First day down!

As anyone in the medical profession knows, your first week of a new job is a total bust. General hospital orientation, clinical orientation, computer orientation, payroll, park here, don't park there, ect. ect. That was my day today.

The official first day of my assignment here in New Hampshire went well, as far as hospital orientation's go. The speakers were candid and interactive. It seems everyone at the hospital is very laid back and easy going.

I thought I would be nervous, but it was a very different feeling sitting in that chair listening to the presentations. At first, my thought process was something along the line of, "heck, I'm only here for 13 weeks, I won't have to worry about half the stuff they are talking about." The spoke about retention of employees and what a great place the hospital is to work, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then, halfway through the day, I realized during the customer service shpeel, this hospital is NOT my employer, they are my customer. I am here to do a job. I need to leave the hospital and have them be satisfied with my work, because ultimately, they can have a huge and immediate impact on whether I get another job or if they offer to extend my contract.

Now, don't get me wrong. In my previous permanent job, I think I tried my best to make sure my patients were happy. But the relationship between the hospital and myself had never been perceived in this manner in my mind. What I'm trying to say, I think, is that I feel more in the driver seat in this job, like I have more control over the future of my career and what I want to do. In reality, I do. It is a freeing and frightening feeling all at the same time.

89 days left on this adventure. I can't wait to see what they bring.