Another Day
It never ceases to amaze me how different each day in the lab can be... I was able to perform another "first" today. Our Microbiology department is responsible for obtaining nasopharyngeal swabs in the outpatient testing area, on occasions when the usual staff is unavailable to do them. I had seen them done, read the procedure, just hadn't ever collected one yet. So I offered to go and collect it, no time like the present to learn! In my experience, it never fails that when I offer to go and take care of something, it always turns out that the patient is a child.
He was a very mature 10 year old boy and he wasn't scared at all, which made it easy for me to show a confident smile when I explained to him what was going to be done. I collected the sample, the boy thanked me for "loosening things up" (I think he sneezed about three times after) and he and his mother would never have guessed that it was the first time I had done that.
There are a few people in our lab who seem unwilling to take on new tasks or learn new things. I'm not sure how they got to be that way, or why they choose to approach their job, or life, with that attitude. I just know that I'm new in this field and I'm new at my hospital. I try to learn something new everyday. In fact, I find that most days a person would almost have to work at it to not learn something everyday.
Sure, there are a few mornings when the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. and I'd like to turn it off completely and go back to sleep. But I haven't had a day when I felt that I didn't want to go to work because of the job that I do. Everyday provides an opportunity to remember why we do what we do. Everyday provides an opportunity to question, to challenge, to solve, to improve, to make a difference.
I sometimes think about my life a few years back. I really didn't think I had the time or resources to get a four year degree. I really felt like that window of opportunity had passed for me. I'm so glad that I gave it a shot, that I took a few classes part time just to see if I could manage. Of course there are those who find success without a degree, I was not headed down that path. I realized that I wasn't going to find a career that satisfied me without getting an education. It turned out to be the perfect decision for me. Now I'm beginning a career I enjoy and I can't wait to see what the future brings.