Believe it or Not

Guess what?! I am still in a little bit of shock myself- I can't believe I did it. I gave my "2 week" notice to my employer today. After 3 years of commuting to Ogden- after April 15th- no more! Of course there are some mixed emotions- I will miss my co-workers. Alan Keller being the top of the list. He is a great friend- I hope I can connect, trust, and enjoy another co-worker one day like I do with him. Tim Semindani, Boyd Eastman, Tres Ferrin, Jeff Speckman, Jennifer Kimbal, Cheryl Wheelwright, JoAnn Yognsdal, Tamika, Bobbi, Rose, DeAnn, Dontai, Jody Wong... BUT. Over all I am excited. I accepted a position at the IMC hospital in Murray. I can take Trax! It was a tough decision for 2 key reasons. First and foremost- looming large- is I have to work every other Sunday. For some reason sick and injured people don't go home from the hospital on Sundays. Go figure. It is still a concern- but overall I've worked it out. Second- and surprisingly fading fast- is an identity change. I will leave my outpatient orthopedic career behind- or at least put to the side- and enter a new PT career as an inpatient acute care therapist. Not where I ever dreamed I'd be. As I've taken a closer look I've found that there are a lot of things I am not going to miss. In fact, there are things I can't wait to be free of. I always thought outpatient orthopedics was my dream job- how little we actually know of ourselves and of reality. The reality of an orthopedic PT is extremely different than the perceived, assumed, or idealized. And even the part of the job that does match my preconceived notion, I don't like as much as I thought I would. Don't misunderstand me- there are times my job is great. But not enough to keep me from making a change. After some pondering, I think I might really like this new position. It is 7 on 7 off. Just think of the traveling I could do!! I can dance more, play more, get caught up on life, put music on my MP3 player... I will be paid more, to work less. And I don't have to drive in the snow in Ogden where the worst of the storms usually hit. The last selling feature of this position is the floors I will be covering. I really didn't want to spend hours on end getting people with pneumonia up and walking. And- unless I'm covering for someone else- I won't. I will be working on the ICU shock trauma and trauma floors. When you see a life flight helicopter, odds are pretty good that I will be working with that person. That is worth it. Challenging enough to keep me engaged, on my toes, and feeling like I am making a difference.
So there you have it. Finally- after how many complaints?! It took quite the series of events to get me here. I'm know I would not have considered this position had my boat not been rocked hard. The Lord knew I needed a shock to change what I was looking for, when I was looking for it, etc. It took me spending a few days believing that I ruined a patients rotator cuff repair surgery with the PROM (passive range of motion) done in therapy. Not a good weekend. I did not do anything wrong , but it appeared that what was done was - enough. I was ready to resign on the spot. So I applied for a couple of jobs I otherwise would not have in the event my fears were actualized. The good news is the MRI of my patient came back with the surgical sutures in place. And the good news is that I decided to interview anyway and see where it led me. I am always amazed at how life and answers come by the least expected avenues.