Back In Inukjuak
Well, here I am.......I am sure you thought I had fallen off the end of the earth! I arrived 2 weeks ago, and the time has passed quickly! The flight up here went off with out a hitch, and I was in town by about 3pm. I passed by the nursing station quickly to say hi, and then headed off to the hotel where I spent the night. There was no other lodging available until some of the nurses left the next day. The hotel was nice: communal kitchen and dining area, cable TV in the room, single bed. I started work the next morning, and I seemed to slip right back into the routine. I moved into a nursing apartment on the second day, and its a really nice place. It belongs to friends of mine who are permanent here, but are currently on vacation.
The nursing team who replaced us all while we were on vacation said it was really busy the last month. The clinic was busy, and the nights on call were heavy. They spend many an all night-er in the clinic. And since I have been back, they have spent 3 more all nighters at the clinic. I am fortunate so far (knock on wood) that my on call nights have gone well. But i will admit that the clinic has a much faster pace than when I was here last month.
We have had really different weather too. This week we had 2 major blizzards with 70 to 80 km winds and gusts over 100km/hour. The snow was blowing and visibility was nil. Cars were no longer operational, and the only way to get around was by foot or skidoo. Neither were really a smart option, and most people stayed home. By mid afternoon, the streets were empty, and you could not see 1 foot in front of you, everything was white. We thought we might have to sleep at the clinic, but the wind started to die down, and we braved the walk home in pairs. The wind had created huge mounds of snow in the roads, and walking was good exercise, especially against the wind, which continued to blow. 2 days later we had another blizzard which was worse than the first. It continued blowing for over 24 hours. The house shook in the wind and the windows rattled all night long. It was hard to sleep, and I wondered how it was possible that we still had power despite the weather.
Besides that, not much is new. The regular team of nurses that I worked with last stretch will begin to arrive during the next 2 weeks. I will be happy to work with them again. I miss the consistency and the knowledge that they bring to the work environment. It has been somewhat lonely without them, and I have had to keep myself busy. I have already read 2 books and watched quite a few flicks. I took a 3 hour stroll in the tundra with 2 co workers on my weekend off, and then had them over for dinner after. It was a good day off, and we definitely worked up an appetite! That's it for now, write again soon.....
The nursing team who replaced us all while we were on vacation said it was really busy the last month. The clinic was busy, and the nights on call were heavy. They spend many an all night-er in the clinic. And since I have been back, they have spent 3 more all nighters at the clinic. I am fortunate so far (knock on wood) that my on call nights have gone well. But i will admit that the clinic has a much faster pace than when I was here last month.
We have had really different weather too. This week we had 2 major blizzards with 70 to 80 km winds and gusts over 100km/hour. The snow was blowing and visibility was nil. Cars were no longer operational, and the only way to get around was by foot or skidoo. Neither were really a smart option, and most people stayed home. By mid afternoon, the streets were empty, and you could not see 1 foot in front of you, everything was white. We thought we might have to sleep at the clinic, but the wind started to die down, and we braved the walk home in pairs. The wind had created huge mounds of snow in the roads, and walking was good exercise, especially against the wind, which continued to blow. 2 days later we had another blizzard which was worse than the first. It continued blowing for over 24 hours. The house shook in the wind and the windows rattled all night long. It was hard to sleep, and I wondered how it was possible that we still had power despite the weather.
Besides that, not much is new. The regular team of nurses that I worked with last stretch will begin to arrive during the next 2 weeks. I will be happy to work with them again. I miss the consistency and the knowledge that they bring to the work environment. It has been somewhat lonely without them, and I have had to keep myself busy. I have already read 2 books and watched quite a few flicks. I took a 3 hour stroll in the tundra with 2 co workers on my weekend off, and then had them over for dinner after. It was a good day off, and we definitely worked up an appetite! That's it for now, write again soon.....
posted by Tamara @ 9:10 PM
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