New Job a Dead End

Greetings all,

Well, to those of you who don't already know, I have managed to get a new job. Still within QH in the hospital, but moving towards a speciality, you might say. I've taken up a permanent role in Oncology and Palliative Care!

Hence the title of my blog, which I realise is slightly dark, but I've decided that a good sense of humour (though used with discretion, depending on the audience) will be paramount to doing well in the job.

So starting end of Feb, after my much-needed break, I'll be an HP4, working half-time in Pall Care, and half-time in Oncology.

The job took my interest for a few reasons, I think.

1) I've always been interested in Oncology and Haematology, though both very difficult and challenging areas.

2) I've been in acute medical so long that I needed a change, and perhaps what it highlighted to me was that due to the high patient turnover, you're very much admitting patients, sorting out issues, then discharging them. There is very little time to build rapport with individual patients, many of whom you don't see again. Being permanently in Onc and Pall Care will be very different. Patients come in and out of clinics and hospital, as the disease progresses. You get to know each patient, their illnesses, their social issues, and see them more over the longer term. Hence, you get to form a relationship with these patients, and a trust, which may lead to being able to have more of an influence over their treatment; not only their physical health but their coping skills.

Of course, this will make it difficult when they finally come to the terminal palliative phase, and finally die, but I hope that in that, too, I can make a difference to not only ease their death, but also share my faith (though on my personal time) should there be an opportunity to do so. I think being a Christian in this setting, where the staff are constantly surrounded by death, there would be many opportunities for evangelism to them also.

For example, in the last week, we had about 8 patients die. Quite a lot for a week, I think, even in a Pall Care unit. The nursing staff were quite fragile, so what an opportunity to love.

I think I will have the emotional strength (mostly due to the perspective that comes from being a Christian) to deal with this, but please pray that God may strengthen me to this end.

So I am looking forward to this job. I hope I do well. The feedback I had from my interview said that the panel were convinced that I would be able to do the job and do it well, so I am very encouraged by that!

I hope that God is leading me in a planned direction, and will use this job not only to grow my faith in, trust in, and dependence on Him, but also on my love for Him, my confidence in Him for my salvation, and my love for others to the extent that I can share the hope that I have in Jesus Christ.

Scott