Been a long time gone....

With grad school coming to a close faster then I can get papers written and procrastination being fresh on my to do list I figure it's only fitting that I post a blog. I mean it was getting close to the year mark. It has been an eventful year full of joys and sorrows. Here are some things of note:
My mom's sister, my aunt Suzie Tucker, passed away in the fall and then my grandpa Jay (my dad's dad) passed away over spring break. One positive thing about funerals is that it brings family in from all over. I feel blessed to have been able to visit with so many of my relatives in the past year.
I was...asked, coerced,...firmly nudged? not sure what the best word is here but at any rate I applied for a part time Medical Social Worker float position at Salem Health Acute Care Hospital right before the end of spring term. The "hints" and repeated queries about weather or not I had applied finally pushed through my concern about taking on a position before graduating. The manager came and asked me to set up an interview before I had actually turned in my online application. So I interviewed and was offered a benefited position. I started the position about two weeks ago and have been going through the training process. As I have been interning at the hospital for the past 9 months the training has not been too intense. I enjoy the team and it looks as though there is opportunity to grow into a full time position in the summer or sometime soon after. Right now I am spending most of my time on the cardiac ICU step down floor, the actual ICU, and the oncology floors. I continue to put in two days a week as a requirement for my internship as well but I am no longer permitted to assist with floor work because my internship and job roles have to be clearly differentiated. This distinction allows me to devote my Monday and Tuesday to more in depth counseling with the patient counselor. I work every other Wednesday and every Thursday and Friday and some Saturday's. I really enjoy working in the hospital and the social service staff is very supportive and a lot of fun. It's nice to have something set as I prepare to transition from school life back to work life.
I graduate June 12th! Crazy! Where does the time go? Of course I still have quite a few major assignments standing between me and graduation but it's still exciting. I plan to apply and begin the licensing process so that I could potentially be part of a group that is accepted by insurance. Unless you have your LCSW insurance will not reimburse counseling with a social worker. I am fortunate to be able to take some time off for my family reunions this summer but vacation time after that will likely be few and far between as I do not have seniority and the company policy gives preference to vacation requests of those higher up and hospital work being what it is holidays are pretty much no existent. So it's good I work close to family! At least I will be off in evenings to enjoy things like thanksgiving and Christmas.

I know I have seemed invisible pretty much the past year but I have been following blogs and facebook to keep in touch with everyone and I appreciate the opportunities I have had to talk with friends and family. I am looking forward to having my evenings free and some care free weekends!! The burdon of school is coming close to being behind me! On to the next adventure.

I will post some pictures of what I have been up to the past few months in the next post.