Nursing Conferences are Fun! My Latest Conference Experience in Connecticut

November 5, 2024

I frequently attend nursing conferences, including AORN, OR Manager, and AORN Chapter Conferences. They are so much fun! In October, I attended the Periop ConneCT conference in New Haven, Connecticut. It was an incredible conference, and I was honored to be selected as a speaker for this event. I’m going to give you a photo… Read More Nursing Conferences are Fun! My Latest Conference Experience in Connecticut

— Real Life —

The Best Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

July 9, 2024

I’m not a food blogger, and I promise I’m not going to turn this into a food blog. However, I recently posted on LinkedIn about learning a new way to make buttermilk biscuits, and I connected it to being open to learning new things in every area of our lives, including the operating room. We… Read More The Best Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

— Medical Missions, Operating Room, Real Life —

Day 1 in the OR: Finding Perspective in a Chaotic Case

February 8, 2024

In December, I served on a medical mission trip to Honduras. I had the privilege of working alongside world-class surgeons and surgical teams from across the country. It was my first time traveling overseas on my own, it was my first time serving on a medical mission trip, and it was an incredible, humbling experience.… Read More Day 1 in the OR: Finding Perspective in a Chaotic Case

— Operating Room, Real Life —

12 Reasons Why I Love the Operating Room

November 15, 2023

Happy Perioperative Nurses Week! I hope that you are having a great week, and that your facility actually remembered to celebrate you this week! 😉 I’ve been an OR nurse for 12 years, and I absolutely love working in the OR. Since we’re celebrating this week, here are 12 reasons why I love working in… Read More 12 Reasons Why I Love the Operating Room

— Real Life —

Surgery with a Purpose: Bringing Healing and Hope to Honduras

July 24, 2023

I have some exciting news to share with you!🤩 I have been approved to serve on a surgical mission trip to Honduras through One World Surgery! I firmly believe in giving back, and the longer that I have worked in the operating room, the more I have felt called to give back by participating in… Read More Surgery with a Purpose: Bringing Healing and Hope to Honduras

— Real Life —

AORN Expo 2023 + 3 Ways You Can Afford to Attend

April 27, 2023

A couple of weeks ago, I spent an incredible 5 days in San Antonio, Texas, attending the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo. It was five days of learning, networking, making new friends, and seeing friends that I only get to connect with at the conference. There was a very marked difference between the attendance… Read More AORN Expo 2023 + 3 Ways You Can Afford to Attend

— Real Life —

Chasing Chickens & New OR Nurses

January 30, 2023

I haven’t written much here lately, have I? I’m spending more of my time writing on the First Case blog, but sometimes it’s nice to come back here and write what I’m thinking! And today, we’re chasing chickens… so join me! My thoughts today are rather disjointed, somewhat like the 19 energetic chicks that are… Read More Chasing Chickens & New OR Nurses

— Operating Room —

Celebrate Your Sterile Processing Superstars

October 11, 2022

Happy Sterile Processing Week! This week is dedicated to all of the hardworking sterile processing professionals tirelessly working to ensure that every surgical instrument is safe and ready for use. Every procedure. Every Time. Each year, we take a week to recognize their hard work, but these clinical professionals are sending out thousands of instruments… Read More Celebrate Your Sterile Processing Superstars

— Operating Room —

Change What You See in SPD

October 10, 2022

I’m frustrated with the sterile processing department (SPD). I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not going to start bashing the department. Sure, errors are irritating. I’ve dealt with my fair share of holes in wraps, missing indicators, and even found a computer mouse in a tray once. So I understand how frustrating errors… Read More Change What You See in SPD

— Operating Room, Real Life —

Back to the Beginning: How The Circulating Life Got Started

April 18, 2022

To tell you how The Circulating Life began, I have to go back to my first day in the operating room. It was November 7th, 2011, and I can remember it vividly. Although I considered myself an “experienced” nurse, I was not prepared for how different the operating room environment was from the bedside and… Read More Back to the Beginning: How The Circulating Life Got Started

The Circulating Life

O.R. Nursing with a dose of reality