and that's how it's done

towards the end of my clinical rotation at St. John's cancer center, i was getting a little anxious about getting a job.

specifically, a job at St. John's as a PRN therapist that had opened up.

i had applied for this job a few weeks before i was to start my clinical rotation there, and within a week of applying the HR department had contacted me. i figured they were just calling all the applicants, but i still felt this was a good sign. when i started my clinicals there, i busted my ass to prove myself to the therapists and staff in the department.

one therapists in particular kept bothering me to hand in a hard copy of my resume specifically to the manager. this was a good idea - not one that hadn't crossed my mind - so obviously, i agreed that i would. everyday of that week, this therapists would bother me about it. it got a little redundant. especially due to the fact that the manager, Joe, was on vacation that week. i physically couldn't hand him my resume until the next week. so after the fourth day of this therapist hassling me (and the third day i had told him that, again, i would as soon as Joe was back), i was thinking dude. calm. down.

"has Shelly applied for the position?" i asked him after one of his pesterings. Shelly was a student from another program who was there on a clinical rotation for at least a month prior to my arrival.

"i don't know," he says as quick as he brushes of my question.

....well, ok then.

chatter was going on about the PRN position around the center like whispering church women. and majority of the time, it was in my favor. i did hand my resume to Joe personally, who politely took it while telling me that HR generally handles the application process-not him. yet in a conversation later that week he referenced my resume, so i knew he read it.

although i had initially wanted to move far, far away, i was starting to realize some things. one being that, in having my clinicals in 5 different sites around St. Louis, i've already established connections. i've already made impressions -whether bad or good - on the therapists and staff at these sites. and let me tell you, word travels fast. the radiation therapy community in this city is like an all girls high school cafeteria. everyone has their certain table they sit at with the same group of people everyday, but everyone knows each other. and everyone sits and talks about everyone else not sitting at their table. it's a sensitive bunch, too. cat fights are not uncommon. but this system can be used to your advantage, too, if you know how to work it.

even though i didn't realize it, the day i started clinicals was the day i made a bed in this radiation therapy web. i had established a place in this professional community, whether i was wanted or not. people met me, formed opinions about me, and told other people. and like i said earlier, word travels fast. they tell you before you start clinicals that everyday will be a job interview. and they're right. because one bad day is the day people will remember. and they're going to tell their friends. one bad day, and you won't be able to get a job in the entire city.

another thing i realized: i wanted to work.

i wanted to work bad. i didn't want to wait forever after graduating to find a job, whether in st. louis or not. i didn't want to lose all of my applied clinical knowledge i'd built up over the past 9 months.

i wanted this job.

as my clinicals are coming to a conclusion, i get another call from HR asking one question: was i a certified RT(T). i replied no, but that i was planning on taking my certification test within a month after graduation. shit, i thought, there are probably other applicants already certified.

after discussing this phone call with my teacher and therapists at St. John's, i decided i need to talk to Joe about it. At clinic one day, i call him in his office upstairs.

"hey, Joe, it's Nicole. are you busy right now? can i come up and talk to you?"

"uhh... yeah, if you hurry up. i'm leaving in about 5 minutes."

i hang up the phone and race to the nearest staircase, where i run up the three flights of stairs to Joe's office. two steps at a time (two steppin', if you will). now, i'm not out of shape. but i'm pretty sure i caused some alarm when i burst into his office panting like drowning hippo who just came up for air - something like this:

"i just...(panting)...wanted to ask you...(panting)...again about the...(more panting)...PRN position." he stares back at me-eyes slightly wider than usually, mouth slightly ajar. i go on telling him how i am afraid HR has thrown out my application, explaining the phone call i had received from HR asking if i was yet a registered RT(T).

"no, i've talked to HR. they know that we can hire you before you are registered and that you have a certain time frame to get accredited," he explains.

"oh, ok," i respond. but i don't get up. this isn't good enough for me. i'm done with my clinicals in just a few short days, and then i'll be gone. i'm not leaving his office until i have more.

so we sit. silent. staring back at one another. my face saying, i'm not leaving until you tell me if i have this job or not. it felt like an hour went by, but considering he had to leave his office in a matter of minutes it was probably less than that. [in the movie of my life, it will be a dramatic scene: me intensely staring into his eyes through my brow, not blinking. sweat starts to form on his forehead as he starts fumbling with his hands. and then he cracks-]

"......so, there's 2 PRN positions open. we are going to offer one to you and one to Shelly."

"ok! thank you!" i jump up and prance out of his office. that was all i needed.

the day after officially graduating from the RT program and receiving my diploma, i get a phone call from HR formally offering me the position. and i accepted. :)

and that's how it's done.

my new place of employment. pretty.