Work, Work, More Work

It's amazing how much less time I have to blog and endlessly search every corner of the internet, much less to read anyone else's blogs (sorry in advance), now that I have a big kid, 9 to 5 job. Go figure.

It's certainly been an adjustment. I'm trying to get a little more used to doing my chores little by little throughout the week, rather than save them all for the extra 2 days that I am used to having off. Although I miss having 2 extra days a week to myself, I don't miss the exhaustion that is unavoidably incurred in working a 12 hour shift (running around like a crazy person for 12 hours on six hours of sleep will do that to a person). It's also really weird for me to leave things unfinished at the end of the day. In the clinic setting, I have to remember that it's OK if I leave it for tomorrow... no one's going to die because of it (unlike in the ICU).

So work is coming along nicely. Little by little, I'm getting things figured out, but there is still a lot to learn. It's frustrating because I've often found myself sitting at my desk, knowing what needs to be done, but not knowing the right process for getting it done. And I'm not afraid to ask questions, but I often feel like I'm annoying people by constantly asking, asking, asking.

The good thing is that everyone I work with is very nice and has been very patient with me, especially the administrative staff (the ones I bug the most). And I did feel better about things at the end of last week, when one of them remarked that she knew I was doing a good job because she wasn't having patients call repetitively about the same things (which is what happens when things aren't getting taken care of properly).

So I've made progress, but still have a ways to go. And one thing is for sure, now I know why it takes doctor's office nurses so long to return phone calls.... there's an awful lot to do and not enough hours in the day (seems to be a common theme in my field).

Cool Stuff About My New Job

As of this past Monday, I finally rejoined the working members of society. I have never been so excited to go to work in my life! (Having two and a half months off work will do that to a person.) So far, I've spent the majority of the week sitting in a conference room learning about how to give good customer service, infection control, where the MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets.... thanks OSHA!) binders are, fire safety, risk management, HIPAA, compliance, and all of the other mandated subjects all good employees of a healthcare organization must learn about. Even though this part of the orientation process is painfully boring, anything is better than whatever the heck I've been doing at home over the past couple of months.

Tomorrow is my first official day at the clinic, and I'm really looking forward to finally getting to the hands-on part of the training. I know it will take a while to get acclimated to this new position, which will be so radically different from my previous job experience, but I'm sure I will get it all figured out in no time. What I do know, is that there is an awful lot of cool stuff to look forward to in my job.....such as:

• the super cute new scrubs I bought last week
• the awesome new stethoscope I also bought last week
• M-F, 8:30am-5pm, no weekends, no nights, no holidays!
• 25 minute commute (I'm thinking that's pretty good for the ATL)
• the opportunity to have a little flexibility in the work flow and how I will organize my day (AKA, no patients crashing at shift change in the ICU)
• no more wiping asses
• working with a staff of young, fun people (including the MD's) that don't hate their jobs
  
• working with a fairly new practice that seems to be growing quickly
• working with an institution who will give me a significant tuition reimbursement when I go back to school
• working with a healthcare organization that is constantly trying to improve patient outcomes and doing research in order to figure out better ways to take care of the seriously ill (as opposed to those who just like to do the same old thing because "that's the way we've always done it")
• working with doctors who will be willing to take the time to teach me so that I can further expand my clinical knowledge in order to provide better patient care
• I get my very own pager (of course, this one might bite me in the ass, but it sure sounds cool)
  

What I Hate Most in the World is that Bad Things Happen to Good People

Our flick of the week this week was P.S. I Love You. Although it was originally advertised as a romantic comedy, it certainly does not have the boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy hurts girl's feelings, boy chases girl down to get her back, and then they live happily ever after sort of storyline that most movies of that genre follow. There are romantic parts, there are funny parts, and there are sad parts. Most of all, the whole idea behind the movie was quite thought provoking.

What would you do if you lost the love of your life, your husband, at age 30?

It is something that I have thought about a lot. It turns out that working in the ICU, where people lose their husbands, wives, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, and grandfathers, makes you think a lot of morbid thoughts.

Of course, my immediate thought is, well, I would just give myself a high dose of IV potassium chloride, and get it over with. That would be that. But I wonder if I would really have the guts to take my own life. Would I really be able to go through with something like that?

Well....no, probably not. And besides, that would be the easy way out. But I do know that the loss of the one person who knows and understands me better than anyone else in the world would cause more unimagineable pain than I have ever felt in my life. And when we are apart, every now and then I think to myself, "Keep him safe, just please make sure he gets home safe to me." Just in case someone up there really is listening.

So what would happen? What would I do? How would I go on living? I just wouldn't know unless it happened. So please, if you are listening, just don't let that happen. It is what I fear more than anything else in the world.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I thought it was a very enjoyable movie, although it turned out to be an unexpected tearjerker. You should watch it, but make sure you have a box of tissues.

Tell Me Something Good

So we took off this morning to head to Tybee Island for the wedding of some very close friends of ours. It has been something that I have really been looking forward to for awhile for a multitude of reasons. I hadn't heard a yay or nay on the job yet and had already put it out of my mind, deciding not to worry about it and just have a good time this weekend.

Just as we were arriving in Tybee, I got a call from the nurse recruiter. Unfortunately, it stopped ringing before I was able to answer it. Thus spawned the worrying for the next thirty minutes. There was no message left, and I just didn't know what to think. Was it a mistake? Was he going to offer me a job and then he changed his mind? Did he have a question about one of my references? And blah, blah, blah, worry, worry, worry.

Suddenly my phone made the funny noise that signified that I had a voice mail. He wanted me to call him back. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the rock in the pit of my stomach, and made the call.

And what do ya know, Hallelulah, they came through with the job offer!!! I'm still somewhat in shock that I'm finally going to be employed again. As soon as I got off the phone, I jumped around like crazy and then fell on the floor, not sure whether to laugh, cry, or just take it all in.

What I do know is, right now, I'm sitting in a hotel room looking at the beach and listenening to the waves, and that this is going to be a fucking good weekend.