Last Day of Work

Yesterday was my last day of work at what I still consider my 'new job.' New Job's social media policy actually forbids me from telling you where I worked, but I'll just say it's a for-profit urgent care center where the clients do not come second.

Having been a nanny and barista and house cleaner and resident, I will refrain from saying this was my first real job.  But this was my first unsupervised medical practice.  I wanted to work in a for-profit enterprise that valued efficiency, because these are areas my training did not emphasize.

And overall, it was a great experience.  Urgent care occupies a delightful window between the tedium of chronic disease management and the adrenaline-inducing panic of true emergencies.  The patients were both insured and appreciative.  The procedures simple and satisfying; suturing simple lacerations, removing beads from ears, looking at x-rays and declaring, "it's only a sprain, let's get you an Ace wrap and some crutches."  The office was clean and bright, the work fast-paced and relatively simple.

My coworkers were a lovely, hard-working group and thank god most people had a sense of humor.  There were the usual irritations and problems, I'm sure, but I didn't really stay long enough to become embroiled in any of them.  Unfortunately, I also didn't stay long enough to really develop outside-of-work friendships with anyone, but I did give out the blog title to a few people, so perhaps we will be internet friends. Shout out to the coworkers if you're reading this!

I worked part time so I got more time home with the kids. I loved coming home at the end of a shift and smelling my baby's head, knowing I had time to relax and enjoy my kids before I had to turn around and go back to work.  (When Bear was a baby, I was an intern - I would come home after 14 hour days and feel guilty about falling asleep because sleeping meant I was missing time with him.) This time around I had so much time with the kids I  often set off to work with a sigh of relief.  After putting in eight straight hours of nursing and rocking Pax while answering every, "Why?" and "Watch this!" from Bear, I got to peel those sticky fingers off of my pants and escape out the door because "I have to go to work, now."  Work, that magical place where my requests are answered with, "Yes, doctor," not "But I don't WANT to! I WON'T do it!" It made for a nice change of pace.

But now I am off of work again, 6+ weeks of traveling with my family before I officially start my next job....in New Zealand.  It's like having another whole maternity leave but without having to recover from giving birth or have a newborn.  Though I guess the flight to New Zealand will be somewhat analogous to labor.