Slowing down (maybe?)

Last week at the VA was intense... a lot of that was a matter of timing. The techs were short staffed so things weren't getting accessioned until after slide sign out (which ends at 3) which meant the morning was spent grossing larges triaged from the day before and triaging things for the end of the afternoon/next day and the afternoon was spent scrambling to get things grossed. Add in frozens scattered throughout the day and never having more than 20 minutes to get lunch, it made for a very full week.

Yesterday was spent wrapping up specimens triaged on Friday and doing smalls. I had one really interesting case today that I'm looking forward to see the slides on and a few other bigger specimens, plus an assortment of smalls. It was much better having the smalls throughout the day instead of just all at once right at the end of the day. Soooo much better.

Last week and this week, I've had a first year student come through on Tuesday afternoon for slide sign out and some time in the gross room. I've been trying to let them do things that might be slightly more appealing than straight forward small biopsies. Hopefully they've appreciated it. It would have been good to have a BKA or something to let them work on but I had to take the specimens that were available. Still, they got their hands on a couple larger specimens (even if it was just to triage) and got a chance to practice dictating without a template. Both were super great about pitching in and getting work done, which makes a difference when things are busy!

The downside to the busy week is that I didn't do any of the half dozen autopsy reports from the cases I had the week before this rotation started. I know that I need to do them, and sooner rather than later, but at this point I'm considering it an accomplishment that the kids were fed and laundry got washed last week.

The upside to the busy week is that I had some delightful options for feedback forms, and at the VA you get them back! One of my classmates sent me a text asking how I was doing on feedback forms, so I figured it out. I sent out two to three a day the entire time I was at North, and out of literally dozens of forms I got back about five back. A lot of it is just that the physical forms get misplaced, or received with every intention of being filled out and forgotten. At the VA they basically fill out the forms as they are received, so much more effective!

In other news, I've decided not to close myself off from job opportunities in the Southeast. They'd be weekend commutable to SC (and think of all the frequent flyer miles) and realistically, there isn't a job in Columbia and isn't likely to be one any time soon (years would be the timeline here). So... we'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, it is surprising to be contacted about an interview for a position that I applied to four
months ago and had pretty much forgotten about. But, considering the location in the west it would be a waste of everyone's time to do anything other than politely decline.

Oh well, life will work out like it is supposed to. It always does! I'm excited about buying the house, closing is in a month and I feel really good about it for the family. It feels like the kind of house the kids can grow up in, and I hope it makes up for the instability of the last two years. They will be moving down after they're out of school at the beginning of June to give them enough time to make friends in the neighborhood and get used to the new environment. It will give me time to get the apartment all packed up as well. I like moving with a long lead time and not feeling rushed.