Just lost my job. We sold the mobile pet grooming business that we have been operating for five years. My preps included making sure that I had current copies pf professional licenses, activating the
old girl network, and getting a resume up on some websites. I am planning some down time before I start the new gig. I have also had to adjust my aspirations a bit. The job that I love-emergency nursing-carries with it the expectation that the employee can work 12-16 hour shifts, lift 300 pound patients, and restrain fragrant yet abusive drunks. My aging body can no longer do this. Like an old fighter, I still have the moves, but no longer have the wind. That means that I need to redefine myself in terms of what I can do, rather than what I want to do. I know too well that it is perfectly possible to love things that are bad for you, but losing them still hurts. The good part is that health care continues to offer lots of jobs. That is a thought I would share with folks looking for work. Nursing is a good 'second career'; education is available at local community colleges and online through Empire College. The work is plentiful and fulfilling. Pace University in Westchester County, NY, ran a weekend/evening program that tended to fill up with retiring NYC police and firemen. Upon graduation, these folks hit hospitals which were used to new grads who were 20 years old, sorta shy and diffident. These folks were neither shy nor diffident, and had quite a remarkable and positive effect on the profession of nursing in the lower hudson valley.