I started working in healthcare in 2000. I was an Emergency Room Transporter at my local county hospital. It was a job that I got because I needed one badly at the time and my mother knew someone in HR there that pulled some strings. It was very low pay and the work was dirty, dirty, dirty. I saw some cool stuff, though and I actually liked the busy environment, plus I felt like I was doing something that mattered. I hated being *just* a transporter. I didn't want to be an EMT, because the hours for that kind of work are horrible. I wanted to be an ER technician. The hospital eventually laid off all the transporters so I was at square one. I went to school in 2000 to become a CNA and was disappointed to find out that the hospital wouldn't hire me without CNA experience. My first CNA job was at a privately ran, poorly staffed nursing home that I grew to love despite it's uncaring nurses, low wages, difficult residents and unsanitary conditions. I was exposed to TB, now I test positive. I caught pneumonia and passed out on the job. I was always sick and I learned quick not to call in with NVD because "we have bathrooms". I worked hard but had little to show for it, except that I can now say that I have had a full colostomy bag thrown at me. I took care of some precious people and I loved that part of the job. I have to say that I did it like a champ. As a male CNA, I was usually approached for help getting people off the floor, off the toilet and up in bed. I finally got a call from the big hospital downtown and was offered a job on the orthopedic floor. I took it. The work was a step up from the nursing home. It was still grunt work. Vital signs q4hrs, turn q4hrs, feed them, help them to the bathroom, I's and O's, coffee for the family, etc (times up to 30 patients). I did this for a few years, working with cliquey young nurses that got into nursing because of the promise of high wages, but hated doing the work. There were some other nurses that were amazing, though, and I always enjoyed working with them. I usually ended up working by myself, covering the whole floor-some thirty patients or more. I worked nights, though so It wasn't really a big deal. I managed. All I wanted was to get in the ER though. I finally got my chance. I got a transfer. I was an ER technician. They trained me as a phlebotomy and EKG tech plus I got trained in applying a plaster cast, and some other skills. Then I got to actually perform the job. I loved it too. Running to do a STAT EKG, responding to a code blue, drawing labs, running them to the lab, transporting patients to ICU, doing CPR (even though I puked my first time). I even loved doing the dirty stuff like cleaning the room after a patient was discharged and restocking the supplies, etc. It was all fun to me. The problem came, when I was told by a coworker that I need to watch my back because some people there didn't like me. I never missed a vein, I always drew labs correctly, I was there on time and in a good attitude, I never complained even when I was given more than my fair share of work to do (obviously), I was proactive to empty the dirty laundry bins and clean rooms, even rooms that were not my section, I was always eager to help other techs that needed help and I could do EKGs quickly and get the printout to the doctor, no problem. I am not sure why anyone would have a problem with me, except that I was different and (of course) fat. I didn't really fit in with the other people. They were experienced ER people and extreme sports people and they believed that they had seen it all and didn't have time for noobs like me. They were saving lives and I was just getting in the way. After being told that I needed to watch my back, I immediately started looking for another job. Anyway, the next job I end up getting is with a major cellphone company as a customer service representative. If you have read any of my old blog posts, you know how that went. Anyway, the whole point of this post is to inform you that I have finally found my place in a print shop doing bindery work and delivering the finished products. All in all, it was totally worth it. All the suffering I did on the job. It built my character and gave me perspective. It made me actually enjoy standing in one place while I do nothing but coil bind for an hour. Bottom line: I am happier than i have been in a long time.
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