New world....

i have been on base a few weeks and have seen a little of a military hospital. I can start to see some differences between military health setting and civilian health setting. Mind you, these are initial observations and my change or become better formed as time goes by and this facility may not represent what one may find at all military hospitals/clinics across the military.

The first thing I noticed was how quiet the hospital is. My first tour was on a weekend and I just thought the low traffic was attributed to it being a weekend, but over the past few weeks I have been in the facility on many weekdays. While it may have a few more people milling about on the weekday it still remains oddly quiet (yup I said the Q-word). I have yet to see the chaos and the running around that i have seen over the years at the many civilian facilities where I have worked.

The staff appear so much more relaxed. People are sitting down, the patients are so very quiet and the staffing is way better than i have ever seen in my entire life. I hear the staff talk about when it is busy, but to be honest I cannot see how that can happen. i have worked in some amped up massively crazy places and I have loved it. for the life of me I cannot imagine this facility coming anywhere near what i have experienced over my career. I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves and see what it is really like first hand.

The experience level is not quite what I am accustomed to. When I say this I am not faulting anyone or claiming people are unskilled, but just that there are so many people with less than a couple years of experience. Most of the staff have entered the military as their first job and have no clue what working in civilian hospitals is like. I hear them talk about getting out of the military and taking a job in a larger medical center and I have to smile. They do not know just how good they have it. But you cannot tell someone this they have to experience it. So for those who desire to leave, i wish them all the luck in the world and would love to ask them their opinion after about a year in the real world.

i have noticed a level of pride in the facility that i have never seen in a civilian hospital. people in military service seem to really get it. They know that the most important thing we do is support the troops and the patients who come in for care. I was very impressed with the level of professionalism and commitment to the mission. The morale seemed high and it felt like a team that really supported one another. It reaffirmed why i joined and made me look forward to giving my time to the cause.

i am wandering through the facility looking for various departments/rooms as part of my in processing and on several occasions people came to me and asked me where I needed to be. More than a few people actually walked me to the right department or the direction where I needed to be. You do not see this type of customer service in a civilian facility, everyone is always to busy and the place it always too crowded. It was very impressive and makes me want to do the same for people if I ever actually know where anything is in the hospital.

The staff all have additional duties. I had heard this before getting here and now I understand what these duties are - sort of. Different tasks assigned that help the team function more smoothly and relieve the workload on the managers/administrative folks. With the healthy staffing and low patient ratios it seems more than manageable to complete the tasks within a typical work day.

Overall, I am confused with all the military jargon and routines. I feel like i am expected to know more about the military side than I actually do. I am told it will take time to adjust. i am glad that my clinical skills are sufficient and I can concentrate on finding ways to fit in. I find I am looking forward to getting up and going to work to explore this new world that i have entered. As someone who has flirted with burnout it is nice to find learning and discovery once again. I hope this feeling of excitement lasts, but I think a lot depends on me keeping at it and pushing myself to excel.