Wednesday, July 26, 2006
details
Since you asked...
Medical Electrophysiology Technician
I said that this job is no where near as good as the title sounds. Here's why:
Basically I would go in at 8:30pm, hook patient up to sleep monitoring devices, and watch them sleep til 7am. I would imagine that staying awake just to watch other people sleep is a very miserable task. Not to mention, the pay schedule is a bit funny: $ 12/hr for 1st 3 months, $ 15/hr after 1st 3 months, $ 18/hr after 1.5 years and passing the licensing exam. I think they were trying to offer me a career I don’t want.
So basically I lost a day of wages (plus $4 on 0.5 hr of parking) just to confirm that there are worse jobs out here and to be appreciative of what I’ve got.
|
Medical Electrophysiology Technician
I said that this job is no where near as good as the title sounds. Here's why:
Basically I would go in at 8:30pm, hook patient up to sleep monitoring devices, and watch them sleep til 7am. I would imagine that staying awake just to watch other people sleep is a very miserable task. Not to mention, the pay schedule is a bit funny: $ 12/hr for 1st 3 months, $ 15/hr after 1st 3 months, $ 18/hr after 1.5 years and passing the licensing exam. I think they were trying to offer me a career I don’t want.
So basically I lost a day of wages (plus $4 on 0.5 hr of parking) just to confirm that there are worse jobs out here and to be appreciative of what I’ve got.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
and the winner is...
It's a HELL NO to the position in Kitchener.
Staying in Hammy!
|
Staying in Hammy!
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Possibilities
On Wednesday I called home and was told that I received another job interview. It's for the Medical Electrophysiology Technician position at the Sleep Clinic in Kitchener. That's a heck of a job title if you ask me. The trouble is that this job opportunity came too late; it's been a full two weeks since I started working in Hamilton. However, it made me re-evaluate my present job and shook my resolve to live in Hamilton.
Tell me tell you a bit about my present job:
The place I work is called Maximum Independence Inc., an Occupational Therapy company ran by a couple, Maike and Carl McCaskell. Along with them there are two additional administrative assistants, two Occupational Therapy Assistants (with flashy certificates that say so), and three other Occupational Therapists. I work for Maike, the “head” Occupational Therapist, or in other words, the boss of everyone there. Maike is strong, outgoing and honest, and it's not hard to tell that she is the dominate partner in her marriage with Carl. She has had the same assistant, Janin, for the past six years and that’s who I was hired to replace. On my first day I was given a thick medical brief containing the assessment reports of various medical professions to summarize. It made my brain hurt. My progress was “impressive” according to Maike the next day, and immediately I was slapped with another report. The task seemed daunting at first, partly because I was given minimal instruction and assistance. But it went okay. The same trend continued for the past two weeks: Maike slappin’ piles of reports for me to edit, summarize etcetera, and me meeting her demands. At this point, I already feel that this job is too easy. And that’s disappointing. Maike should really stop telling me that I am doing everything perfectly the first go. Decoding the medical reports for the right information didn’t take too long to learn, double checking prices and recommendations was straight forward. The most difficult part of my job is to figure out Maike’s insane schedule, communicating with the law offices and booking appointments with clients. Or in other words, the actual secretary portion.
I personally think that I am way over-qualified for this job. The pay for this position, according to the job description, is fair. A science degree is not necessary for this position, courses in pathology, anatomy and physiology would be sufficed. I don't think one should get paid more for doing this job. But I am capable of so much more. So I asked myself, why am I working here? Why am I working at a job that’s basically…a job (not a career). Why am I not reaching my full potential and being paid less than what I could get? It's not all about money, but I can't deny that I judge jobs by pay rates. I look around my office, and the only position I would want to see myself in 20 years down the road is Maike’s – being the boss of everyone. Right now, I am at the bottom of the ladder and I don’t like it.
I am impatient. This job would give me temporary financial security and the time to relax. Somehow I just can't seem to accept things are they are and stop dreaming about something better.
That's why I decided to for the interview in Kitchener. I just wanted to know, what else I am good for and what other potential road are there to get me to where I want to be – Medschool.
Would I want to uproot myself from Hamilton and move? Not really. I do like Hamilton as a city and I quite like my little flat and my lovely roommates. But it's annoying not even having a buddy to go to the bars with (not that I have the energy to go out, but (I'd like to have this option). Waiting for my hot roommate from France to show up is getting frustrating too.
On Thursday, I called my friend Jing up and basically said “I got another job interview, and I am going to it.” According to her, the resolve in my voice was worrying, and she gave me this whole lecture on being patient and not be rash in decision making. I am taking her advice to heart. All in all, my experience so far has confirmed my decision to keep on pursuing medicine. The details of that pursuit are still in the shadows though. Bah!
|
Tell me tell you a bit about my present job:
The place I work is called Maximum Independence Inc., an Occupational Therapy company ran by a couple, Maike and Carl McCaskell. Along with them there are two additional administrative assistants, two Occupational Therapy Assistants (with flashy certificates that say so), and three other Occupational Therapists. I work for Maike, the “head” Occupational Therapist, or in other words, the boss of everyone there. Maike is strong, outgoing and honest, and it's not hard to tell that she is the dominate partner in her marriage with Carl. She has had the same assistant, Janin, for the past six years and that’s who I was hired to replace. On my first day I was given a thick medical brief containing the assessment reports of various medical professions to summarize. It made my brain hurt. My progress was “impressive” according to Maike the next day, and immediately I was slapped with another report. The task seemed daunting at first, partly because I was given minimal instruction and assistance. But it went okay. The same trend continued for the past two weeks: Maike slappin’ piles of reports for me to edit, summarize etcetera, and me meeting her demands. At this point, I already feel that this job is too easy. And that’s disappointing. Maike should really stop telling me that I am doing everything perfectly the first go. Decoding the medical reports for the right information didn’t take too long to learn, double checking prices and recommendations was straight forward. The most difficult part of my job is to figure out Maike’s insane schedule, communicating with the law offices and booking appointments with clients. Or in other words, the actual secretary portion.
I personally think that I am way over-qualified for this job. The pay for this position, according to the job description, is fair. A science degree is not necessary for this position, courses in pathology, anatomy and physiology would be sufficed. I don't think one should get paid more for doing this job. But I am capable of so much more. So I asked myself, why am I working here? Why am I working at a job that’s basically…a job (not a career). Why am I not reaching my full potential and being paid less than what I could get? It's not all about money, but I can't deny that I judge jobs by pay rates. I look around my office, and the only position I would want to see myself in 20 years down the road is Maike’s – being the boss of everyone. Right now, I am at the bottom of the ladder and I don’t like it.
I am impatient. This job would give me temporary financial security and the time to relax. Somehow I just can't seem to accept things are they are and stop dreaming about something better.
That's why I decided to for the interview in Kitchener. I just wanted to know, what else I am good for and what other potential road are there to get me to where I want to be – Medschool.
Would I want to uproot myself from Hamilton and move? Not really. I do like Hamilton as a city and I quite like my little flat and my lovely roommates. But it's annoying not even having a buddy to go to the bars with (not that I have the energy to go out, but (I'd like to have this option). Waiting for my hot roommate from France to show up is getting frustrating too.
On Thursday, I called my friend Jing up and basically said “I got another job interview, and I am going to it.” According to her, the resolve in my voice was worrying, and she gave me this whole lecture on being patient and not be rash in decision making. I am taking her advice to heart. All in all, my experience so far has confirmed my decision to keep on pursuing medicine. The details of that pursuit are still in the shadows though. Bah!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
New beginning
Well, I have already found a flat for myself in Hamilton. It is cozy and the landlord and my two roommates upstairs are very nice. My landlord and her two dogs lives on the first floor, my living space is on the second floor, and the other two housemates (a Chinese couple) lives on the third floor. Everything is basically there: furniture, microwave, internet cable, tv with cable, bedding, even extra blankets. There is a large balcony outside my living room which is completely covered by two giant grapevines and makes a great chill spot for company in the summer. Come September I will have to share the living space with an International Exchange student from France. I hope she will be hot. This place will do for the time being, as in, at least for the next four months. I may consider apartment living in the future, it all depends on how fed up I get with bussing everyday.
Moving wasn’t anything painful. Dad made a trip last Thursday and then dropped me off again last Sunday along with some extra stuff. Get this, my biggest item to move was two white chairs for the balcony. Mom was freaking out about leaving me to sort everything out and I (literately) had to shove her out the door. Then she emailed me this frantic message asking me if I want anything else dropped off, telling me to close my windows and door at night, and to take notes at work...blah...blah... Considering that I went to Australia for half a year where I handle all aspects of moving without a car …you’d think that she would have a little more faith in my abilities and experiences.
The first day of work didn’t quite start out right. First, it was raining, and out of all the things I brought with me, I was missing an umbrella. At least I packed a rain coat. Getting up at 7 am was very miserable. I didn’t have milk in the fridge (my usual brekky) and subbed with pineapple juice instead. I got out the door in time to catch the bus, but had issues locking the front door. Then I couldn’t find the bus stop (don’t ask me how this is possible) and got picked up by the right bus anyways (I guess I looked a little sad and lost, drenched in the rain and all). The bus ride seemed to take forever, going up the mountain then just kept on going and going...I got to work 10 minutes late. But I didn’t get yelled at by my boss. My first task was to summarize this giant consultation reports. My brain didn’t like that one bit. It’s been at least two months since I gave my brain a workout and it resented my boss’s command with a headache and frequent blank outs. After work I went to Limeridge mall and got myself a cell phone. The first call I made? Home, of course. My brother wasn’t happy to hear from me and Mom was a little too happy (or just relieved, as she claimed).
Apparently I made good progress on my first day, as my boss was impressed with my work and then presented another report to summarize the next day. Oh goodies. I am shocked about how much medical legal consultation and assessment cost. My boss charges $ 140 an hour. No wonder she drives a Mercedes. Asides from getting use to the nature of this type of work, I really have no complaints about the working environment. There is no one watching over my shoulder constantly, everyone seems to be really friendly and helpful and people bought me coffee (oh I do miss Timmy’s!). Yesterday I was honestly about to crash at 11am from exhaustion but then candy miraculously appeared and after having lunch with the girls and coffee I was good to go for the rest of the day.
Okay, now I need to get back to work....
Ching
|
Moving wasn’t anything painful. Dad made a trip last Thursday and then dropped me off again last Sunday along with some extra stuff. Get this, my biggest item to move was two white chairs for the balcony. Mom was freaking out about leaving me to sort everything out and I (literately) had to shove her out the door. Then she emailed me this frantic message asking me if I want anything else dropped off, telling me to close my windows and door at night, and to take notes at work...blah...blah... Considering that I went to Australia for half a year where I handle all aspects of moving without a car …you’d think that she would have a little more faith in my abilities and experiences.
The first day of work didn’t quite start out right. First, it was raining, and out of all the things I brought with me, I was missing an umbrella. At least I packed a rain coat. Getting up at 7 am was very miserable. I didn’t have milk in the fridge (my usual brekky) and subbed with pineapple juice instead. I got out the door in time to catch the bus, but had issues locking the front door. Then I couldn’t find the bus stop (don’t ask me how this is possible) and got picked up by the right bus anyways (I guess I looked a little sad and lost, drenched in the rain and all). The bus ride seemed to take forever, going up the mountain then just kept on going and going...I got to work 10 minutes late. But I didn’t get yelled at by my boss. My first task was to summarize this giant consultation reports. My brain didn’t like that one bit. It’s been at least two months since I gave my brain a workout and it resented my boss’s command with a headache and frequent blank outs. After work I went to Limeridge mall and got myself a cell phone. The first call I made? Home, of course. My brother wasn’t happy to hear from me and Mom was a little too happy (or just relieved, as she claimed).
Apparently I made good progress on my first day, as my boss was impressed with my work and then presented another report to summarize the next day. Oh goodies. I am shocked about how much medical legal consultation and assessment cost. My boss charges $ 140 an hour. No wonder she drives a Mercedes. Asides from getting use to the nature of this type of work, I really have no complaints about the working environment. There is no one watching over my shoulder constantly, everyone seems to be really friendly and helpful and people bought me coffee (oh I do miss Timmy’s!). Yesterday I was honestly about to crash at 11am from exhaustion but then candy miraculously appeared and after having lunch with the girls and coffee I was good to go for the rest of the day.
Okay, now I need to get back to work....
Ching
Saturday, July 01, 2006
If kids must eat their greens then Ching must do lab work
Here are my impairments in life:
1. French impaired.
2. Waitress impaired.
3. Laboratory impaired.
4. Directions impaired (just thought that I would point this one out)
Impairment #2 and #3 are similar. I won’t ever waitress because I am slow, clumsy and can’t stand being yelled at for spilling food, drinks and mixing up orders. I don’t want to work in a laboratory because of the unpredictable results, the repetitiveness, long hours and over time (how it takes over my life), the clean up, the annoying lab book updates, the fight for bench space and reagents and mundane data analysis. (Sara and Jack, dare to prove me wrong on the above point?)Do you see how those two are the same? I am not cut out for them and I also lack the interest. Ideally, if one is not cut out for something and have little interest in the matter, one can choose avoidance. That worked well for waitressing. I am sensing that I might have to venture into laboratory research work for the sake of adding points to my medschool application.
If kids must eat their greens then Ching must do lab work. Oh the torture and misery ahead.
|
1. French impaired.
2. Waitress impaired.
3. Laboratory impaired.
4. Directions impaired (just thought that I would point this one out)
Impairment #2 and #3 are similar. I won’t ever waitress because I am slow, clumsy and can’t stand being yelled at for spilling food, drinks and mixing up orders. I don’t want to work in a laboratory because of the unpredictable results, the repetitiveness, long hours and over time (how it takes over my life), the clean up, the annoying lab book updates, the fight for bench space and reagents and mundane data analysis. (Sara and Jack, dare to prove me wrong on the above point?)Do you see how those two are the same? I am not cut out for them and I also lack the interest. Ideally, if one is not cut out for something and have little interest in the matter, one can choose avoidance. That worked well for waitressing. I am sensing that I might have to venture into laboratory research work for the sake of adding points to my medschool application.
If kids must eat their greens then Ching must do lab work. Oh the torture and misery ahead.
huh?
You scored as Art. You should be an Art major! How bohemian!
What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com |
Okay, I guess the only good explanation I can think of is that I like too many things but there is only one of me and 24 hrs a day to go around. And that just because I love doing something doesn't necessarily mean I will make a living out of it.
