My Time or Work Time?
It's the middle of July, and I feel like the year is rushing past me. Perhaps it is because I am juggling so many things at once, perhaps it is because I am now over 50, or maybe I am in a Twilight Zone episode and just don't know it.
I recently attended the AANP annual meeting in Nashville, and other than the excellent speakers, one of the most beneficial things to me was networking with other NPs. I learned so much about how other NPs manage their caseload and their life. Everything from using the latest digital and electronic gizmos to how they arranged their life to get the laundry done, the kids to school and their elderly parents to appointments seemed to be a frequent topic in some of the breaks and social events.
For me as a new NP, even though I had years of experience as a nurse, my day-to-day life has changed in the past year. I hadn't realized how much I did on those weekdays off or mornings off when I worked second shift. Now as a Monday to Friday worker, whose days are usually about 10 to 11 hours each, I find that much more effort is involved in even simple things like going to the bank before it closes or shopping for a birthday gift for my father.
During the day, despite my best intentions, I always tend to have at least one patient per day that needs more than the 30 minutes allotted. So then the next patient is seen late and so on. If there isn't a place to catch up, I spend the remainder of the day late seeing everyone and getting more stressed out because I know that the clock is just flying while I feel like I am as slow as molasses.
In the big picture, though, I am incredibly happy with the decision I made to become an NP, but it has been interesting to me that it wasn't just a change in my work functions but in my personal life as well.