Thought I'd share a story. My fingers tend to be verbose early in the morning as the coffee is kicking in and everyone else in the house is asleep.
In late 2019 I quit my L&D/OB director job and decided to do interim leadership work. It's a sweet gig if you thrive on instability (turns out, I do - thanks, mom and dad) - it's like travel nursing, but in addition to housing, they also pay for a car rental, and travel back home every other weekend, and salary itself is generally around $160,000-180,000/year (although most gigs only last 3-6 months). So I started collecting nursing licenses (in addition to the compact license I held in MT, I renewed my lapsed OR license, then also started the process to get CA and WA). Took a leap of faith and put in notice at my job, without yet having something lined up, which was scary as *** (once a gig is secured, they generally want you there within a week or two, so I couldn't really wait to give notice).
Of course, California licensure took FOREVER to go through. Got my first assignment (Modesto, CA) at the end of January 2020, and off I went. The plan was to do this for a year or two while husband held down the fort at home with our middle-school aged son, we'd save up enough money, and retire early to Central or South America.
Then Covid hit. And both of my elderly parents, who live back home in Minneapolis (where I was born and raised but moved away 17 years ago) were diagnosed with serious illnesses (my mother with Parkinson's, and my dad with neuroendocrine cancer with mets to the liver). And my marriage started falling apart due to husband's AUD, and our son, then just turned 12, was in an unsafe situation where he was trying to be responsible for his father while his mother was working across the country.
So after 6 months of doing interim leadership work (one assignment, renewed once, offered a permanent position and/or second renewal because I am just that awesome at my job ;)), I made the decision to hang up my travel nurse shoes and take a permanent position back home in Minneapolis where my son could have some stability, and I could spend more time with my parents.
Wanting to help with the Covid efforts, I took a position in ambulatory primary care leadership, which then transitioned to leadership in outpatient infectious disease. And so I've been for the last 3 1/2 years. Moved back to Minneapolis right in the middle of all the "civil unrest" which is what the people in the local community here call the post-George Floyd murder rioting, where much of South Minneapolis was burned to the ground. Of course, I secured my apartment in Uptown Minneapolis 2 weeks before George Floyd was murdered, not knowing that that would be Ground Zero for the rioting and looting, so that was interesting coming home to that.
Divorced my husband, met a woman, got married, bought a house 2 blocks from George Floyd Square, and continued in my boring stable job that wasn't women's health/OB/L&D, and continued to dream about retiring early to Central/South America (of course, now I have the added complication of finding a country that doesn't put our lives at risk as a gay couple - Panama was originally on the short list but is now off the table). Both of my parents have passed away (my mom in February of this year, and my dad in August - 2023 has really sucked balls when it comes to middle age life transitions).
My lovely wife knows about my itch for job instability and is 150% supportive of whatever I choose to do professionally, and is willing to follow me wherever, or hold down the fort at home. So I have decided that what I really want to do is go back into interim leadership work in OB/L&D. One 3-month gig a year will pay for our living expenses in South America for an entire year. Plus, Colombia (that is where we have settled on) is not too far to travel back once or twice a month to visit while I'm on assignment. Except I have been out of inpatient OB/L&D for 3 1/2 years now, and my OB skills are stale. So, after consulting with a few trusted LinkedIn friends who work for large healthcare leadership recruiting firms, I made the decision to temporarily leave leadership and I took a position as an L&D nurse, which I start in January. I will do this for a year or so, then make the transition back into interim OB leadership.
And in 2-3 years, we are going to pack up and move to Cartagena, Colombia. The political and social climate in the US is such that we are no longer feeling very safe as a gay couple (even in So-Blue-It's-Indigo Minnesota), I hate how gun-worshipping America is, and the state of healthcare here in the US is just so disheartening. And I really really fear for what will happen in the election next year. It's time to make a change.
So that's everything you never wanted to know about my life.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot the purpose of this post in the first place! It was to tell you all that I went to renew my California license, that took SO long to get in the first place, and I realized it had lapsed a year ago. ***. This is going to take an act of congress to get reinstated. So I filled out the form online, paid $280 (W T F !!), and requested a fingerprint card to get fingerprinted AGAIN. And I got an email the very next day that my California license has been renewed! ONE DAY. Go, CA BON!!
Edited to add: just realized that next year will mark my 20-year anniversary as an Allnurses.com member. Can I be called a COB yet?
Most people I know, including politically conservative people, are unfazed by people being gay. It's become pretty acceptable in most places.
Also, I don't see the United States becoming terribly conservative. Some Churches have traditional values regarding sexuality. My advice is always that gay people should not join those churches. But a diverse, inclusive society should tolerate a variety of opinions.
Also, keep in mind, that some people are also intolerant of conservative, religious people. Sometimes there is discrimination of them. There are very progressive and left-leaning communities where those people cannot advance their careers unless they keep their opinions to themselves.
Regarding Columbia, I've heard that it has become a lot safer than it was during the heyday of the drug cartels. But, I did work with a doctor from Columbia who said that anybody with money had to hire a lot of protection to just move about the country. I have heard that they take hostages and demand ransoms. That's all secondhand of course.
Once again, with feeling: Google "gay death penalty religious right". See also the bio of the current SOTH. Klone got it right.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Emergent said:
Most people I know, including politically conservative people, are unfazed by people being gay. It's become pretty acceptable in most places.
Also, I don't see the United States becoming terribly conservative. Some Churches have traditional values regarding sexuality. My advice is always that gay people should not join those churches. But a diverse, inclusive society should tolerate a variety of opinions.
Also, keep in mind, that some people are also intolerant of conservative, religious people.
I'm honestly at a loss if you do not see the erosion of rights that is happening in front of our eyes. I guess that's what social privilege buys some - the ability to not see how legislation affects actual people
Have you been following some of the Supreme Court decisions that have been handed down the past year? What about our new Speaker of the House?
You don't see the US becoming terribly conservative? Do you watch the news or follow any national politics?
There are people holding positions of power that want to pass laws that are dictated by their religious beliefs, beliefs that would strip away rights and humanity from a lot of people.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
heron said:
Once again, with feeling: Google "gay death penalty religious right". See also the bio of the current SOTH. Klone got it right.
Thank you for that validation. It's frustrating when people who have no vested interest, or no personal understanding about how elections and legislation are actually affecting certain populations, and taking away people's rights. A lot of people don't understand that our legislators want to remove equal rights for folks just based on their sexual orientation. To hear "It's not that bad" is incredibly insulting and invalidating.
I'm sorry if my perspective was insulting. I only know that my gay relatives are highly successful people, with a lot of clout. My cousin in San Francisco is very wealthy, and regularly hobnobs with Nancy Pelosi, and has a stable marriage to a wonderful guy. My favorite cousin, who is also gay, is also extremely successful.
I live in a more conservative part of WA, and gay people seem to enjoy wide acceptance here. That's only my experience, and again, I apologize and will bow out of this conversation.
I'm sorry if my perspective was insulting. I only know that my gay relatives are highly successful people, with a lot of clout. My cousin in San Francisco is very wealthy, and regularly hobnobs with Nancy Pelosi, and has a stable marriage to a wonderful guy. My favorite cousin, who is also gay, is also extremely successful.
I live in a more conservative part of WA, and gay people seem to enjoy wide acceptance here. That's only my experience, and again, I apologize and will bow out of this conversation.
It's obvious that I can't speak for Klone. My own suspicions center on the current push for a theocracy. Radical right Christians have a long history of preaching the death penalty for homosexuality both here and abroad (Uganda, for instance). The subject is best addressed in one of the political thread, though. Just know that experiences can be very different, depending on class, wealth, cultural background, etc.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
Hoosier_RN said:
One of my patients at one of the clinics that I work at occasionally-she's come to IN in the last 6 months after 8 months in Chicago, her adult children still live in Colombia. I didn't ask specific city, she says that crime is relatively the same as any metro city here, views on homosexuality or any other aspect of life are the same. But folks that seem to have any money, or are foreigners, are victims of kidnapping often, as they think someone will pay big bucks to get them back. She also mentioned having protection the same as Emergent did. This is second hand for me as well. It sounds like more of the US without the rampant inflation and some other woes. I just worry about anyone being so far from "home" and something crazy happen. But I guess there's enough crazy here in the US, that my thought seems ridiculous, even to me! The patient asked of I was thinking of moving there, said it's beautiful, but she'd speak against it, as political climates change with the winds in South American countries
Bold and italics mine to highlight thought.
Columbia has an inflation rate of more than 11% compared to ours in the USA of less than 4%. Our current political climate is pretty sketchy with one party excusing lies about our elections and an attempt to stop the peaceful transition of power in 2020.
Columbia has an inflation rate of more than 11% compared to ours in the USA of less than 4%. Our current political climate is pretty sketchy with one party excusing lies about our elections and an attempt to stop the peaceful transition of power in 2020.
I agree about the US and its sketchy politics. Both sides of the aisle are out of control, and we the people are paying for it. What I googled must have been old, it touted low inflation for Colombia. Either way, I just hope the best for klone, life's too short to not be happy
LOL, have you lived in Minneapolis in the last 3 years? Have you lived in Cartagena? If either of those answers are no, then I am going to say that you probably don't have a very informed opinion. It's so funny because every time I mention it, people whose only knowledge of Colombia is from watching Narcos, are all "zomg, so dangerous!" and people who have either lived in Colombia, or have friends/family who live there, and have also lived in urban US so actually have a basis of comparison, all say "Oh, it's so beautiful there! You'll love it!" So...
In the US, we have drugs, gangs, homeless encampments, racist police, more guns per capita than most other nations in the world, daily carjackings, daily break-ins, people dying at bus stops from drug overdoses (literally, I see it almost weekly - I carry Narcan and Fentanyl test strips with me and hand them out to people), the worst healthcare stats of pretty much any developed nation in the world. So, I'm not too worried about moving to a coastal tourist town in South America.
Unless you are gay, you don't understand what I'm talking about with regards to safety. I don't feel unsafe being gay in Minneapolis. I feel increasingly unsafe being gay in the US, which is becoming a conservative theocracy. And the safety I'm referring to is regarding basic human rights, not having my wallet stolen.
Thank you for the thorough list of things that you feel gives me no right to comment on a discussion board post, but for the record I am gay, and married, and live in suburbia Wisconsin with no issues whatsoever from any of my soccer mom and redneck neighbors whom I get along great with, or any of the little old ladies at my church (the church I got gay married and also work part-time at), or anyone else I encounter on a daily basis although I don't think any of that is a prerequisite of looking at the actual data and making an informed comment. Telling me that "you know some people who live there and love it" is... great. Have fun.
I'm sorry if my perspective was insulting. I only know that my gay relatives are highly successful people, with a lot of clout. My cousin in San Francisco is very wealthy, and regularly hobnobs with Nancy Pelosi, and has a stable marriage to a wonderful guy. My favorite cousin, who is also gay, is also extremely successful.
I live in a more conservative part of WA, and gay people seem to enjoy wide acceptance here. That's only my experience, and again, I apologize and will bow out of this conversation.
It's not only your experience, don't let the aggressive gay minority gaslight you into thinking we have a second-class existence. See my previous post, but I have somehow gone nearly 50 years of life without once experiencing the things some of these people claim to experience multiple times a day in their lives. At some point, it's too overwhelming to call it luck and it makes you wonder why people dislike them so much. And then you engage in conversation with them online, disagree with them slightly, and the lightbulb goes on over your head...
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
So you're claiming because it's not happening to you, then it must not be happening to anyone, and you have the audacity to say that *I* am gaslighting.
So you're claiming because it's not happening to you, then it must not be happening to anyone, and you have the audacity to say that *I* am gaslighting.
pffft.
I'll say it again in case I wasn't clear - it sure seems like it happens to certain people on a daily basis and to other people almost never over the course of nearly 5 decades. I have only taken a very remedial statistics course, but I'm pretty sure the odds of that happening purely by chance are approaching a statistical impossibility. Maybe look inward once in a while when you find yourself in those situations. Maybe just reread this thread a few times and see if you can pick out the hostile phrases that you yourself used by assuming things about me when I simply pointed out a statistical fact about another city...
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
oh, I'm not being NICE enough when talking about human rights in the US being taken away? Got it. That sounds an awful lot like "Maybe you should just SMILE more.”
heron, ASN, RN
4,662 Posts
Once again, with feeling: Google "gay death penalty religious right". See also the bio of the current SOTH. Klone got it right.