I've never been very stressed about changing jobs, likely because I've done it so many times since finishing college. I left my first *real* post college job, after 2 and 1/2 years to move to Denver. Then my I left my position in Denver after almost 3 years to attend nursing school. Since nursing school, I've bounced around a lot because it's easy to do that in a high-demand field and it suits my personality because I get bored and/or frustrated at jobs after a while. Truthfully, the idea of career mobility was one of the things that drew me to nursing - the myriad of directions you could take with one degree.
So it's not a shock that I'm changing things up yet again. After spending the last 6 years doing pediatric nursing (most of them Neonatal Intensive Care) it was time to see what else was out there. My current work situation was becoming a bit unstable with absentee management, a pending closure of our unit on the weekends, and some generalized uneasiness amongst the mostly excellent staff. When casually looking at jobs, I noticed a position in the Mom/Baby Unit at Big Popular Birthing Hospital. When I went back to work after Gremlin, I was told by recruiters that jobs rarely opened up in the women's services at Big Hospital because when they had occasional openings, they were filled from within. When I saw that opening, I knew I had to jump and apply.
I had a great interview, though to be honest I ALWAYS interview well. I'm very comfortable with the process and I think I do a good job at representing myself and my abilities. From the hiring manager's demeanor, I could tell that I had a very good shot though she did tell me that others were interviewing for the one available position. I think my interest in being a breastfeeding educator and my extensive NICU experience were the biggest selling points. Speaking of NICU, I had to spend the first 20 minutes convincing her I did not want to work in NICU anymore (that department also had an opening and she wanted to be sure I wasn't making a mistake). After telling her that I most certainly did not want to work in NICU anymore, we had a great time discussing the job.
I've had a major interest in maternity nursing ever since my experiences as a traveler in Colorado when I was floated several times to their post-partum unit. It's such an awesomely, unique place to practice nursing. For one, it's generally a very joyous time in a family's life as opposed to my years of working in very tense "sick baby" situations. It also provides a lot of opportunity for education which is my favorite part of being a nurse. Whether it's teaching how to change a diaper or swaddle or breastfeed, a great deal of supportive education happens in that brief hospital stay after a baby is born. I had Gremlin at Big Hospital and even though I was a professional baby wrangler, I was so thankful for the breastfeeding support and education.
My new job will involve taking care of pairs or "couplets" of mommas and babies. It will truly be acting as a nurse for the whole family. I am incredibly excited by it though a little nervous about dealing with adults again. I have had occasional teenage patients in the past year and a half, but I haven't routinely worked with adults since my student gig as an extern in the Trauma/Burn ICU. I'm sure it will all come back to me with a bit of practice.
This job is also a full-time position so I will be back to working three 12-hour shifts a week. I really was liking my part-time gig, but decided that I wanted this opportunity even more. As a result, Gremlin will now be going to "school" starting next week. In the end, I think it's going to be a great move. I'm excited about a new phase of my career, I'll be able to get quality, uninterrupted sleep while Gremlin is at school, and hopefully I'll regain the joy I used to have in my work.
