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