Transition

Transitions of a man's mission

To turn the moment, into something he owns

Not just for him, but for them

To understand, this is peace of a man

Woman beside providing balance

So that we can do our best, with God's talents

"We Live Today" - Common 

I have taken quite a hiatus from writing anything lately, and this time it was for a decent enough reason: I finally switched jobs and moved over from the PCEA Kikuyu Hospital to the bigger Nairobi Hospital.

Lord knows that PCEA Kikuyu had defined my work experience for quite some time (2 years and 2 months to be exact). It had been my first job after the latter disastrous portion of my internship, and it has taught me quite a few things about myself:

1. I still live for the thrill of surgery. I didn't really do any sort of surgery for the most part while I was in the Internal Medicine Department, but locum work (which I initially didn't want) afforded me the chance to perform some surgical procedures. After all this time, it affirmed that doing surgery is my life's passion, and there are no substitutes.
2. Long term employment at one company is probably not in the books. I used to think that I'd find the perfect job and could devote myself to working at one company for a lifetime. Well, it's still a possibility, but one much rarer these days. Though I'm in medicine, where people are expected to be more "humanitarian", I still need to be able to look out for myself at the end of the day; meaning, I need to be ready to leave when a better opportunity presents itself. Not very many companies find themselves deserving of undying loyalty (especially these days), so you need to know where the company ends and you begin.
3. Confidence is key. Never one to look forward to "rocking the boat", my inherent response to things has been to put up and ride out the rough times; this is usually to my own detriment. However, like all things in life, speaking up for yourself need not be seen as belligerence; just as much as confidence comes through on the operating table when situations get a little hairy, it is just as essential to life, with all its defining experiences.

I'm currently in my 3rd week at Nairobi Hospital, and there's still a lot of getting used to how things run at the place. The place gets really busy sometimes (Idd weekend was a surprising titan of a couple of days), but I love the staffing ratios. There certainly are a lot of doctors and nurses to keep the place covered. I also love the central heating because Nairobi (and Kenya as a whole) is experiencing an extremely frigid winter, which only threatens to get worse as the days go by; not having to layer up while indoors is a plus.

I had thought that one of the things I would be giving up by moving to Nairobi Hospital would be the close vicinity to my home; despite the increase in distance, I spend a small amount of time on Ngong Road (about as much as I did when I was at Kikuyu), and then usually zip right onto the bypass and avoid the rest of the horror that is Ngong Road (especially the Lenana - Dagoretti area). I'd say, that as a whole, I'm spending the same amount of time on the road.

I'll be on probation for 6 months, and from what I hear, it'll involve a whirlwind of experiences within the behemoth that Nairobi Hospital has turned into. I'm looking forward to getting used to everything, and settling in to the new family. Wish me luck.


God Bless