Job Obtained!

I finally got a job working as an RRT! It's a relatively small hospital--let's call it Hospital X on the internet for privacy's sake. I had my interview about 2 and a half weeks ago and found out I got the job about 5 days ago. My interview consisted of 3 tiers, for lack of a better word. The first part of the interview was with the human resources representative. She asked all the standard questions you'd expect to hear in an interview. After I was done interviewing with her, she wanted me to meet with the manager of the respiratory care department. Now, I had my very first clinical rotation at Hospital X and had met the manager once, but other than an introduction that one time, I didn't know him. His interview was different from the one I just finished. He mostly asked me what I would do in certain situations that could come up. One of the questions I remember was, "You're doing a treatment on a patient when you get three urgent calls one after the other. What would you do?" Another question involved how I would compromise with physicians. That part went well. He told me I did a good job and said he wanted me to meet with some of the other people in the department. I figured I must have been looking good to have me spend so much time there.

The third tier of the interview was the most nerve-wracking of all of them. Three people came into the room. Thankfully I knew two of them already. One was the clinical education instructor who was with me when I was there for my clinicals. The second person was a therapist who had taken me and my classmates when the instructor couldn't, and the third person I recognized by her face, but I had never met her. Anyway, all three of them were asking me questions in turn about anything and everything. I felt less confident when I was leaving this part of the interview because it seemed like a lot of questions were about my lack of experience. When I was walking back to my car, I honestly didn't think I'd get the job. I haven't had any formal job experience in the field, and it had been 6 months since I had any experience in clinicals. I thought that if anything held me back from getting the job, it would be the experience factor.

Needless to say that when I got the call this week (which was right before my shift at the store), I was very surprised. I think what helped is that I made a good impression during my clinicals there two years ago. It must have been a good impression because I was remembered by 2 of the 3 people in that third part. The job is only contingent, so I probably won't have any set hours, but it's still valuable experience for me. I'm extremely terrified to start the job, but I have to just trust that they wouldn't have hired me if they didn't think I could handle it. I'm extremely grateful to them for giving me this chance and I have to give it my best shot.

Time is Escaping

Well, it’s been 3 months since graduation and I still don’t have a respiratory job. I’ve applied some places, but I can’t seem to get an interview. The jobs are still posted, so I’m debating whether to call and ask again. I’ve even applied at a place I didn’t really enjoy very much or necessarily agree with the way things are run, but at this point I’ll take anything. I feel like I’m starting to lose some of my knowledge and skills after not practicing them for so long. I’m finding myself double guessing myself on some of the easy stuff. I need to start reviewing some of my old notes, especially my neonatal resuscitation information, mechanical ventilation, and hemodynamics. Those are the areas I feel are slipping the fastest.

I’m really starting to feel like a failure, and I keep trying to tell myself otherwise, but if nothing happens for me soon I don’t know how much longer it’ll keep helping. I have certain goals set for myself and I’m afraid I won’t meet them. I wanted to be done at my horrible part time job by the official start of autumn and working full time in respiratory therapy and I wanted to be moved into my own apartment by the end of the year. I’m getting dangerously close to the first deadline. I’m ready to fly, but I don’t have anywhere to spread my wings. I want my life to start taking on more meaning that just existing on my days off and barely making it through my job. Things need to change soon or I don’t know what I’m going to do.

The only positive thing that’s come out of only working part time right now is that I’ve been focusing on my Japanese. I’m almost halfway through my text book. 90% of it is review for me, so that’s probably why I’m getting through it so quickly. I need to start looking for someone to practice it with, that way if I do end up getting to teach in Japan, I’ll have a really nice head start.