Dear Followers,

The weekend has come and gone and now we are back to work. Since we last spoke we have been able to check a few items off our bucket list. 

On Saturday morning we went for a tour at the Inuvik igloo church. It was beautiful, although the tour itself was a little bit strange. The tour guide did a great job of showing us around and giving us a brief history of the church. However, it was somewhat hard to concentrate as we were joined by two men of questionable sobriety and personal hygiene. Let us highlight the fact that this tour only consisted of five people: the tour guide, the two of us and these two men. After the history lesson, the tour guide took us to the top of the church where Erin almost feel through the roof and then to the basement where there was no such thing as electricity. Guided only by the light of Virginia’s cell phone were we able to admire the lovely insulation that lined the basement walls. It was there that we discovered that one the men did not understand personal space as he got “handsy”. All jokes aside, it was wonderful to see the inside of the church as there was beautiful artwork and interesting architecture. If you ever stop by Inuvik, check out the igloo church. 

Saturday night we went out with a couple of the nurses to a place called The Mad Trapper. People up north sure know how to have a good time, and lets just say that shots were had and people were merry. That night we also got to see the northern lights. It was breath taking and definitely a sight to be seen once in your lifetime. 

Sunday, after recovering from the Trapper we headed out on our dogsledding adventure. This has been the highlight of the trip so far. We had soooooo much fun! We were our own mushers, each of us with our own sleds which were guided by four dogs. We even learned how to speak fluent husky. The word Che means turn right, the word Cha means turn left and Stop in a loud screaming like voice means stop. One of the rules that was drilled into own heads prior to starting was to NEVER let go of your dogs. Erin learned this well and demonstrated it when her sled tipped over and she was dragged belly down by the dogs. A+ student!

The dogsledding itself was amazing, but what made it even better was that we were in the Arctic with its picturesque surroundings. We were also lucky enough to have great weather and a beautiful sunset. After the sledding, we got to hang out with the huskies and hold the puppies. They gave some good sloppy kisses, not so different from some Toronto men :)

Lastly, we were pretty exhausted after the weekend so we decided to kick back in our onesies, eat ice cream and watch Sister Act on Netflix. Not a bad ending to a great weekend. 

We both started back at work on Monday and it seems the next two weeks will be jam packed with shifts. The nice thing is that we are both starting to feel more comfortable in the new work setting and are really enjoying the people we work with. It’s definitely a great nursing experience. 

Anyway, please enjoy the pictures and talk soon!

Igloo Church

Dogsledding

Virginia "the musher"

Erin "the musher"

Puppy love

Dear Followers,

Thanks for being patient with us. We are being slow with our blog entries partly because when we write our blogs we end up fighting about writing style, but mainly because we both came down with the flu. We are feeling better today so we figured we would give you an update on our lives in Inuvik.

With our days off we have been able to learn about and explore parts of town. One of the things we have noticed on our walks have been the buildings. Most of the buildings sit on supportive stilts which elevate them above the ground surface. This is an important design feature of the houses and buildings in Inuvik due to the permafrost. Permafrost, meaning permanently frozen ground, covers the majority of the land surfaces in the Northwest Territories. This creates a problem in Inuvik and other communities when constructing houses. During the warmer months the permafrost thaws causing the ground and therefore the buildings to shift.  The supportive stilts are drilled into the surface below the permafrost which helps to reduce the shifting effect.

On our walk we made our way to the Mackenzie River which is the largest and longest river in Canada, spanning 1738 km before emptying into the Arctic Ocean. It acts as a drainage basin for 20% of Canada's land mass. It collects water from the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories and provides the Arctic Ocean with 11% of its fresh water. This plays an important role in regulating the ocean temperature and surrounding ecosystems. The Mackenzie River also acts as a passage way to connect isolated communities. In the summer months boats are a popular mode of transportation for people and resources and in the winter months it becomes an ice road. Driving along the ice road to the Arctic Ocean is one of the popular tourist activities in Inuvik. We hope to get a chance to drive along the ice road but we are both pathetic as we don't have our driver's licenses. We will have to find someone who does.

Prior to coming to Inuvik, we had heard countless times from our friends and family to watch out for the polar bears. Being here we have learned that there are NO polar bears in Inuvik as it is not close enough to the Arctic Ocean. We are about a 2-3 hour drive from the Arctic Ocean. However, word on the Inuvik street is that we are close to a grizzly bear hang out aka the dump. Survival tip #1: don't go to the dump. Survival tip #2: if you go to the dump, make sure you go with someone who runs slower than you do (sorry Virginia). Survival tip #3: if you are the slower runner, think ahead and trip the faster runner (sorry Erin).

Like true Torontonians we will always find a place to shop, even in Inuvik. There are a lot of beautiful paintings, jewellery, carvings and moccasins handmade by local Aboriginal artists. We each have purchased a few things for ourselves and for family back home. It was no easy task to find the perfect gift for our mothers. However, we managed to find a soft soap stone bear carving with a friendly face for Virginia's mom and a non pink, durable size 8.5 pair of moccasins for Erin's mom. Success, the criteria have been met!

As for the weekend, our plans include drinking and dancing at the local pub, dogsledding, a church igloo tour and sleeping. We are back to work on Monday.   Wishing you all well back home. Until next time, cheers!

Igloo Church

View from hotel

Mackenzie River Ice Road

Downtown Inuvik

Mink Hat

Inuvik Hospital

Walking to town

Inuvik Houses

Dear Followers,

Don't worry, we haven't been eaten by polar bears, yet. We have just been busy delivering ONE baby and adjusting to the Acute Care life. Bathing the elderly is definitely a big change from bathing a baby! We have both have been working specifically in obstetrics and maternal newborn care for the past 3-4 years, so this is proving to be a big learning curve. We are having to deal with a wider range of medical scenarios such as mental health, paediatrics, palliative care and general medical-surgical. Our first instincts are to palpate for contractions, hand express colostrum and check their fundus,
however, this is not always appropriate or apprecaited in every nursing situation. We are having to relearn skills that we haven't practiced since nursing school. However, one thing that is consistent throughout hospitals is that you run for an emergency call bell. We were both the first responders when an emergency call bell was pulled, luckily the patient was just out of toilet paper.

We haven't been able to explore the town as much as we have wanted too but we are looking forward to getting out on our days off this week. We have managed to go grocery shopping and were blown away by the prices of food. I guess it makes sense considering all of their food is shipped or flown in. This doesn't make our bank account very happy!

We have noticed that the people of Inuvik are very friendly and welcoming. On our cab ride home from the grocery store we assumed that we could pay with credit card. When the cab driver told us cash only, which we didn't have,  he replied by saying "don't worry you can pay me later." I can't ever imagine a cab driver in Toronto saying this to us. We would be thrown onto the street pretty quickly.

In addition, as newcomers we stick out like sore thumbs. A woman approached us at a moment when we were both looking confused and lost. She asked us if we happened to be Virginia and Erin and if we needed help. Turns out she was one of the hospital administrators whom we had yet to meet. Clearly, we don't blend in. 

Although we still have things to learn, two things we have mastered like the locals are how to dress warm and how to relax after a long shift. We are both looking forward to our days off so that we can explore the town, try new activities, and hopefully find some interesting things to blog about. Stay tuned!

Roomies

Dear Followers,

Leading up to our trip we did a lot of talking and mental preparation but it is hard to believe that the time has actually arrived. Although Inuvik is located in Canada, which seems to provide a little familiarity and comfort, it is also unbelievably north, frigidly cold and an incredible culture shock. We have only just arrived and are already feeling like aliens…but optimistic aliens.

January 14th was departure day. We started off in Toronto Pearson International Airport bound for Edmonton and then on to Inuvik. Everything seemed to go smoothly, apart from Virginia's broken suitcase (duck tape works wonders!) and a random airport security body search for Erin.

During our flight to Inuvik a nursing opportunity fell into our laps…..literally, a man fell into our laps. After consuming way too many M&M's and trying to stay hydrated our bladders could hold no more. While waiting in line for the bathroom a man fainted and fell onto us and then hit his head on a counter before hitting the floor. Naturally, our nursing instincts kicked in. Some may call us nurses of the north, others may call us nurses of the sky….we just call ourselves heroes ;) We did a full neurological assessment and wound care plus provided apple juice and emotional support for this poor, embarrassed, yet very lucky young man.  The flight attendants were happy for our help and looked to us for guidance. They even asked us if we felt an emergency landing was necessary. Now wouldn't that have made a great blog entry, but who are we kidding, this is not a dramatic Hollywood movie.  He was just fine and our flight carried on as normal.

Anyway, enough story time. We are here safely in Inuvik, bundled up and ready to go. Upon landing, we overheard a local describing the weather as "enjoyable." If enjoyable means having frozen nostrils, frost covered hair and eyelashes and numb legs then we agree. Good thing we packed a lot!

We are starting work in the hospital tomorrow and are excited to meet the staff and see how the unit runs. Wish us luck!

Once upon a time in a city called Toronto, there lived two somewhat funny, debatably annoying and slightly adventurous nurses named Erin Mitchell and Virginia Lang. After spending their first few years working as Labour and Delivery nurses in Toronto, it was time for a temporary change. Virginia said, "It's time for a temporary change" and Erin said, "I agree. Let's work as nurses in the north." 

After some searching, contact was made with a hospital in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (NT). For people who don't know, Inuvik is located 2 degrees north of the Arctic Circle.......in other words BRRRRRRR! It is a small town with a population of 3,451, soon to be 3,453. It sounds crazy that Virginia and Erin decided to go in January because it is one of the coldest months of the year and has limited day light. It's a good thing Toronto weather has recently prepared them. The holiday season has also acted as good preparation for the cold, as they have successfully been able to add extra insulation to their bodies. All jokes aside, they couldn't say no to a great opportunity and an adventure.

Some of you may be questioning Virginia and Erin's survival abilities up north but have some faith, they are more than just pretty faces :) That being said, lets hope they both make it back alive and with all of their limbs, some great stories and added nursing experience. Enjoy and stay tuned!

(Thanks to Sandra for the warm hats)