another new job...OSUMC!

a pic of the university hospital from the OSU fb page

now, i can officially claim to be a "buckeye." i started work at The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) on february 15th as a nursing manager in care coordination. while i still work in the ER, i am technically employed in the patient placement & bed control department.

for those who don't know the story, here it is:
in december i received a call from OSUMC stating that they had my resume from my previous application (before we moved here), and they were wondering if i would be interested in a care manager position. they briefly explained the job, asked if i was interested (i was), and set up a "preliminary interview" for january 6th, during which i would find out more about the job, the hours, the requirements, etc. after the interview, we set up a date for me to shadow my now-preceptor, sue, to further understand the job. about a week and a half later, they offered me the position. matt and i debated about the pros and cons of this new position, but we ulitmately felt it was a good career step for me and a great opportunity.
the rundown:
it's a salaried position (i'm used to an hourly rate), and it's 40 hours/week (i'm used to 36). the benefits are better than...pretty much everywhere else, so is the retirement plan. my annual income is higher now, but i don't have to work monday-friday 9a-5p (thank goodness!). actually, i have so much flexibility with my new schedule (sue and i are the only people in this position right now), that i had a very hard time figuring out what days/hours i want to work. matt and i finally decided on four 10hour shifts/week -- 2pm to midnight with a rotating schedule that allows me to have several days off in a row every week....yay!

another decent badge pic, after 12 hours of work, even! yay!
and the coveted "A" parking permit....grants access to park nearly anywhere on campus!

the job:
my job in the ER is to review the patients who are being admitted or are going to the observation unit and make sure that they actually *need* admission or observation. i won't go into a ton of detail (even though it's quite interesting to me), but i ensure that the patients meet admission criteria and go to the right level of care. if they don't, i speak to the ER physicians and/or refer the case to an outside physican group. it's lots of paperwork, but also requires a lot more critical thinking than i expected. it's actually pretty challenging, and sometimes frustrating. the hardest thing for me is to be in the ER all day, and not be involved in patient care. which is why i'm so happy that both my husband and MCE agreed to let me stay on as a PRN employee. this means i am only required to work 16 hours/month, but it's enough to maintain my nursing skills and keep up with my new friends there...yay! (it's also extra money in the bank...whoo hoo!)

a few pictures of me in my new lab coat...fancy!

the pros and the cons:
i absolutely love working at OSU so far, it reminds me a lot of MCD which makes it feel a little more comfortable for me, and they really seem to appreciate and respect their nurses. the above benefits are nice, too. the biggest downside? the first two weeks on the job were my dreaded 5 day/week, 8 hours/day weeks......ugh! just ask my husband how much i am *not* meant to be on a day schedule, much less 5 days/week! i'm barely surviving...and the only reason i am is mostly due to the fact that my new boss and preceptor are super-understanding (and somewhat grateful) that i prefer evenings and nights. so any day that i didn't have formal hospital orienation and was instead only training with sue in the ER, i didn't have to be there until noon. thank goodness!

driving home from orientation during the only level 2 snow emergency i've witnessed...fun

level 2 snow emergency = closed university campus, open MC. view from one of many sky bridges

this is what a hospital orientation looks like....for eight hours

the main hospital building (university hospital)

the ross heart hospital

a snowy campus, a pic of the courtyard and visitor parking garage (on left)

a few intersting things about OSU and OSUMC:
-the university is so large it has it's own shuttle AND it's own bus system (CABS - Campus Area Bus System) the campus map can be seen here -- the medical center is to the far left just below the river (i couldn't find a campus map small enough to save and post to the blog...sorry!)
-the university and MC has several parking garages, many of which either have sky bridges that connect directly to the buildings or underground tunnels to get you where you need to go in the event it's raining, snowing, windy or just plain cold! (i *love* the tunnel system!)
-OSU is the second-largest university in the US, trailing only Arizona State by about 500 students (OSU annual enrollment: 55,014, Arizona State: 55,552)
-the main campus totals 1755 acres
-the medical center was one of the first medical schools associated with a hospital in the US, tracing its history back to 1847
-this year, the medical center was ranked as the 21st best hospital in the US, and ranked as best in several specialties, it was also ranked in the "top 100 places to work" and is a two-time magnet facility (that means it's a good place to work if you are a nurse)