Saturday, January 23, 2010

Why Respiratory Therapy? Part Two



Part One can be found HERE.

After several years I thought I'd try something different. I accepted a home care/sales position with an out of town company. Worst job of my life. Seriously. I am NOT a sales person. And the commute was 1 hour and 15 minutes one way! It was during this time that  that the push was on for home care companies to become accredited by The Joint Commission. The Joint Commission already made inroads in many hospitals and medical centers and decided to branch out in the mid to late 80's. I helped write and implement policy and procedures and set up a Quality Assurance program at this company. I still hated the job, though.

Shortly after going through the accreditation process and receiving a positive review, the CEO of a home care company in Ohio came knocking at our door. He was interested in how we received the positive results. My boss asked me to speak with him. Big mistake on his part. I ended up being wined, dined, and recruited to become the QA manager for his company. I was ready to take a leap of faith and accepted his offer. Off to Columbus, Ohio was I!

The following was the best 6 months of my life. I met Mr. Sister 3 days after moving there. I was busy, busy, busy designing and implementing policies and procedures and was an intregal part of the company receiving  a positive outcome in their Joint Commission review. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true and I was laid off. I wasn't needed anymore.

It was difficult finding work at that time. I did free lance accreditation consultant work in addition to working triage in a medical clinic for the indigent. One of my free lance jobs had me travelling to North Carolina. What a pretty, pretty state. It was a fun contract and it gave me a sense of accomplishment to help this particular company receive their accreditation. On the heels of this job, Mr. Sister was offered a position at a Charlotte bank that was to eventually become Bank of America. We discussed this and thought it was a wonderful opportunity so off to Charlotte we went.

Wow. That was 20 years ago! We've been here ever since. My first "gig" was as a home care therapist for a pediatric home care company, then I managed a home care company for a short while. Home care still wasn't what I enjoyed. I decided it was time to get back into direct patient care within the hospital setting. I got my foot in the door at an orthopedic hospital, that was eventually bought out by the hospital group I currently work for. When they built the hospital closer to home, I jumped at the chance to join. And you know something? I love my job!

Isn't it funny how life comes full circle?

12 comments:

MJ said...

I had a wonderful, thought provoking comment, and Ducky deleted it with a push of 1 button!

Recap
* Love in the Buckeye State - YAY!!
* yes life tends to go full circle, I think He knows what we want and we sometimes have to test the theory
* and the Dr can't understand why RT doesn't want to go out with him, go take your TX Dr and maybe you can be my next pt

Have a wonderful weekend!

ChristineM said...

What a great story! Yes, I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason!

So interesting to hear how people end up where they are!

Willoughby said...

Full circle is right! I think it's wonderful that you have a career that you are so passionate about. And meeting Mr. Sister was obviously meant to be!!

Betty Manousos said...

I totallly agree with Willoughly, Polly.
Yes , everything happens for a reason. I wish we knew more on this.
And I'm so glad that you love your job,I'm not surprised ; so interesting job.
Have a great weekend , my friend.
Lots of love

Mike said...

I am east of Raleigh. NC is a nice state. I have not quite come full circle yet. I think that NJ will be where I eventually land, but you never know!

Corrie Howe said...

I love to hear people who love their jobs...found their passion in life. I lived in Virginia Beach for awhile. Took a number of trips into NC. I love it there. But I also love where I'm at, in Southern Maryland.

Tracie said...

I'm glad you love your job. I may grumble and complain about working but I love mine, too.

I hope you're having a great weekend.

L.B. said...

Looking back on it, it seems like everything went smoothly and led up to other things that moved your career and your life forward. Of course, it probably wasn't smooth but things do have a way of working out sometimes.

Great story.

Anonymous said...

One day I hope to be able to love my job, too. You are so inspiring! I still can't believe that commute!

Kimberly said...

I love stories about how people met, and their job's they do, and why.

It is so rewarding to have a career that you love.

Thanks for the share.

Hope you have a blessed day.

Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey said...

Just the other day Mr. Misery and I had a talk about how our life came into full circle. 15 years later we are where we were and we are connecting with old friends we knew back then. Life is funny and unpredictable.

Weezer said...

What a wonderful story. And I love the little videos....seeing them from a nurses point of view. Hope you're having a good weekend. I'me still catching up from my trip home.
Later.......

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