friends and I flew into Osaka so we could start our trip in Kyoto, Japan. Osaka is more of an industrial city. Kyoto is more of a traditional town, where we were able to see “Geishas”, temples, Buddha’s, and historic streets. Sushi is my favorite dish so I was ecstatic to eat sushi almost every day for very cheap! In the US, 2 pieces of nigiri/sashimi usually costs $5-7. In japan, it only costs $1. I took advantage and ate more plates of sushi than I probably should have :).

We took the bullet train down south to a town called Fukoana. Riding the bullet train made me feel like I was in the movie Hunger Games – it was that fast! We mostly went to Fukoana to check out this beautiful lying Buddha:

The site of it was breath taking. I also really enjoyed the temple it was located in. We then went to Tokyo to meet up with some friends that were backpacking around the world. As soon as we arrived into Tokyo, I was immediately overwhelmed. There were tons of people everywhere!! However, it was interesting to see how the trains were always so quite (you could hear a pin drop), and how easily people formed lines for exiting the station. I have never seen so many people in my life!

That night I had the best ramen dish – something I wasn’t sure I would even like. Tokyo is so crazy. Think of time square in NYC but 100x that. There were adult arcades, adult fantasy bars, animal cafes, robot bars, casinos, karaoke bars, and other interesting places I cannot describe. It’s cool because no matter what time of day it is, there is always some action going on.

We also went on a trek to Mt Fuji; visited more temples and the imperial palace; and went up the Skytree Tower. Thank goodness for my good friend Sandy that navigated us around town because the metro system in Tokyo is no joke. Although not as many people spoke English as I expected, we still managed to get around okay.

I had so much fun on the trip and had gotten so accustomed to the Japanese people, that it was really strange returning home. I wouldn’t mind going back again!

The main reason I wanted to work in Northern California was to experience some fun weekend excursions in the area.

I was able to visit the Muir and Redwood forest, which is such a treasure. There are multiple trails you can choose to hike up. I also went to Napa and Sonoma valley to experience several wineries. My favorite one was Castello di Amorosa. It is a huge castle modeled after Tuscany in Italy. I only like sweet wine, thus I was happy to see they had plenty of sweet wine selections as part of their wine tasting. The wine was so good that I even bought some bottles to take home.

The last site I was excited to visit was Lake Tahoe. I was waiting for it to get as warm as possible before spending the weekend there. The Lake was absolutely beautiful! We hiked through several trails, went to the beach, and I kayaked for the first time! Kayaking was such a blast. The water was freezing cold but that didn’t stop a lot of OTHER people from swimming in.

These fun excursions were certainly worth working in Northern California to experience!

As my assignment in California draws to a close, I am looking forward to going back home to Miami for a few weeks! I have spent the past 6+ months in California and I am ready to head back to the East coast!

I cannot wait for:

• The beach – and actually being able to swim in the ocean because the water temperature allows it (although it will likely rain every day).
• Pastelitos – Cuban pastries for breakfast or as a random snack.
• Dominican hair salons – if you have curly hair you get the drift.
• Humidity – yes I said it! Humidity actually cools you off and doesn’t include hot air blowing in your face.
• Florida roads – pothole free where you aren’t constantly worried about getting a flat tire any day now.
• Good food– can’t wait to hit up all of my favorite restaurants!
• Publix Supermarket – where shopping really is a pleasure. It should be illegal to not have a Publix in each state.
• Family & friends – Duh!
• Inside jokes – Being able to use words from “sh*t Miami people say”
• The driving – people actually drive like they have somewhere to go…
• Shopping!! – Having a dozen malls in one place certainly is convenient.

It’s those little things that you appreciate about home the longer you are away 🙂

Whenever I tell people I am a traveling Nurse Practitioner, they often suggest I do an assignment in Hawaii. Although I think it would be fun, I do not consider it as an option just because of the distance from home and the time difference. It is an 11 hour plane ride back to Miami, and 6 hours behind in time!

Regardless, I have always wanted to visit Hawaii and see what the hype was about. I decided to plan a vacation there while I am in California since the flights are only about 5 hours long. Luckily, my vacation time was approved prior to the start of my new assignment.

I spent 1.5 weeks in Hawaii visiting the island of Oahu and Maui with my family. We spent the first few weeks on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. The water was beautiful and warm – similar to water in Florida. I was automatically intrigued by the culture of the island. Everyone was laid back and friendly. We went to a luau which was fun!

I enjoyed Maui a bit more during the second half of the trip because it was quieter and different from Florida. There were huge waves that were pretty fun to swim in (when you weren’t drowning). There were beautiful views of volcanic mountains everywhere. On one of our last days we hiked and drove up to Haleakala, which is a volcano that makes up 75% of the island of Maui.

The island type of food was tasty! We practically ordered coconut shrimp and calamari everywhere we went. We also shared Hawaiian shaved ice almost every day. My favorite flavor was coconut! Before going to Hawaii, people warned me that the food there was costly. I didn’t believe them until I saw that basic food such as a burger or tacos were easily $30.

I really enjoyed my vacation in Hawaii. It was definitely relaxing and different. I still don’t think I would ever live there, but I do recommend everyone to visit at least once in their lifetime.

It has been an easy transition to my new position working in a community health center in Northern California. Of course no place is perfect, but it is definitely a breath of fresh air in comparison to the facility I was working with in San Diego, CA.

The MA’s are pretty autonomous, they help assess which health screenings the patients have completed and are due for. They follow standard protocols to complete tests as indicated such as urine dipsticks and rapid strep tests. They gather and input family and social history.

The computer system we are using is NextGen. It’s an upgrade compared to Meditech but still part of the Flinstone era. There are a lot of clicks required to accomplish orders and adding of diagnoses. It can be a bit time consuming because your orders are all in different places instead of just having them all under the same “orders” tab (referrals, diagnostic tests, labs, medications etc.).

I started off on a slow schedule with 12 patients per day the first week. It ended up being really slow because there is a high no show rate. The second week I had 16 patients and found myself busy in a good and not overwhelming way. My only complaint is at one of the clinics I only have 1 patient room to use. Sometimes my patient is not ready until the time I am supposed to leave because other providers were using my room. This isn’t necessarily a huge deal when I have a low number of patients. But they will expect me to see 24 patients per day, and this will not physically be possible with just one patient room. I brought this to the attention of the clinic director – so we’ll see what happens.

They also only provide 15 min visits for all patients – including new patients and adult physicals. Once my schedule becomes busier, I foresee this as a problem. Luckily, any extra time spent seeing patients or documenting I can always add as overtime. This includes working through lunch and staying past my shift. I try to see this as a positive since the salary employees are often staying late and are not compensated for it.

All of the other physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants are very friendly and helpful. They have welcomed me with open arms! The medical assistants are also nice and respectful. The patients are pleasant. There are not too many narcotic seekers, which is always a plus. It has been interesting working with a high Asian population for the first time. This includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian etc. They often come with a family member to help translate but we also have providers that speak their native languages.

I don’t even have to do well woman visits/pap smears because each clinic has a Gynecologist or Woman’s Health Nurse Practitioner. I rarely have to see children because each clinic has two pediatricians. Procedures are rare since patients are usually directed to the “care today clinic” which is one of the facilities urgent care like clinics.

So far, so good. I will keep you posted!

As I am sure most of you know, housing in the Bay Area is extremely pricey. In fact, the housing budget for assignments in this area are usually doubled compared to other places.

I requested to live in the Marriott Residence Inn, which ended up being affordable compared to other housing options. This way, I wouldn’t have to worry about acquiring bed linen, pillows, kitchen utensils etc. since I have never needed them before. The hotel comes with a kitchen and supplies, which is very convenient for long-term housing.

I have been very pleased with my stay thus far. On the weekends I enjoy the free continental breakfast. On a sunny day I make sure to swim in their heated outdoor pool. I usually request housekeeping services once a week. It’s nice having someone clean up after you J

They gave me a first floor room adjacent to the parking lot so it is easy for me to go in and out. Not to mention that this hotel is pet friendly for all you dog lovers!

The best part is that after staying here for 3 months, I will have accumulated thousands of Marriott rewards points in which I can redeem in the future for free nights at any Marriott hotel. I will also become an elite member meaning I will always be offered free room upgrades and free breakfast at any Marriott property.

Below are some pictures of my studio at the Marriott Residence Inn.