Two Days Down.

This is an astonishing organization. They seem to do just about everything right. In addition to being about the best hospital in America to get medical care, their employee processes are smoothly functioning, elegant, and well-designed. I’ve felt well taken care of at each turn. I have been told exactly what my first project is going to be (It relates to surgical flow, a topic I’ve never investigated before.) and exactly how I’m expected to contribute to the project. The other people working with me are smart, engaged, and eerily attractive.

I was told that I would not be introduced as “Dr.”. The PhDs don’t do that here. I was a little disappointed. If physicians expect me to call them “Dr.”, then I expect the same. The power differential is way too big if medical doctors are allowed to use my first name, but I’m not allowed to use theirs. It allows them to dismiss people they see as uncredentialed. So I had a little trouble sleeping last night, thinking about this. This tells you a bit about my arrogance, and general dissatisfaction with the fact that MDs are allowed to call themselves “doctors” at all.

But, as is usually the case when I worry about something trivial, I found out immediately it doesn’t matter much. In my big Quality Improvement meeting, everyone, MD, PhD, both, or neither, was called by first names. I can obsess about nothing a lot, and it can make me look bad. I don’t want to be that guy, really, I don’t. But a lot of times, I’m that guy.

I also figured out how to make it to my Wednesday night men’s meeting without any difficulty. There’s a bus that goes from about a block from MECMC to about a block from the meeting. I was so exhausted yesterday I thought I was going to fall apart. But I shared at the meeting, and then I walked home. About two miles. I needed it a lot. The day is wrapping up now too. I’m about to take off for home. I’ll be walking.

Life is good. I feel like I’ve successfully navigated the really difficult parts of the transition. I’m living in ECC. I’ve reported to work. I have a new driver’s license, even though I have no car anymore. I’ve found my meetings and I’ve started recognizing people. One of the Information Technology guys from MECMC goes to my men’s meeting. He’s a little older than me, with a little more time in the program. It’s nice to have a guy at work and in the rooms to check in with.

So I’m getting settled. I’m learning new things. I’ve done all the things I had to do. Look at me. Six months ago, I was deeply afraid of unemployment. Three months ago, I needed to find a way to move my whole life from the Midwest to the East Coast. I did a bunch of things. One thing at a time. Until they were all done. And now I’m here. Happy. Exhausted. Sober. And useful.