Why is it that news good or bad always comes in groups?

Got my Michigan Respiratory Therapy license! and I Got accepted to Boise state.

So I'm moving to Michigan. It's really all because of Taleo. The infamous job application system that apparently every hospital in California uses. The reason why all my applications were essentially trashed before a human being could view them and judge for themselves my awesome resume and potential worth.

I've heard some people, when encountering Taleo, just skip bothering to apply. If that wasn't 95% of the jobs here I would consider that myself.

But I'm an optimist. It's been so good spending time with family and being there for my wonderful mother. It's been Good to experience so many things. Even frustration and hopelessness. I'll definitely not ever rush to judgement about any unemployed person. Maybe all the jobs they can apply for are run by Taleo as well. haha.

So I was a very social, friendly, funny person in school. I have so many good friends. They are all working at good hospitals in Michigan. So Getting my license and moving back there seems a really good idea now. Since My license Actually came in the mail today- I am full of hope. not even skeptical really :)

Boise state online AS to BS RT. Yep, Totally on a path to my ten year plan. haha.

New Orleans Sputum Bowl!

My team got Second place! and the Fred M. Helmholz sportsmanship award! what an honor! there were so many great teams who also deserve it. I feel like the op few teams were really close and it could have gone any way. for example the CA practitioner team could have easily won. or my team could have won the student bowl, or Colorado, or Louisiana could have even. So much of it is luck. what questions are asked, buzzing way early and guessing the right answer.. or buzzing in a little early and getting it wrong.. or right.

Even the judging totally varies. We lost a game earlier, because apparently ribs 8-12 are "floating ribs" rather than 'false ribs' like it says on Egans 9th edition p. 158, decreasing ICP by hyperventillating isn't because high CO2 would raise it by causing cerebral vasodilation.. and the first point we get doesn't matter.. haha.

So yeah if we played one game against the same team we might lose, another we'd win, so getting to semi finals is what matters, beyond that it's 'mostly' luck. That said CA won for years straight. Just graduating is a huge advantage. If you took my team 5 months ago.. Yep we were so much better then. CO was smart about their team- assigning different topics and having students from different semesters. Honestly my team, we didn't break up topics and study them, didn't study for months or just graduate +/- a month. How well we did is totally because of how good our school and education is. Macomb Community College! Even though we started studying a little from only a week ago we still got 2nd place!

It was just such an honor to get sportsmanship. My teammates all agreed that it was the best to get; better than 1st place, or 2nd or 3rd.

New Orleans was a wild place. Good food and so many amazing people!

I want a job. Someone hire me please.

My Ideal Jobs would be..

Excuse the whimsical daydream post. But why not.
My ideal/ dream jobs would be:


1 Sutter Davis: I could walk there haha! and I hear great things!

2 Seventh Day Adventist hospitals- they pray with their patients =]

3 Kaiser Permanente Hospitals, My cousins work there as physicians and chiefs, maybe that'll help, but I'm not sure they would hire a new grad no matter who I know. I hear they are amazing places to work so I can dream.

4 A hospital in paradise like Orange county, San Diego or an awesome place like San Francisco that's not too far. Oh lala

5 Childrens Hospitals. A chance to make such a difference- kids are amazing. It's be incredible.

6 Government/ VA. The honor to work with veterans and have job security and good benefits!

7 Any Combination of the above like a seventh day adventist childrens hospital in a lovely place.. or working multiple places... =]


Makes me feel happy just to imagine. oh my. ;]

Preparing for Sputum Bowl, still no job.

Sputum Bowl fast approaches. I feel a mixture of excitement, intimidation, hope, consternation, happiness, and worry. Seeing my Team and friends will be Amazing- But here's the thing: I want to win. I really want to win. As if it's some justification or vindication to the world. I am Good at what I learned. I am worth giving an interview.

My best friends team got 3rd place, just barely missed 1st last year, by one second or something- without my best friend there, who is one of their key players. I feel like my team is comparable to my best friends team, with him on it. So I guess we'll see. I feel like we have a decent chance. even if we win I don't think it'll help in my job search but it'd feel nice. It really would.

All the many Jobs I've applied to with my styling resume, cover letter, Extra certs I got ACLS, PALS, NRP. Well I've gotten not one response other than rejections like "We're sorry, after considering your application, we've decided to pursue other qualified applicants at this time"

I'm intelligent enough to realize that with all the applications these places receive, there is no way to read each persons Resume or contact their references- to really "consider" their applications. There has to be some quick and easy qualifier/disqualifier that they can use. For example multiple choice questions like: "How much Experience do you have? A) 0, B)1 year, C) 2+, D) 5+". Anyone who doesn't answer C or D would get an automatic rejection letter. Well I could only choose A so.. It pretty much would mean that HR never views any of the things which make me stand out. My personality, friendliness, dependability, grades, ability to communicate, my skills with ABG's and Advanced vent modes..

I sent a request of license verification to CA board of resp. care to validate my license so I can apply for one in Utah too. I still have hope, even for California.

My moms getting worse. I'm still glad I moved here to spend time with family. I just wish it didn't make it so hard to get a job. In MI my schools Reputation is Golden. My classmates got interviews just from that. But I guess no schools reputation can travel this far. :/

Cover letter upgrade, Spanish class

I was at church today and a family friend suggested I check out a church employment assistance facility. From what I've heard they help write resumes and cover letters. This is a little ironic since I was working on rewriting my cover letter today before church. I'm not one to turn my nose at advice. You never know.

Another fellow suggested I look into a prison that is being built. Not exactly my first choice, but if my sister could work as a prison nurse, I suppose I could be a prison RT. I doubt I'd have an opportunity to use PALS or NRP or any of the advanced ventilator modes I've learned but I would take that job if I was offered it.

I'm a really positive person. I will take whatever work I can find. But it's important to me to help people and the hospital setting is where I feel I should be.

Tomorrow I sign up for a local Spanish class -intermediate.

NRP

My NRP book came yesterday- one day before my class. I found a scanned version online after I started feeling worried about it coming in time. I had just gotten through reading chapter one at the time our mail arrived. Finished reading the whole book one day later, just a couple hours before the NRP class started. The class was nice. 5 people total. It was pretty relaxed. I was expecting a very intense class after having to complete all 9 online lesson tests when typically only 1-4 and 9 are required. Lesson 5- Endotracheal Intubation and LMA Insertion, Lesson 6- Medications, Lesson 7- Special Considerations, Lesson 8- Resuscitation of Babies Born Preterm. So definitely nice to have all that included. 5,7,8 really seem to apply to RCP's

I met some nurses, one might send me her RT friends number to have someone to ask about what's normal here- apparently they graduated and got hired- with no exp. It gives me some hope, but it may just be that they got hired where they had clincals. If I'd stayed in Michigan that might have been my story, but family is important to me.

Respiratory therapy isn't as in demand as I was led to believe it was. I've been wondering if the reason I haven't any interviews yet is a Llck of paid work experience. I preformed the role of an actual therapist in a few different hospitals- the only real difference was I had preceptors who checked my work and I had the word student on my badge. Why wouldn't that be adequate to start an entry level position? Then again my colleges RT program is highly esteemed nationally so maybe other programs don't prepare their students as well?

Job search 2.0

So LA was not the cornucopia of RCP jobs I had imagined. I was inevitably faced with a "catch 22" Need experience to get a job/ need job to get experience. So I've moved back to Davis and hopefully someone will give me a chance to be a strong therapist and do good work; To show them they made a good investment in hiring me.