It’s taken me a long time to get where I am now. I have been in healthcare for over 25 years; I became an LPN for the wrong reasons, my Mom wanted me to become a Doctor but it wasn’t my real calling, but I’m kicking myself now but I stuck by it for 18 months.
Out of school, my first patient load were paraplegic and quadriplegic patients, not the case load you give to a new nurse, but I ran with it; I was the employee of the month twice in a row and my patients loved me.
As time went by, I realized it wasn’t for me; I wanted to do more for my patient besides charting, drawing blood, giving medications, and bathing them.
I resigned from my nursing post and moved on. I already had a degree in marketing and public relations and so I decided to combine my medical, marketing and public relations background to a new and exciting career (Concierge Medicine).
I moved back to that states from Puerto Rico. I was born and raised in New York, I was used to the faster pace. I decided to move to Florida, it was the mainland although I kept close to Puerto Rico just in case there were emergencies.
I worked in hospitality, both Florida and Puerto Rico for years while trying to get back into the medical field; although I did not renew my nursing license but my dream of being in healthcare never faltered.
I started looking for another opportunity and found a position in Air Ambulance. I coordinated air evac flights; then grew into an International marketing director position.
I got to travel the world bringing specialty care patients to South Florida.
Time went by and I got the chance to work in hospitals. I opened a new International patient service center. I was known in South Florida as the International man.
Looking for greener pastures I left my hospital and moved to another hospital chain doing the same on a broader scale.
My hospital was bought by another hospital chain. I stayed for a few years and moved back to my original hospital and re-established the International center again.
Then the story of my life; my hospital was bought by an education teaching organization. I was there 21 combined years until I was laid off due to re-organization.
I have been out of “the place”, just shy a year in a few months without a real job, which is okay.
I went through many changes, one being clinically depressed (plus, plus, plus), being bitter, being lonely, among other things. My health is optimal now; it wasn’t before due to all the STRESS, TENSIONS and uncertainties.
Now I am free as a bird to do what I want; I am working as a consultant with several companies. I get to wake up at a decent hour and work long hours without the stress and bullshit one puts up within a corporate setting. I will never go back to corporate America!
I like being my own man, employee or whatever you want to call it (Entrepreneurship). I love that I have a choice, I get to decide what I want to do, who to work with and how much I want to make.
It’s taken me this long to be where I want to be, to see that I am an asset, and that my experience counts. I like that I am a man of the world, not a number, or a degree or an income bracket or an age group or part of a minority.