One blog post ago I officially declared my life plans of moving to Charleston, SC for a new job. Well... things have changed. Several months ago a good graduate school friend of mine who worked at the Palmetto Health Richland Hospital informed me that he would be moving with his family back to his home state. As a result an opening would be made available at the hospital... along with another opening. I talked with my friend about how I could get in on that gig (as I new my beloved ARC job was coming to a close). He gave me excellent advice which I followed to the letter. I had my coworker ... who happens to be an expert in forensic pediatrics and closely affiliated with the Children's Hospital at Richland.. extend a recommendation to Ms. Decision Maker at the hospital. She promptly contacted me requesting my resume.... which I sent back. Then the wait began. She contacted me letting me know of a position opening in the heart hospital and questioned my interest since the population would be primarily adults and primarily case management... a break from my work of the past four years.
Side note: I've wanted to work in the hospital system for some years now but it is next to impossible to get in unless you know someone or interned with them. I wanted to work in either the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Back to the story... I told Ms. Decision Maker that I would be delighted to do case management with adults. No problem. She informed me they would contact me once interviews would be scheduled. Great. I waited. And waited. And waited. I contacted Ms. Decision Maker again and she informed me that the position had not been filled but that the hospital board was discussing financing the position and she would contact me when interviews were being scheduled. And so I waited. And waited. And waited so long that I could no longer wait and informed the Charleston job I would accept their offer (after much drawn out negotiation) but that I would need at least 6 weeks before I could start. They were none to happy about that but I didn't feel I could be ready faster than that.
Nothing about moving to Charleston seemed to be working out. I couldn't find housing. I wasn't sleeping. My stomach was in knots. About two 1/2 weeks before Charleston I got a phone call from the hospital informing me they would like to do an interview with me. I said "YES!!!!" I went and interviewed immediately and I got a call back to see if I could come in the following week for second interviews. That was 10 days before my start date. I asked how many sets of interviews normally happened and they said 4. Four!??!!!?? They knew about my Charleston gig and said they could piggyback interview 2 & 3 together.
So I went in for the 2nd interview and the 3rd. The 3rd happened to be with Ms. Decision Maker herself. During our interview she went back to the whole "you've only worked with kids the past four years" issue and I inwardly groaned. And then she said the most magical words I've ever heard "We have been thinking that since you have a strong background with children you would be a good fit for our NICU. We have an opening and we haven't posted it yet. Would that interest you?" I of course almost wept and kissed her feet but I restrained myself to merely sighing a dramatic "Oh, I would love that." The NICU!!!! Where I wanted to go originally. I figured if I could at least get in then I could move around once positions became available. She promptly brought the NICU team in and I interviewed with them. Then they took me on a tour of the NICU. I met with director (interview #4) and waited for a call back. I got the official offer that Thursday ... a much better offer than I had ever before received... I spent a brief time ensuring that this was the right thing for me and called back to accept the offer. Then I called Charleston shortly thereafter. Charleston was none to pleased and their reaction to my decision to stay in Columbia only solidified to me that I had made the right choice.
So, that's a really long detailed story to say, "Man, that was a close one." In the process of it all I learned a greater level of trust in God and finally have been able to establish some personal goals ... as I have felt lost about my future... not having any personal goals to work on or areas to develop. I have gained clarity and feel certain that for now this is what I need to do at this time in my life. And I am happy. For those of you who have listened to my frantic rants or repetitive worries... Thank you. Your support helped me through the past 6 months. I am grateful to have you in my life.
