Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Happy Case Management Week!

At work, I am part of the Case Management Department. This department consists of nurse case managers, social workers, and assistants who work in tandem on a patient's discharge. While case managers handle the medical aspects of a discharge, the social worker's primary role is to address social issues such as coping, substance abuse, family dynamics, community support, safety, abuse, and end of life decision making.

This week is National Case Management Week, and I am pretty happy that my job is including the social workers in the festivities. This week, I received a free pin, free lunch, and free gift certificates. Very sweet. Next up: National Social Work Month in March!

Don't forget to thank your case manager, social worker, and discharge planner for ensuring that each hospital patient gets discharged in a safe and timely manner!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A new beginning

Wow, it's been almost a year since my last post! I suppose time flies when you're busy. Let me summarize the events of the past year:

-I completed my MSW program last May. While I am relieved to be done, there are times when I miss the student lifestyle. I suppose contributing to this feeling is the fact that...
-I moved home. Considering I didn't have a job lined up upon graduating, I took advantage of my parents' generosity and moved back home. While this is meant to be a temporary arrangement, my parents do not want me moving out until I secure a full time job. Moving home has certain been an adjustment, as I enjoyed living on my own. However, the biggest benefit is that I'm saving tons of money by not paying rent (my parents refuse to accept rent money, telling me to save it instead).
-I landed a per diem job at a hospital. After three months of obsessively searching and applying for jobs, I was finally hired by a staffing agency. I currently work at an acute hospital as a medical social worker. While planning discharges and addressing multiple patient issues can be exhausting, I find that my days go by rather quickly. Overall, I am content with the work I do and happy that my salary is higher than my initial expectations (which were really low). Currently, I am working full time hours as one of my co-workers is on leave for a few weeks.
-I am still applying for jobs. Ideally, I would like to land a full time job with benefits so I can move out of my parents' house already. However, I am not in too much of a hurry to sign away the next 30 years of my life just yet. There are a few things I'd still like to do, such as travel and dedicate time to hobbies I've been neglecting because of school. When I feel ready (and the right job comes along), I'll move out. Ideally, I'll have saved up a decent amount of rent money from not having paid rent while at home.

Anyway, that's my life update. Now that I'm not busy with school, I'll see what I can do about updating this blog more often!

A new beginning

Wow, it's been almost a year since my last post! I suppose time flies when you're busy. Let me summarize the events of the past year:

-I completed my MSW program last May. While I am relieved to be done, there are times when I miss the student lifestyle. I suppose contributing to this feeling is the fact that...
-I moved home. Considering I didn't have a job lined up upon graduating, I took advantage of my parents' generosity and moved back home. While this is meant to be a temporary arrangement, my parents do not want me moving out until I secure a full time job. Moving home has certain been an adjustment, as I enjoyed living on my own. However, the biggest benefit is that I'm saving tons of money by not paying rent (my parents refuse to accept rent money, telling me to save it instead).
-I landed a per diem job at a hospital. After three months of obsessively searching and applying for jobs, I was finally hired by a staffing agency. I currently work at an acute hospital as a medical social worker. While planning discharges and addressing multiple patient issues can be exhausting, I find that my days go by rather quickly. Overall, I am content with the work I do and happy that my salary is higher than my initial expectations (which were really low). Currently, I am working full time hours as one of my co-workers is on leave for a few weeks.
-I am still applying for jobs. Ideally, I would like to land a full time job with benefits so I can move out of my parents' house already. However, I am not in too much of a hurry to sign away the next 30 years of my life just yet. There are a few things I'd still like to do, such as travel and dedicate time to hobbies I've been neglecting because of school. When I feel ready (and the right job comes along), I'll move out. Ideally, I'll have saved up a decent amount of rent money from not having paid rent while at home.

Anyway, that's my life update. Now that I'm not busy with school, I'll see what I can do about updating this blog more often!