All Hell Breaks Loose... Are We Up to the Challenge??

Well, in April, I announced that I would be leaving Meyer 9, which was one of the most difficult decisions of my entire life. The only thing I can remember which was as difficult was deciding to move to Baltimore on my own. I don't know what it is about big changes that are so hard for me. I guess I'm a control freak deep down inside, and deciding to do something new means I will be venturing out into the unknown. I took a job at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. Its a smaller hospital that is much closer to my home. Why leave Johns Hopkins (arguably the best hospital in the world) after accumulating almost 8 years of seniority, you ask? Well, it was for several reasons. The first was that I found my job at Hopkins to be very demanding. The schedule was unpredictable, and the commute was long. I had lots of responsibilities outside of going to work (ie: teaching classes, doing evaluations, and helping manage the clerical staff) Also, I didn't feel like I was challenging myself anymore. I wasn't learning anything new, and was starting to feel burnt out with all the politics on Meyer 9. Most of my really really close friends had already left (although I still have many close friends on 9) They are probably the only reason I stayed so long in the first place. I decided I really wanted to focus more on my family life... and have a "job" instead of a "career" so that I could call my time off my own. Anyway, my new job is in the Emergency Department. I was scared out of my mind. I never fancied myself as an ER nurse... I dont' really like being in code situations, I have no critical care experience, and I am not ACLS certified... But I decided if I wanted a challenge, this would be it. This hospital is smaller, but their ED is very large... 69 beds! That's huge! They see about 270-300 patients a day. That's an insane turnover. But I decided to hold my breath and take the plunge...

Well, that's when all hell broke loose. The day before I was to leave my stable job for one I wasn't too sure about, Jay came home with some terrible news. He was getting laid off. KMNL lost a huge contract with PG county and needed to lay off some associates. Jay was the second to go. There will likely be several more. The reason this is such terrible news is that I was only scheduled to work part time, and jobs for lawyers are few and far between. It might be months (or even a year) before Jay can find a new job. In the meantime, I am going to be "flexing up" and going back to work full time nights. Things are going to be really tough for us for a while. I've been getting in touch with my inner "cheapskate" so that we can do some belt tightening for a while. Please say some prayers for Jay's job search!

On May 4th, I started my new job. It sure is different! I've already seen several people die, including a 4 year old whose pacemaker stopped working. Talk about depressing. But I am learning SO much, and my preceptor is wonderful, and really keeps me on my toes. Also, I work with Stacey, so I'm glad to know a good friend at work. It is tough being the new girl again... and even tougher to realize that I don't know CRAP about ANYTHING related to ED nursing!

So, all in all, May has been full of lots of change, but hopefully we will be up to the challenge!