OMG CANADA!

I've been communicating regularly with the department manager at a hospital outside Vancouver BC.

I got an email from her today. She wants to interview me in the next couple weeks, so that when I pass the CAMRT exam in May, everything will be in place for me to start working ASAP!

This is rather convenient, since Paul will be on Spring Break, and I'll be off from the 22nd-27th.

Job Hunting

So, that full-time CT position I applied for at that other hospital? LOL, there's NO way I'm gonna get that job. I got an email from the hiring manager the other day: 23 people had applied for that job, and more were applying daily.

I'm done applying for jobs for the time being. I've got other things to concentrate on, now that I'm getting CT training.

Yay for job security!

So my boss called me Thursday, to discuss the March schedule and the possibility of CT training.

Apparently she was rather confused/mistaken about the whole Canada thing, she thought we were moving like next month, LOL. I told her, "Oh no, I'm taking their x-ray registry but that's not until May, and I'm not sure how long the hiring process takes up there, so I won't be leaving for quite some time." Which is true. The relief in her voice was obvious. She said that they really wanted me to get up to speed on the CT scanner as quickly as possible, so she's scheduling me with WG and CV (our day shift CT techs) a couple days a week! *GLEE!* I'm sure I'll be paid for it, but even if I weren't, I wouldn't care.

Also, I am scheduled to work the nights of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and may get scheduled for some nights mid-month, because our other night CT tech is going to be out on medical leave, and they haven't hired that temp person to replace her. I am also scheduled for some nights toward the end of the month, but I'm not sure which ones yet, my boss said she'd email the schedule to me. I hope I don't have to work the night of the 27th. If I do, I'll ask KN if she can trade with me. I've got a badass party to attend that night.

Update

I still haven't heard back from that local clinic where my friend/coworker works. The last I heard from them, about a month ago, was that they were still checking my references, and not to worry. I've all but given up hope on getting that job. Oh well. My friend/coworker says they kinda suck anyway.

I didn't get that VA job in Oklahoma City, although I was one of the short-listed candidates. I guess they had enough local applicants who didn't require relocation assistance. Oh well. Oklahoma sucks anyway.

The CEO of a little hospital in Idaho called me a couple weeks ago...I'd applied for a job there back in November, it's a full-time, benefitted combined lab/x-ray position which means I'd be drawing blood AND taking x-rays. It's 7 days on, 7 days off, which is an interesting schedule. He said he's had a hard time finding people interested in the position because it's in a rather remote location, and that he wanted to do a face-to-face interview, but I'm not sure I feel like flying out to frickin' Boise and then renting a car and driving two hours just for an interview, when I've got plans to sit for the CAMRT in May. Oh well. Idaho sucks anyway.

I get to have a chat with my boss sometime this week regarding CT training. Apparently she doesn't want to give me official CT training because she isn't sure of my "commitment to this hospital". I kinda want to tell her, "Look, I've been at this hospital for the better part of a year, despite the fact that I had another unscheduled position that paid $5 more an hour and I quit after one day because I didn't feel comfortable there like I do here. You'll also notice that when I was teaching, I worked around my schedule here, instead of the other way around. How's THAT for commitment?" Besides, the only reason I'm even looking for another job is for healthcare benefits. I don't want to leave this place, I love it, the people are nice, and we have a really well-run department. But I just got a bill from the ER at my own hospital, and it was over $600, on top of the $400+ bill that Paul got when I had to take HIM to my hospital's ER last month. How the hell am I supposed to pay all that when I'm the only one working and I only get scheduled two or three days a week? All I really need is a part-time position WITH BENEFITS. Is that honestly too much to ask for?

On a related note, today I applied for a full-time, benefitted CT tech position at a hospital about half an hour away. They only require an associate's degree, and I not only have a bachelor's degree with an entire term of CT, I also have about 10 full months of CT experience. I interviewed there for a position in their cardiac cath lab last year, like 2 days after I applied, so I know those guys are on the ball when it comes to HR stuff.

I got all my CAMRT application materials together and mailed them in on Feb. 13th, they arrived in Ottawa on the 17th, a day before the deadline. Now comes the fun part: waiting. I hope they decide that my curriculum is substantially similar to a Canadian program. I wonder how long it takes. Maybe I'll call them in a couple hours, since they're on Eastern time and it's not like I'm even doing anything at work tonight. Good news, though: I've got a couple hospitals in the Vancouver, BC area already interested in hiring me once I pass the CAMRT exam, which I've found is similar to the ARRT exam that I passed with an 88%, two years ago. Woohoo!

I need to call the hospital business office when I get home from work, and see if we can qualify for financial assistance with those ER bills. The last thing I need on my credit record is YET ANOTHER blemish, it's utterly destroyed as it is. Ugh.