Well, 5 years ago... I was desperately seeking work. Anywhere. Anything. And believe me, I took some really crappy temp jobs. We weren't financially hurting but I needed a job that was clear. I did everything from cleaning offices, wiping down toilets, answering phones, fighting mutant bugs (long story), and even being a waitress. So, when Office Team called me about this position at Appleton Heart Institute in medical records I jumped on it. It was simple enough. Run around, look for charts, get yelled at by nurses, put charts away. Slowly things progressed and there was talk of EMR on the horizon. It sounded so foreign that we thought oh it will be YEARS before it hits us. Well folks, the year is here....... A LOT sooner than ANY of us expected. Just 4 months ago we were slammed in pre-scan. Now we are purging the charts off the shelf. HR came in and told us to start looking at other options. Of course we liked our comfy desk jobs scanning, but the reality is, there aren't any of those at the hospital. The hospital is a new world, so to gain employment you had to think outside the box.
I had a 1 on 1 meeting with the career lady and asked her about different positions, mostly patient registration, some billing, and then there was the clinical lab / phlebotomist position. I have never drawn blood before and didn't even know if I was qualified. Her reply was "most people we hire have never drawn blood". Ok then. Sign me up! I shadowed a billing job. NO THANKS. Then decided to pursue this phlebotomist job. I could do this. Mind over matter.
I went and interviewed and shadowed and less than 3 hours after that HR called and said we are offering you the job, if you want it. I didn't see a way to say no. They will train me on everything from robotic arms, to my co-workers offering themselves up as Guinea pigs, before ever giving me a patient. Eek! The hours are a little bit of everything, but I think we can make it work. Luckily our sitter is super flexible. Some days I'll go in at 4am and be done at 1pm, some days I'll go in a 1pm and be done at 9pm. Rotating weekends, but she said its like 2 every 14 weeks or something, so I can work around that. Rotating holidays, so that makes me sad as I might miss some with little man, but whatever. Santa will have to come early or something.
The raise, the hours, the training and the people all made me say, you know what... I CAN do this! Plus all the walking is going to be GREAT to get me back in shape. No more sitting at a desk.
I've cried a couple times (even today) thinking about leaving my best friends at AHI. I've known these girls through EVERYTHING. Kids, grandkids, marriages, boyfriends, everything. *sigh* It was just my time I guess.
