The hospital, a universal place that the general population hates and dreads. They never have good cell phone service, and a trip there typically means someone is sick. There are the floors with exceptions, like Labor and Delivery, where everyone is usually happy and excited to be there.

This past month I finally got a job at the local hospital, particularly the Emergency Department. Just in a couple of weeks I've already experienced Code Blues and death. There are more acronyms for various things than I thought the English alphabet could make. On more than one occasion I've thought, What did I get myself into.

Yes, the pay is good, great compared to my other jobs actually. But the shifts are 12 hours long, and it involves people all the time which is exhausting as an introvert.

So why would I do the job?

Because for every five or six times I'm overwhelmed, embarrassed, frazzled, or fazed, I have a moment of complete joy. I get the chance to make someone's discomfort or fear a little less that day for that visit, and that is an incredible gift.

I'm still not sure exactly what God wants me to do with my life, and despite my need to plan, I've come to a point where I have peace about that. I know where I'm supposed to be right now.

Since I let go of my plans, my ego, my need to have a distinct plan, I have had a peace that passes all understanding (John 16:33). I'm not sure what my future role will be in the hospital, but right now it's as a Tech in patient care which means I eat while speed walking down the hall, go hours with a full bladder, and practically need an IV of pure caffeine the whole shift.

Whatever my future role is, I know I love hospitals. I love wearing my scrubs, and the clean environment. I love the busy staff and the long hours that allows me to get comfortable with my place in the shift.

I won't sleep much this semester working a full time graveyard, and there will be days I'm completely stressed out, but I can tell you, nurses are not wimps or lazy (although there are always exceptions), doctors are human, too, and we Techs are there to do whatever we can to make the day better for patients and nurses when and where we can.