Dr. Benson and Nurse Jamie
I can't believe that it has been a year since we moved to Portland. It feels like we just got here and Ryan's first year of residency is already almost over! Funny how as you get older, the years seem to go by faster. Anyway, Ryan's first day of his intern year was on June 13th, 2011. We had a nice, warm welcome into the OHSU Emergency Medicine Residency program. There was a welcome party for the incoming residents, an ED breakfast, rafting trip, ED BBQ, a graduation party for the 3rd years graduating from the program, and a dinner at one of the attending physician's homes all within the first couple of weeks of us being here. Though, I'd be lying if I said that the past year has been all daisies. Intern year has been tough. Ryan has been working 70-80 hours per week and normally only has 1 day off each week. His schedule is also very inconsistent and he is constantly switching between day shifts, swing shifts, and night shifts. Some of his rotations have been better than others (ICU months are some of the worst and Anesthesia has probably been the best hours wise), but his schedule is pretty grueling overall. Poor fella. He's handled it like a champ though and learning so much. We have to admit we are both looking forward to the slightly lighter schedule that comes with being a 2nd year resident.
As for me, I was lucky enough to snag my first nursing job after only a couple months of applying. The job market out here is terrible and it is not uncommon for RNs to go 6+ months before even getting so much as an interview. I started working for a mental health facility for children and adolescents back in August 2011. I began as an on-call employee, then took a 30 hour/week position working Thurs-Sat swing shifts, and I just got promoted a couple months ago to lead nurse working 4 days/week Mon-Fri from 10am-8pm. It is a very difficult job and takes an emotional toll on me some days (it's hard to believe what some of these poor, innocent children have been through in their short lives), but it is also very rewarding. I am really loving it so far. Plus it helps that I adore my coworkers!
Despite that fact that our work schedules rarely allow for us to have time off at the same time, we've managed to squeeze in some fun along the way to help keep us sane. Although we have a ton more to cover, we've explored a small part of what Oregon has to offer including the coast, Trillium Lake, the Tillamook cheese factory, Powell's Books, Portland farmers' markets, some beautiful parks/hikes, Multnomah Falls, Portland food carts, the Pittock Mansion, and no sales tax (SO awesome!!). Ryan and I have also become good friends with the others in his class, as well as their significant others, and we all try to get together as often as we can for dinner, games, BBQs, or whatever. We have made a few friends in our ward at church too, though not as many as we would like. We were called to be in the nursery shortly after we moved and that makes it incredibly difficult to meet people. It also doesn't help that Ryan is only able to come to church about once every 3 months! Oh, well. What are ya gonna do? Here's hoping we have better luck meeting the adults in our ward this next year! Overall, Portland has been pretty good to us so far. We have learned that we much prefer the gorgeous summers over the long, rainy winters. When we first moved here, it was around this time when the weather was getting really nice and I think we had a bit of a skewed view of what Portland is really like 9 months out of the year. We made it through one winter, so I think we can make it through a couple more, but right now, we are just happy that summer is finally in sight and we can look forward to sunny skies and lots of outdoor adventures.
As for me, I was lucky enough to snag my first nursing job after only a couple months of applying. The job market out here is terrible and it is not uncommon for RNs to go 6+ months before even getting so much as an interview. I started working for a mental health facility for children and adolescents back in August 2011. I began as an on-call employee, then took a 30 hour/week position working Thurs-Sat swing shifts, and I just got promoted a couple months ago to lead nurse working 4 days/week Mon-Fri from 10am-8pm. It is a very difficult job and takes an emotional toll on me some days (it's hard to believe what some of these poor, innocent children have been through in their short lives), but it is also very rewarding. I am really loving it so far. Plus it helps that I adore my coworkers!
Despite that fact that our work schedules rarely allow for us to have time off at the same time, we've managed to squeeze in some fun along the way to help keep us sane. Although we have a ton more to cover, we've explored a small part of what Oregon has to offer including the coast, Trillium Lake, the Tillamook cheese factory, Powell's Books, Portland farmers' markets, some beautiful parks/hikes, Multnomah Falls, Portland food carts, the Pittock Mansion, and no sales tax (SO awesome!!). Ryan and I have also become good friends with the others in his class, as well as their significant others, and we all try to get together as often as we can for dinner, games, BBQs, or whatever. We have made a few friends in our ward at church too, though not as many as we would like. We were called to be in the nursery shortly after we moved and that makes it incredibly difficult to meet people. It also doesn't help that Ryan is only able to come to church about once every 3 months! Oh, well. What are ya gonna do? Here's hoping we have better luck meeting the adults in our ward this next year! Overall, Portland has been pretty good to us so far. We have learned that we much prefer the gorgeous summers over the long, rainy winters. When we first moved here, it was around this time when the weather was getting really nice and I think we had a bit of a skewed view of what Portland is really like 9 months out of the year. We made it through one winter, so I think we can make it through a couple more, but right now, we are just happy that summer is finally in sight and we can look forward to sunny skies and lots of outdoor adventures.
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