Big changes have happened in the Greenberg household. After 14 years, nearly to the month, I have left Mercy West Hospital. It was a big decision and wasn’t taken lightly. I’d slowly been building up to it for the better part of the last year. There were many reasons behind it.
14 years ago I started out as a new grad nurse, straight from school, at Mercy Western Hills. I lucked into being hired in the Operating Room. At the time they wanted a year floor experience, but they very graciously used my internships and clinicals in the OR as experience and let me squeak in. I came in to a wonderful staff that already was well established and felt like family to each other. There were many that had been there at least a decade, some for two. They taught me and molded me into the nurse that I am today.
We supported each other. A few came to our wedding. I went to their weddings. They threw me a baby shower when I was pregnant with my girls, and celebrated with me when we were surprised at the ultra sound with twins. They comforted me and supported me when my Mom had her stroke. We were a family.
In 2013 Western Hills joined with Mount Airy and we literally help build Mercy West Hospital. Two staffs joining to become one. There was some teething pains to be sure but we got there in the end. Eventually, both old hospitals were torn down. The only thing still standing of Western hills is the medical office building and gym.
In the second picture above you can actually see the backside of the sterile core. That brown door on the second floor went into the far end of our central sterile core. The tiny window to the left, just on the edge of the destruction, was the tiny storage room where we had to tetris our monitor towers in for our laparoscopic cases when they weren’t in use.
In the move we gained a lot. We gained a whole second half of a team from another hospital with a huge amount of knowledge and experience to add to our own. We also gained new staff that helped create new surgery programs, like the robot team and heart teams. Amongst others, I learned and helped start the robot team from the ground up.
We moved in on a Saturday and Sunday. First surgery was Monday morning at 730, first robot surgery, first case using our new Epic charting system. I’m proud to say that I was the circulating nurse on that case.
The group picture above is from move in day. It includes staff from the entire peri-operative department: operating room, endoscopy, PACU, preop, anesthesia, and our management. There were 104 people, as well as I could count from a picture. 11 years later only 17 people, not including myself, are still working there. Out of the OR specific staff, only 9 of 38 staff are still there 11 years later. I also didn’t include those that left and came back as travelers or left and stayed on PRN.
When even 3-4 years after the move there were staff working there that had worked at Mercy longer than I have been alive. I think that speaks volumes. When I gave my notice, a good third of our staff were travelers. That says something. Over time that family feeling went by the wayside. I’m not going to badmouth it though publicly on here though. My old co-coworkers can attest to what we’ve all been saying for a long time.
My coworkers and the surgeons all said they’d miss me. One surgeon, Dr Dawson, who I’ve worked with since the beginning, felt bad that they didn’t give me a “proper” party in his eyes on my last day. He called me into the breakroom and threw handmade confetti (torn up paper towels) over my head. It was a really sweet gesture.
I’ll miss my crazy coworkers. I’ll miss my tiny dance parties and sing-alongs behind my desk. I’ll miss my experiment days I brought in for everyone to partake in. I’ll miss teaching students and new employees the wonders of surgery. I’ll miss Rosie 2.0 (the davinci robot). Surgery was my first love. I knew very early on that I was not meant for floor nursing. The unique environment of surgery was it for me. I may eventually go back. Who knows? But for now….
I’m moving into a remote work-from-home position for Humana Medicaid. I’m now a pre-authorization nurse for their new Medicaid desk. When I was on light duty for my various surgeries I worked in Pre Admission Testing in a little cubicle on the computer/phone. I think it’ll have a similar feel.
For me and my family it’s a really good fit for us right now. No call, no holidays, no weekends (except for 4 hrs every 7th Saturday), remote so no daycare bills or gas (at nearly $5 a gallon!), same hourly pay, and guaranteed 40hrs a week. When I have a migraine, I can control the environment, making it as dark and quiet as I need, and I can take my uber meds without worry of driving on them, so in theory I’d still be able to work through it. Plus, bonus, I haven’t worn a bra in a week and have gone to work in my pajamas everyday with only getting up 10 minutes before my shift start time! Good things all around.
I’m 2 days into my second week at the new job and so far it’s been a lot of Zoom training sessions, lots of self paced computer training, and modules. It’s very low key. The other nurses on my team are nice. I do have to say that my butt hurts though! I need to invest in a better cushion for my desk chair and make a point to get up and move around more. My tuchus isn’t used to this. I think I also need to dust off the treadmill during my lunch because I most definitely am not getting my steps in.
Seeing myself on zoom I have noticed that after wearing a mask for 8-10hrs+ a day for 14 years I pull some interesting faces when I’m not paying attention. That was a fun realization. Also since I’m not wearing a hat, even though I’m at home, it actually matters what my hair looks like now since other people can see it when I’m zooming. I’ve been staring at my roots. They’re taunting me.
Not too changed, right? 100 lbs difference, short pink hair, tummy tuck and breast reduction. Not even talking about the change in the face with the shiny optimism/hope that new grad me is just bursting with. I’ve learned soooo much since then, so much more than I ever actually did in nursing school, and that’s all thanks to my wonderful coworkers that taught me everything they knew over the years.
I’m looking forward to learning even more as I move into my new role and I hope I enjoy it just as much.
Adventures from the Loser's Bench 