p90X

Hey all my p90x arrived last night. I read the fitness guide and I should be ready to start soon. I have to acquire some additional equipment before I can begin. I am hoping to start the program on Ground Hog Day 2009. I have also talked with Stephanie about doing the program with me. To complete the program is a big committment. You really have to be dedicated.

On other changes that might be happening in the near future. I have a job interview next week. It may turn out that I am going back to Primary Children's Medical Center. It would be a total trip.

Historically, I started working at "Prime Time" back in 1991. I was a Junior in High School. I wanted to work in healthcare when I grew up. I started working in the kitchen. It was a great job for a high school kid. The hours were 1600-2000, 2-3 days a week. It paid better than fast food. The job was preparing the dinner meal trays for the kids in the hospital, then clean up and close the kitchen. Back then there was no parking terrace there. Moran eye center wasn't in the South parking lot. I learned the Intermountain Healthcare values early in my career there. Shortly after high school I got married. I worked in the Kitchen in the mornings. But it only took a few months before I decided I should look for job experience outside of the kitchen.

I started working in the Xray department as a file clerk while I was going to college. I had to take a pay cut from the kitchen to take the job. I decided that the decrease would be made up in future opportunities. I worked full time as a file clerk and was taking college classes at night. Back then the xrays were still hard copy films. the files were huge and in large quantities very heavy. I had a unique talent for finding lost films, I enjoyed my co-workers and the Radiologists that I worked with. It is a fun group of people who like to work in the dark.

The shortly after starting to work in Xray I was considering applying for Xray tech school. I was attending SLCC. When I went to fill out the application for the program there were 2 boxes to check one for x-ray, the other was for Surgical Technology. I was not entirely sure what Surgical Technology was at the time but hey, double the chance of getting accepted somewhere... right?

The short story is I was accepted the following semester to start the Surgical Tech program. Upon graduation I went to work in the OR at Prime Time. Scrubbing in surgery is awesome. It is a very cool job. It is too bad it doesn't pay more. I had been an ORT for about 9 months. I was on the neurosurgery team, I was scrubbed into a brain tumor case. We had been scrubbed in for hours. I saw the RN. She was sitting there reading a novel. I had a thought. "I am here, scrubbed in, doing all of this work while she sits there with her book... getting paid twice as much as me." That is when I decided to look into nursing as a career. I had never planned on becoming a nurse. when I looked into it. It seemed like a good idea. I met with a school counselor in May. I started Nursing School the following August. No wait list. Pre-requisites were the same as ORT school.

I have been an RN for 11 years now. I worked at PCMC for a total of 12 years, I worked mostly in the OR but also worked for a year in PICU. I was considering going to CRNA school. I still might some day. After applying to CRNA school in Michigan and being turned down, I wanted to try something new. Intermountain Healthcare had just broken ground in constructing IMC which was being built about 3 miles from my house. So I applied at LDS Hospital OR thinking I would establish myself in the OR there, then move out to the new hospital. I had worked in nursing leadership positions at PCMC, and shortly after moving to LDS became one of the department charge nurses. A year later I became the OR educator and the UCR regional OR Educator where I oversaw the education of all of the UCR OR staff. I was integral in the training of staff and training for the transition to the new hospital IMC. When the time came to move out to the new hospital. I made a career decision. My options were to stay in my education position and office at the new hospital working regionally, or to consider two management positions, LDS and Altaview. I chose to stay at LDS as manager.

At the time there were many factors that I considered as part of the decision. While it was surely not my dream job, it would certainly be a valuable experience for future opportunities. I was still hoping to move out to IMC. I knew and hoped that the opportunity would come to move back to PCMC at some point.

Which brings me to the current decision. I have worked for intermountain for 18 years now. I am 34 years old. As vested as I am it would have to be a seriously incredible offer for me to consider leaving Intermountain. IMC will not have a management position open in the foreseeable future. Primary's is open now. I would still consider leaving management for a clinical OR job if the position was right. I don't love management, and the corporate environment/economy make management ridiculously unpleasant right now.

I am hoping that the change of venue and a return to where I feel at home and can make a difference will re-energize my spirit.

Well that is enough reminiscing for one night.
until next post

Jason