And I ask myself, how did I get here?

Aside from being a very danceable Talking Heads song, I've gotten this question quite a bit. I've asked myself quite a few times, too.

Because this is certainly not the path I had planned on, worked for, put time and money into, and stressed over for years.

I started as a brand-new baby nurse on a 26-bed oncology unit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I worked there for about 4 years before becoming the nurse educator for that same unit. I went back to school for my MSN and became a board-certified APRN.

On 8 Lime, I worked as a trainer and charge nurse. As an educator, I created tools and cheat sheets for the nurses on the floor. I created this "Rookie Book" for our new nurses and nurses who transferred to 8L from other areas of the hospital.

the original 8 Lime Rookie Book

I made the rookie book specific to the types of patients we saw most on 8 Lime, such as post-op breast flap reconstruction, treatment side effects & toxicities, oncologic emergencies, AML, and end-of-life.

I also included information on nurse-sensitive indicators (NSIs) such as central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs), and falls.

When I decided I wanted to create an oncologic emergencies digital guide, I pulled this Rookie Book out and got to work. What began as an 18-page resource on oncologic emergencies, became 20, 30, 50, 100, 200 plus some pages on clinical oncology nursing and OCN prep. I never showed anyone what the first version looked like...

Cover version 1.0

Although I loved my job at ACS, I missed oncology nurses. I missed the questions they asked. I missed the patients they cared for. I missed being asked a question I didn't always know the answer to, but I always followed through on it, whether that was looking it up in a journal or collecting data or advocating for a change in policy. That work was exactly what I loved and missed.

I am finding my way back to that, on my own terms that don't require me to abandon parts of myself or my values.

Once I had my first study guide ready, I created my shop on Etsy and chose a name, Peachtree RN. I think I had maybe three sales in the first month or two? I was still working at ACS, so this was just a little flicker of a dream, not even a spark yet.

I stuck with it, worked on improving what I had already created, and adding new items, including my first print book.

Eventually, I was given an ultimatum. Close my business or resign. Close Peachtree RN, all of it, or quit my well-paying job with benefits and health insurance and any sense of security.

And that, dear reader, is exactly how I got here.