Rally, And Our New location

So one of the things about working in Sturgis is getting to experience the rally, this was the 75^th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and it was expected to be HUGE. The clinic I work in was closed that week, starting at noon July 31^st and not opening again until August 10^th. There is just no way the cute little old folks could get through the sea of bikers to come and have their blood drawn and tested. I didn’t mind having a week off. It was quite nice. I started it off by getting a small taste of Rally. I left my car in the work parking lot and wandered down to take in the sights. Main Street was already lined with bikes for at least 5 or 6 blocks and the noise was incredible. Also I could not believe what some people were wearing. It takes a great deal of confidence to pull off some of these getups. Mesh dresses with just bras and panties on underneath (at least they matched), bikini bottoms and only body paint or pasties on top, it was all very unexpected. I met with a coworker that actually lives in Sturgis and she walked me around and we went into each of the bars and climbed up to the rooftop areas to see it all from above. Again I was amazed by what the bartenders wore while serving food, I am sure it has to violate some health code under normal circumstances. But this was Rally and anything goes! It was a great time and I am glad I can say that I was there. I made sure to get some shirts for Dad and Jesse. After a few hours I had had enough and headed home. It was quite the experience.

And speaking of new experiences, I wanted to reflect a bit on working in a clinic setting. It is very different from a hospital as I am sure you would imagine. There are very specific hours (7:30-5) and lots of interaction with the providers. It can be unpredictable; you never really know how many patients will come in that day and how many blood draws you will have to do. I have discovered that I enjoy interacting with the patients but I do feel bad drawing their blood and having them say it hurt. It is very encouraging when they say that they didn’t feel a thing. That is my favorite. I get nervous with each patient and have a sense of relief when I successfully get their labs drawn. I have a whole new found respect for phlebotomists. Their job is very hard and they deserve more credit than they probably get from others. This has been a very eye opening experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to work in such a unique setting. For those that enjoy the day shift with no weekends or holidays a clinic is a great place to work. But I miss midnight shift, I liked working at night and sleeping during the day. The good news is that I will get to experience midnight shift once again! Jesse and I have our next location. We are heading to Santa Maria, California! I am going to be working in a 200 bed hospital, eight 10 hour shifts in a row, then six days off. It is going to be new and different and I am excited. It is 13 weeks and I always say you can survive anything for that long. So sunny CA here we come!

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