I LOVE my job!

[midcom]

I posted here a few months ago asking how a new LPN graduate could get hired in a clinic setting. I finally got hired late in January & wanted to report how it is going.

I really do absolutely love my job. I work in a large, mostly family practice, clinic as a float nurse. It's just part time & that's what I wanted. I have the opportunity to learn from every provider & every nurse I've orientated under. It's interesting to compare how each do their work differently & a bit challenging to remember that this doctor wants things done one way & another wants another totally. But that's part of the enjoyment. I have never in the time I've been there heard a harsh word from a doctor to a nurse & the other nurses are always ready to help.

Last week I was assigned as the primary nurse for a nurse practitioner as her case load is smaller. It was great as she had time to explain what she was going to do with the patients & what she was prescribing & why. She even let me give some input & asked my advice or what my impressions were.

Right after I was hired I learned that I was going to need to have chemotherapy for breast cancer that was diagnosed just weeks before I got the job offer. I accepted the job while under the mistaken assumption that no chemo would be necessary. Less than 3 days after starting my job the oncologist explained why it was necessary. I went to the supervisor & offered to quit the job as I didn't feel it was fair to them to have to deal with a brand new nurse who might need extra time off, who wouldn't be up to snuff while at work. She told me that they didn't want me to go, that they'd work through this with me. They have scheduled me to work days that I can. I just started chemo on Monday & so far so good, not even one minute of nausea so far. I work on Friday again & she is scheduling me so that I will work the days I need to go for lab work because I can have it done there instead of driving a half hour to the cancer treatment center. The other nurses have been very supportive of me too, offering to let me call them to fill in on their days off if I am sick. Hopefully, if my treatment continues as it is, that wont be necessary. The one thing I will have to ask is that I not be assigned to a pediatrician while my WBCs are low. This was a suggestion from my doctor.

So, thank you all for your encouragement when I was so frustrated about finding a position.

Dixie

[Little Panda RN, ASN, RN]

Hi Midcom,

Glad to hear things are going well for you at your new job. Sounds like you work with some really great people. It is good to know that your treatment is going well and I continue to wish you a speedy recovery.

Keep us posted!