Interviews

Just as I was finishing my nurse anesthetist training a job opened up at the hospital where I work. It was a temporary positition for 1 year, and it would have been the perfect place to start my nursing career. So I applied, and since this training also constitutes an excellent critical care training I also applied for a raise in the ER.  I didn't get the job - they had a more experienced applicant. But when my application for a raise was also turned down I started to feel unappreciated.  Every time we had anesthesia personell in the ER my heart would ache because I wasn't "good enough" to be one of them, my increased competency not even considered worth monetary recognition. 

So I started combing the want ads. There was practically nothing out there. I signed up with 4 or 5 temp agencys. I've already written about my interview with one of them. One day they called me up to tell me that the private clinic that had rejected me on the grounds that I didn't have enough experience, was so desperate that if I was competent with total intravenous anesthesia and laryngeal masks I could come on monday and tuesday next week. My first thought was Wow! What an opportunity! Too bad I'm in Italy. But as I thought more about it the absurdity and irresponsibility of the situation hit home. The reasons the clinic had given for not wanting an inexperienced anesthetist were good. Suddenly though, they wanted me to fill in for them, without even a day to get to know the equipment, their routines or anything. It was unbelievable! It made me realize that I had to be very carefull when dealing with temp agencies, so that I wasn't put in situations that were potentially catastrophic. 

Meantime a couple of positions opened up in Bergen. This is a city on the other side (on the west coast) of Norway. Irene lived there last spring and liked it. Bergens claim to fame is the rainy weather. I flew there one day at the end of september and it was indeed raining. I liked the city though. It is small and intimate, nestled in hills along the fjord. Had 2 good interviews. One at one of Norways biggest hospitals and the other at a small private hospital right next door. I was dissapointed in the big hospital. It had all the atmosphere of a warehouse. The surgery/anesthesia unit was sectioned off into an orthopedic section, neuro/ENT section, general surgery, vascular and so on.  I was interviewing for a temp position in either orthopedic or neuro/ENT sections. I liked the other hospital much better. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. The job would be more varied as it was a smaller hospital with both general, urologic and orthopedic surgery. The anesthesia nurse manager is one of the driving forces behind establishing licencing for nurse anesthetists in Norway. It would be a great place to get my first anesthesia experience, however there was one big drawback - Husband didn't like the idea of me commuting to Bergen. As long as he was saying "don't go to Bergen or else!" my reply was "you can't tell me what to do!" But when he started actually checking out the job market, talking to his own job about a leave of absence etc, I felt I couldn't just take the Bergen job in spite of him.

Also a job had opened up at a large hospital in a suburb of Oslo and I had sent an application just before going to Bergen. Last friday I interviewed there: at a large day surgery unit, and in the ER. The ER is the biggest in Norway and they are willing to pay me as a nurse anesthetist. My chances at the day surgery unit are fair as well. There are 3 positions and they are interviewing 5 people. They did say that if they hire me it would be the first time they hire someone inexperienced.  Next week the verdict should fall and my time of uncertainty will finally be over.