With all due respect to the citizens of Falls Church, VA, I am in the Twilight Zone. I'm not at home, and I'm not at work, and I don't know when I'll ever be at either one again.
I'm in a government issued, government funded waiting period. This is expected when the Dept of State must issue a secret security clearance before sending anyone to a secure workplace abroad. It just takes awhile.
How long? Well, the weather is beginning to change here, and my Phoenix blood is needing warming measures already. Some of the oak leaves are losing their summer brilliance, but have not fully accepted the colors of autumn yet. The weather change came on suddenly with a cool, welcome rain two days ago, and it never returned to its original warmth. My Sonoran desert mind had a brief thought of gratitude for the drops, forgetting that the neighbors here were still dealing with flooding and mold from the recent Hurricane Irene.
So I've dug into my packed gear for the technical layered clothing sometimes known as winter wear. It's fifty degrees fareinheit, but it's a damp cold. I hear it snows in Kurdistan. There is snow in the desert. Nature has her way of keeping us interested with a nice paradox every now and then. We just have to get out and find these whimsical treasures.
But is the occasional discovered paradox enough to leave a comfortable home, wonderful friends, and meaningful employment, for what is described as "an austere, potentially hostile work enviroment" where protective troops are departing as we are entering? (Could I just get a National Parks pass and an all seasons tent??) And at the same time, foregoing personal independence to live on a secure compound, when personal independence is possibly the thing I hold most dearly next to my furry canine, whom I'm also leaving behind...
What's the motivation?
The casual observer would say it's the money. Yes, the contract pays exceedingly well. But this observer doesn't know my history, since I've worked for a fraction of this pay (as well as for no pay at all) in other countries.
The only person who can fully explain this is currently at this keyboard. Importantly, the explanation is equally intertwined in how I came to be qualified and called for this position in the first place. It's probably a life story. I hope I'm not in Falls Church long enough for all the details...but some of the tales can be told in the pages that follow.
In some ways, an "austere" approach to clinical medicine was the result of a sometimes spartan approach to the practice of daily living, long before I picked up a stethoscope, and certainly after. Resourcefulness, frugality, ingenuity - these are all things that you rely on when a home or clinic's working goods are limited. You make do, and sometimes the outcome is as good or better than when resources are flowing. The critical element that can't be sourced otherwise is confidence. It grows, and you find yourself taking on the next opportunity.
The habits carried over seamlessly into third world countries, albeit with some careful dressing for US domestic application. But if a job description could be written with a person in mind, this particular one could be it. The written description actually followed the offer in this case.
It was not a call, actually, it was originally an e mail, and I was relaxing in a tent in Haiti, thinking about patients nearby in a cholera isolation tent. My Peacework Medical volunteers were scattered after the clinic had finished for the day, having seen over 300 local people for various ailments and a range of acuity.
They are amazing, these volunteer teams, (http://www.peaceworkmedical.com/) who for two weeks at a time they bring health and hope to those who would otherwise go without. In this enviroment I did not open the e mail. In fact, I did not open the e mail for over a week, hence the call later. My Peacework Medical team and the patients there in Haiti were my first priority.
I'm in a government issued, government funded waiting period. This is expected when the Dept of State must issue a secret security clearance before sending anyone to a secure workplace abroad. It just takes awhile.
How long? Well, the weather is beginning to change here, and my Phoenix blood is needing warming measures already. Some of the oak leaves are losing their summer brilliance, but have not fully accepted the colors of autumn yet. The weather change came on suddenly with a cool, welcome rain two days ago, and it never returned to its original warmth. My Sonoran desert mind had a brief thought of gratitude for the drops, forgetting that the neighbors here were still dealing with flooding and mold from the recent Hurricane Irene.
So I've dug into my packed gear for the technical layered clothing sometimes known as winter wear. It's fifty degrees fareinheit, but it's a damp cold. I hear it snows in Kurdistan. There is snow in the desert. Nature has her way of keeping us interested with a nice paradox every now and then. We just have to get out and find these whimsical treasures.
But is the occasional discovered paradox enough to leave a comfortable home, wonderful friends, and meaningful employment, for what is described as "an austere, potentially hostile work enviroment" where protective troops are departing as we are entering? (Could I just get a National Parks pass and an all seasons tent??) And at the same time, foregoing personal independence to live on a secure compound, when personal independence is possibly the thing I hold most dearly next to my furry canine, whom I'm also leaving behind...
What's the motivation?
The casual observer would say it's the money. Yes, the contract pays exceedingly well. But this observer doesn't know my history, since I've worked for a fraction of this pay (as well as for no pay at all) in other countries.
The only person who can fully explain this is currently at this keyboard. Importantly, the explanation is equally intertwined in how I came to be qualified and called for this position in the first place. It's probably a life story. I hope I'm not in Falls Church long enough for all the details...but some of the tales can be told in the pages that follow.
In some ways, an "austere" approach to clinical medicine was the result of a sometimes spartan approach to the practice of daily living, long before I picked up a stethoscope, and certainly after. Resourcefulness, frugality, ingenuity - these are all things that you rely on when a home or clinic's working goods are limited. You make do, and sometimes the outcome is as good or better than when resources are flowing. The critical element that can't be sourced otherwise is confidence. It grows, and you find yourself taking on the next opportunity.
The habits carried over seamlessly into third world countries, albeit with some careful dressing for US domestic application. But if a job description could be written with a person in mind, this particular one could be it. The written description actually followed the offer in this case.
It was not a call, actually, it was originally an e mail, and I was relaxing in a tent in Haiti, thinking about patients nearby in a cholera isolation tent. My Peacework Medical volunteers were scattered after the clinic had finished for the day, having seen over 300 local people for various ailments and a range of acuity.
They are amazing, these volunteer teams, (http://www.peaceworkmedical.com/) who for two weeks at a time they bring health and hope to those who would otherwise go without. In this enviroment I did not open the e mail. In fact, I did not open the e mail for over a week, hence the call later. My Peacework Medical team and the patients there in Haiti were my first priority.
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