Stuff

I am often complaining about my stupid job. But today, for this post, I have decided to be more positive and compose a list of things I like about my job. A tiny bit of background: I'm a nurse, I work at a fertility clinic run by a university. And here we go:

1. On a daily basis I get to tell women that they are pregnant. These are women who want nothing more than to be pregnant, so it's often quite emotional. That's a pretty special thing to get to do. It makes me very happy.

2. I get to share frustrations and sadness with these women as well. That doesn't sound like a great thing on the surface, but it really can be just about as meaningful as sharing good news with them. I became a nurse for many reasons, most of them in the arena of "I'm a practical person who does the safe and right thing, blah blah blah." But, there is this other thing, this great thing about being a nurse that's hard to describe in a meaningful way. I get to share time and space and emotions with people in some of the hardest times of their lives. Now, hospitals have a pretty big portion of this, and I don't currently work in a hospital. But, I do spend time with women who have just had D&Cs (a surgery to remove a pregnancy from the uterus) because their tiny new pregnancies ended in miscarriage. That's pretty heavy stuff for women who are so focused on having a baby and have been really happy because they are finally pregnant. Sometimes it's also far from the first time they have been through this. This is probably a more intimate time than a lot of the good stuff, and it's incredible to be a part of.

ok, now for lighter, funnier stuff...

3. I work with great people. It makes my job tolerable because they are really absolutely fantastic people. Lulu (not her real name) answers the phone at the nurses station. She has a stressful job because this is quite an operation. We have 5 lines on a super stupid system that involves 2 phones and lots of transferring. And those lines are often full with a waiting queue on the main line that stretches to upwards of 30 min before people even get to talk to Lulu (who's not a nurse). This makes our patients, who are already high-strung and bitchy, even worse. But, I often get to hear her say to people "I know it's a long wait, but having this conversation with everyone who calls just makes it longer." And that cracks me up. And, when she's not on the phone, she's often singing and dancing around, or talking about chuke chuke and making me feel like quite the white girl. And, she rubs my pregnant belly at least 5 times a day in a very loving and funny way.

4. Also on a daily basis, I give instructions about ejaculation. Yep, that's right. I know, how fantastic is that?! I get to tell men when to ejaculate and when to abstain from ejaculation. If I'm on call when this is happening, I even get to shout about it into my cell phone while out running errands, taking walks, hanging out with friends. The trickiest part of this whole arena is trying, in a professionial way, to clarify when patients/partners don't know what ejaculation means. There is plenty of slang and some gestures that get the point across, but those are in no way appropriate in a medical work setting. I want you readers to ponder this, and surely you will agree with me. Or, send your suggestions my way.

Thanks Becky for letting me use your blog space. Ha ha, as this is posted, you don't even know that you're letting me use it. But, I have an in with Dave, who you did entrust with posting a guest entry. And, thanks for giving me a space to post about ejaculation, you rock.

Mara, non-blogger