The Hospital. My second travel assignment I knew more of what to expect and what the hospital expected and required of me. Chippenham Hospital was a great experience and allowed me to build on skills I knew and attain new skills. The unit I worked on was a Trauma Step-Down Unit with Telemetry and more of what I was used to. Patients ranged from those with small bowel obstruction, gun shot wounds, motor vehicle accidents hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, chronic lung and heart issues, hyper and hypo diabetic states, etc. The patients were high acuity and ranged from ages 30s to 70s, I can definitely say I was able to use my skills and critically think at this hospital.

There were Pyxis medication dispensing machines, they used Meditech charting system and was more updated than the previous hospital in Greensboro. Since I was familiar with Meditech I wasn’t required to do the extensive online training. Sometimes I floated to the Telemetry/Med-Surg unit, this was a very traveler friendly facility. There were some nurses that had been there for a year and planned to leave and come back. My first time doing peritoneal dialysis and bladder irrigation was at this hospital, the staff was very helpful and explained the proper way to do things. There were JP drains, wound vacs, and other drains for postoperative patients and those that suffered from accidents. If I didn’t know something, I ALWAYS asked to ensure the safety of my patients. Education was a big component and there were many times all staff including the travelers were kept up on latest practices.

Fun and Food. ​Richmond, VA has a extensive African-American history, back in the 1800s Richmond was one of the top cities for slave trade. Now, it is somewhat of a college town but also has a mix of young professionals. My time in Richmond was spent enjoying the scenery and hiking (I lived near hiking trails and woods), meeting and dating people through Tinder (LOL!), finding good food spots, happy hours, and overall fun. Shockoe Bottom is an area that has lots of bars, restaurants, and clubs. Some of my favorite are: Havana 59, on Thursday nights they have salsa night which is sooo much fun! Addis, if you enjoy Ethiopian food (Spoken word Tuesday night). Margarita Cantina, strong & good drinks, and Mexican food I’m not too crazy about (Just go for drinks). If you go to Shockoe Bottom there will surely be something for you to do. A little history lesson, in the 1800s Shockoe Bottom was where slaves were auctioned off and it also served as a burial ground for those that did not survive or died shortly after their journey to America.
For rooftop vibes, go to Kabana, cute and chill spot with eats! For the BEST Jamaican food in Richmond go to Carenas and get the jerk wings (Yumm!). Lulus if your looking for a good brunch spot. Another bar/club head to Cha Cha’s/ Society Social Club (they are connected) there may be the college crowd but it gets packed! ​​