Happenings of my life:
1- I went to one of my old roommates' wedding reception in St George Utah. I met up with 2 other roommates while there and had a great time catching up. We chatted, ate dinner, played in the hotel swimming pool. It was a lot of fun!
2- I interviewed for the midwifery program. I was surprised they called me at all for an interview given that I have 5 days of L&D experience. But they called me anyway. I wonder if they were interested to meet me because I was such a unique applicant. It went really well and I got a lot of good advice. I initially applied because I am looking for more independence in my job and I hate Hate HATE when I go into a patients room and take care of everything they need and at the end of the visit they say: "am I not going to see the MD today?" I would love to say "NO! You don't need to you fool because I have taken care of everything that they would (sometimes more)!" But I don't...I say, "yup. I'll get him and we'll be right back." Grrrr! But beyond that reason, I would like to care for a different demographic of patients and see people across more of the lifespan. I also think there would be a little more primary care in a midwifery clinic than I get in my cardiology clinic. I can take care of it regardless, but the MD's I work with do not know what to do with them.
3- I skied my last day for the season. Sigh! Looking forward to warmer weather though! I am really glad I have found something to make my freezing cold Utah winters more tolerable!
4- I planted a garden! Yay! It's a very little pot garden. (You were thinking "pot" as in "weed" or "Maryjane" or "marajuana" weren't you...tsk tsk! I mean Pot as in Planter pots silly!) It had to fit on my balcony. It has grown in containers a little since these pictures were taken. I did have big plans for much bigger things (olive trees, corn on the cob, grape vines, etc) but my sisters threatened me that they wanted to be able to sit out there occasionally...how ironic because:
5- Both of my sisters told me they were moving out. Shelle's was not a big shocker because she is leaving on a mission (I just didn't expect it until July). Emily however... So if anyone knows of someone who needs a roommate in SLC, let me know.
6- I've been looking more and more at buying a house. I get mixed comments about this though. "Don't do it if your not happy at your job because a house you love you will start to hate because it holds you there", "This is a great time to buy, what are you waiting for", "You'll never buy a house because you are too picky about what you want", "Don't buy a house for 6 more months, the market is still going down, it may have small rises or plateus, but it's still making its way to a tremendous drop", "A house you buy now for $200,000 may be worth $100,000 by the end of this recession/depression, and you'll still have $275,000 left to pay on it" Mostly negative comments. So I continue to look. I look at houses that I probably wont ever be able to afford (or really want because I wouldn't need all the space). Generally these houses are $1,000,000+. Its crazy the things they put in houses like that! Sometimes though, it's crazy that people want that much for a house that really probably isn't worth it.
(this next one is quite long, and if needed, this would be a good place for a potty break or a drink):
7-I got accepted to school! This was a huge shocker. Up to this point I had only told 4-5 people at work I was looking into this. Now I had to decide to go to school or go to work (and I had 2 weeks to accept or decline). During week 1 I decided to not go to school and stay at work. The economy situation influenced this big-time. Also, when I read that I was accepted I was not as happy and excited as I would hope to be with this sort of news. Then after 1 week I decided I should at least ask my manager if I could go part time (because they had recently let a MD and a MA go part-time). So I asked the clinic manager (who is not my direct supervisor. My supervisor is in the hospital...but I have had bad interaction with her in the past...she is pure evil!). The clinic manager was super excited for me and told me she thought we could work it out. Then I got excited about going to school and working and getting done and delivering babies and staying with my current job too and just making everything work out. I knew it would be hard but it's a new adventure and I really like school so it would be worth it. I know I had support of at least 5 of the 8 MD's I work with (I know 1 didn't support me staying at work and going to school, the others I haven't talked to). When my deadline came though the answer they gave me was: NO. I was irrate, bitter, and emotional. I was a mess. But very confused as the majority of the MD's supported me. I talked to the clinic manager and she said that my direct supervisor in the hospital (the most evil person in the world - aside from Osama Bin Laden...actually, they may be tied) had put the kabosh on my request. I LOVE IHC (please note the cynisism in that statement). And this was a huge slap in the face to many of the MD's as they still thought they might have a say in the things that happen in the clinic after the IHC buyout...silly doctors! So ultimately I decided not to go to school. I'm having a hard time with this decision and now I am actually considering leaving my job...I'll keep you posted. But if any of you hear of a great job for a NP in your community, by all means, please let me know!
8-I did tell most of the MD's why I was looking into the midwifery program. It's mostly about the independence factor and feeling like they are not utilizing me and my degree for what they could truly be (basically I am being restricted from living up to my full potential). They said they will try to work with me. We will see if that pans out.
9- I started reading my Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine textbook again. Why you may ask (as most people do)? Because I am having withdrawls. It has been 2 years since I have been in school and that is the longest break from school I have had since starting school at the age of 5! I'm a school junkie!
10- I started contemplating Med school. I have to take 3 chemistry classes and 2 physics classes before I can apply though. I'll start those in the fall I think. Unless I can figure out my life before then.
11-My Great Friend Carolyn came to Utah for a wedding and stayed with me. I was working each day, sigh, but we still had fun. She brought her adorable little girl with her. It was great being able to catch up.
So alas, here I sit on a Sunday morning gazing out the balcony window at my cute little garden and wondering what in the world am I going to do with my life. It's so fun I can hardly stand it!
8 comments:
I'm so sorry that Elyse and I forgot to get a picture taken of us at the airport!!! Sigh! I liked reading all of everything that's going on in your life! I'll definitely keep my ears posted for jobs in our area...however...it's really cold here in the winter! Good luck with figuring everything out! I know you will.
Hang in there Becky. You're in a hard time of life right now, but it will end. I really admire you for not wasting your time and for making the most of some of your skills and abilities. I say "some" because I know you have a lot of abilities that you are not using right now. Remember, there are a whole bunch of people who love and support you.
I'm so glad you're blogging again! I've missed your blogs! I was so excited for you to go back to school, I'm sorry it didn't work out. But I think it's cool that you're still going back in the fall. Good luck with that and with figuring things out. We love you and we're excited to see you tomorrow!
(Also, cute garden!)
I think I'd buy house if you are in a position to do it!! :) Who knows what the market will do? NO ONE! Are prices low there? They are substantially lower here, especially in the foreclosure market . . . . wish I could buy another right now!
Chancy is probably moving out there . . .to bad he is the wrong gender to live with you!!!
It is nice to hear from you again.
AND. . . . sorry patients are such bums . . but a visit from the Doc is a lot different than the nurses, I'll have to say. The docs are our familiar face, the bang behind the buck, the decision makers, the problem solvers, and the nurses come and go with the clock. The nurses are able, intelligent, caring all around WONDERFUL but just not the same.
Tina, I don't know if you are aware but I am not just a nurse, I am a nurse practitioner. This means I have recieved my masters degree and have been trained to diagnose, treat, refer, prescribe, order tests, etc. To the lay-man a lot of the confusion is that we are Nurse Practitioners and they get lost in the term Nurse. We are considered "Advanced Practice Clinicians" along with Physician Assistants. But we have less restrictions than Physician Assistants and in most states and are equivalent to a family practice physician. We are the decision makers and problem solvers. I don't come and go with the clock; I am here & available at all hours (I've even been reached on the ski slopes!). This is part of the frustration because people just don't understand that we are advanced trained and can function as a MD. They get caught up on the title of Nurse; and because of our previous training as a nurse we are often more willing to devote time to patient concerns than MDs are. Also, we are generally salaried employees while the MDs work for RVUs (paid based on the # of patients they see and how they bill them).
No, I wasn't aware that you were a nurse practioner:) GOOD FOR YOUR GIRL! and Thank you for the education. I don't think I've had very much to do with one, and think the general public probably hasn't either (or don't know it). All those letters NP, LN, RN, or whatever they are are a mystery to me . . . . .
They should change the title not to include the word "nurse." I think most of us think that an RN is the be all and end all of nursing! Maybe education is what we need!!! Dealing with all of us ignoramaniouses (a word?) could be really tough day in and day out. We see you occassionaly and you see "us" all the time. I can imagine it would be frustrating.
(and I'd still buy a house!!!but don't know the market there . . . here it is awesome for buyers!)
Ignoramus . . . . looked it up!!! Which by the way has a different meaning in Utah than the rest of the country. Both definitions apply here though I think!
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