interviews!

my shift button isn't working well at all, so this post will be devoid of as many capital letters as i can manage to avoid.

it's true.  i started out as an EMT.

now that the man is back stateside, i have been hankering to go back to work.  badly.  my fingers are itching to feel the bounce of a vein beneath them; the slide of a catheter into the vein.  my mind yearns for the satisfaction of a successful blood draw the first try.  advance with a purpose, and don't ever stab the vein.  use a little alcohol beforehand to de-grease the fur/skin  and provide a measure of aseptic technique.  feel the gush of motion under the fingertips when the catheter is flushed and well seated.  cuddle cats and dogs that aren't my own, too.

so last week i delivered my resume to 4 emergency clinics in the north houston area.  i printed them out on heavy, fancy business quality paper.  it had a watermark, it was so fancy.  i used a pink binder clip to attach the cover letter to the two-page resume, as a paper clip would potentially get lost, and i wanted my resume to stand out from all the others.  (here's a hint, kids....your first impression with a career or job is going to be your resume....make it memorable and impressive!)

now, because of a combination of luck and wise choices, i have had the privilege of working with some of the best veterinarians in the locale i have inhabited.  dr gaynor in colorado springs has written and co-written numerous veterinary books and chapters involving pain management and anesthesia.  in fact, i have not yet worked for a vet clinic that didn't have at least one chapter or book written by dr gaynor.  not only that, but dr gaynor made sure that his technicians and doctors were well-versed in everything.  he and his staff conducted monthly continuing education at the staff meetings, and we all were proficient in cpcr for animals.  we even had wet labs wherein we technicians learned how to do doctor-level skills like placing thoracic tubes.  after working for dr gaynor, i moved to houston where i found the most skilled emergency clinic at the time, run by dr mccauley.  she ran a tight ship and insisted on the best quality of medicine i could find in the entire houston area.  she would also begin to have monthly continuing education at staff meetings, and i was able to use my skills garnered from my years with dr gaynor to teach some of my coworkers about perianesthetic conditions that all vet techs should know.  dr mccauley also made her technicians become proficient in knowing exactly what the doctor needed for each potential emergency, and would time us on our care-plan-creating ability.  this helped me learn how to quickly access all information and perform rapid, but accurate, calculations.  when dr mccauley let me go, due to pneumonia, i might add, i was rapidly scooped up by the doctors at north houston vet specialists.  it was there that i was introduced to my absolute favorite internal medicine doctors, dr stone and dr willey, and the amazing surgeons that nhvs had to offer, dr payne and dr hinton.  the quality of medicine at nhvs was akin to what i had experienced in colorado with dr gaynor, which was a great relief to me.  you see, dr gaynor's quality of medicine was years and years ahead of any ER in the houston area, even dr mccauley (though she aspired to the same greatness, the community was dragging its feet).  i

blossomed with dr stone and dr willey, and became proficient in all aspects of internal medicine.  i learned how to administer chemo, how to calculate constant rate infusions without the use of a computer, and how to provide the ultimate care for my clients and patients.  the internal med doctors at nhvs are sticklers for perfection, and somehow they thought i done good.  i was even enlisted to train other technicians in the practice, including internal medicine, surgery, and patient care technicians, how to do certain more-advanced procedures like placing a central line.  then nhvs brought in a criticalist and i was able to have daily nerdgasms.  dr johnnides, the criticalist, was performing medicine equivalent to my years with dr gaynor.  i finally had a doctor in houston that i could bond with on that level.  i wasn't the only one pushing for a specific type of medicine that seemed just out of reach, especially since i am a nurse, not a doctor.  leaving nhvs when the man went overseas nearly killed me.  i went into a massive depression spiral and veterinary medicine withdrawal.  unfortunately, due to a very public anxiety attack i had on social media, i am unable to resume a career at nhvs.   let this be a lesson to all of you, even when you're not in your right mind....don't tag your place of business on facebook when you're having a panic attack!!  because then your boss can read what you wrote and can fire you for it.  keep your anxiety private and internalized, like someone who is always being watched.

basically, my resume is impressive.  and, over the years, i have come to realize and accept that i am very good at what i do.  i have remained humble most of my career, but after working at nhvs and being appreciated by all the doctors i have ever worked for, and every person i have ever worked with offering to be a reference, i decided to embrace my awesomeness as a veterinary technician.  i know my shit, and i ought to be proud of it.

out of the 4 resumes i sent out, two clinics called me back for interviews.  it may have been a higher number, possibly, but one clinic had recently bought out two of the others.....sooooo yeah.  even with only two interviews, i had essentially gotten a call back for all of them.  not too shabby, if i do say so myself. so my interviews were set up for monday and tuesday this week.  this is how they turned out.

monday's interview was perfect.  i was ten minutes early, and i had enough time to curl and style my hair before the event.  i rarely style my hair, but i wanted to impress this potential boss!  my hair is still bright pink, and because that is somewhat of a no-no still in the industry, i had to look good.  i ended up looking kind of like a fat gwen stefani of the late 90s.  i was adorable.  although i talked too much, and gushed too much, and was way too enthusiastic, the boss lady liked me and offered me a position making more money than i'd yet made in houston and exactly the hours i needed on the days i needed them.  i thanked her profusely, but since i had an interview tuesday, i would be sure to give her my decision by the end of the week.

monday night, i was so excited i couldn't sleep.  literally.  i tossed and turned, excited beyond reason about having a job again and doing what i love.  because, with a job offer on the table, no matter how the tuesday interview goes, i have a job.  eeeeeeeeeee!!!!  not only that, but i was overanalyzing all the details and looking ahead five years to see where i would potentially be in the company.  the boss lady had said she wanted me to take on a leadership position, due to my skills and experience as a vet tech instructor, after getting used to the way the clinic worked.  it was a rapidly expanding facility and business, and although it is corporate, the bosses like to keep a 'mom and pop' feel to their locations and allow the doctors and staff to make the minor rules and quality of medicine.  i didn't sleep a wink, which was going to bode poorly for me.

these are my people.

tuesday morning, after getting the kids off to school, i was wiped.  i wanted...needed....to sleep.  but i still had 4 hours till interview time and i was afraid i wouldn't wake up to my alarm.  over the last year, i have become a heavy sleeper.  so i showered and got ready, but decided that, if i set my alarm for 20 min, i would be able to doze lightly and wake up every 20 min until it was time to go.  unfortunately, nothing went as planned.  it took 30 min for me to fall asleep, and at that point i was down for the count and out.  i slept through a total of four alarms and woke up at 1:59pm.  i was supposed to be 30 min away at my interview in exactly one minute.

i texted the doctor that i was running behind, and that i was mortified.  she told me to come anyway, and so i flung the nearest dress on my body and took off for the meeting place.  no time to curl my bubblegum locks.  no makeup to make me look adorable.  just bed head and a dress that honestly clashed with my hair.  i hit 75% of the red lights between my house and the interview, which was being conducted at a starbucks.  i arrived and sat down, flustered as all fuck, spouting apologies.  the doc basically told me gently to shut up and we got on with the interview.  after i arrived, it went well, i suppose.  she is building a new ER in magnolia, and is looking for leadership, experience, and flexibility.  i detailed the hours i would be available, weekends and friday nights mostly, and she was ok with it.  i did offer to help out on weeknights between 10pm-4am if necessary.  but the man doesn't get home from work before 8pm and he leaves at 7am, so i'd have to be home between 6am-8pm on most weekdays.  she offered me the job at the same pay rate as monday's interviewer, but said there would be a significant bump in pay when i am licensed.

this has actually happened to me...

so now i get to decide what to do, and who to go with.  i need to research both the corporate company and the small animal vet that want to hire me.  tonight, i drove to the magnolia clinic, and without traffic it took me 30 min.  it takes about the same amount of time to get to the woodlands clinic, so distance won't be much of a consideration.  basically, i am looking at working for a corporation, which provides financial stability and excellent benefits with a small animal vet that will provide more freedom to be part of the clinic family as a whole and help to make the clinic better on a small scale.  they both have scads of positives and very few negatives, so this decision is going to be so hard.  i don't envy myself at all right now.....my entire career depends on this decision.....how exciting!!!