1. I moved
2. I'm starting a new job
3. I have irons in the fire.
For more details...
I had to say goodbye to Baltimore. Logically, I know it's the right choice, but it has been crummy. I love the friends that I have made and the excitement that Baltimore offers, and there were so many cool OT opportunities as well. But from a personal and family standpoint, it was just not sustainable in the long term. Commutes were too long (60+ for me and 85+ for my husband) and we needed 3 days off to get home and back since we were so far away. So with potentially wanting to start our own family (in the next few years) something had to change. But knowing that logically doesn't mean that it's been easy or something that makes me happy the whole time, so I have been withdrawing a bit and trying not to put my foot in my mouth.
By extension, since we are moving a significant distance, I have to change jobs. I am at a point of conflict, since I feel like I've learned a lot from working in the hospital and am good at what I do, but it doesn't always make me happy. I don't always get to spend the time I would like to with the patients, and fighting for the appropriate recommendations really wears me down. Sometimes, there's this feeling of standing in a vacuum screaming without anyone hearing. With such little time to work with people, sometimes I wonder about making a difference. This had been better lately on the neuro floor, but it's still frustrating. I still like the hospital environment, but I don't see myself returning to it full time, maybe just prn sometime in the future.
So in thinking about what I'd like to do long term and think that an outpatient environment might be a better fit. I hate making this change without my awesome outpatient buddy from my last 2 jobs directly by my side but hope that we'll be able to keep in touch. The job I'll be starting is a unique outpatient setting that is small relatively new- only been in existence for a few months. I'm excited to help with growing the program and learning how to navigate the new environment. It's a part time job, so that will be flexible enough to let me have time to keep up with my OT extracurriculars and other activities.
On the irons in the fire list, I submitted to 3 conferences in June. 2 presentations will be similar, so that will be helpful. I get to work with an awesome group of OTs for the AOTA presentation on social media, so I hope that will work well. I have been dealing with the whole host of lame stuff that has to be done when you move, including living out of suitcases and sleeping bags for awhile, cleaning, unboxing, tons of laundry. Definitely not my favorite things to do, and having to mooch internet from Cosi was not particularly convenient for updates. I had a crushing crescendo of activities and deadlines that culminated with my last day of work and a week at the beach, and I was so wiped out. Disconnecting from the computer and internet was needed so I could recharge physically and mentally. I am feeling better now.
I intend to have at least 1 post per week now that I have some scheduled days independent of work. I hope to cover some of the following topics, and if interest is expressed I can try to speed it up:
new acute care book on AOTA press
portrayal of mental illness in Broadway's Next to Normal
new shows with characters who have disabilities
thoughts about Lifestyle Redesign program
