quailty friday: gratifying

finally, this week at work, i felt it. i found myself truly glad to be doing what i was doing.

adjusting to my new position has been a bumpy road for me. many of you have asked how i like my new job, to which i've answered "its okay - i'm adjusting", and i'm sure you've wondered a bit at my tentative answer.

the truth is, that in addition to adjusting to the constant travel and a recent move across country, i've also had to adjust to the many new expectation of my job. for example, i've found it especially difficult to learn something completely new one day, and then have to teach it (as an expert?!?) the next. and whereas i recognized that there is a learning curve that at some point i'll get to the top of, that doesn't necessarily make it any easier in the face of those looking to me for answers. and wanting them now.

this week, i found myself on a last minute trip to spokane, washington. i wasn't thrilled to be going at first, with many things to catch up on "in the office" and again, feeling that i was a far cry from the expert that they would be expecting. what i found when i got there, though, was that what they really wanted was a listening ear and someone to show, with their physical presence, a dedication to solving the problems that they were encountering.

that, i could do. thankfully, the issues was well on its way to being solved before i even got there [thank you, to my wonderful coworker who worked for a week to diligently to troubleshoot with them over the phone], and the urgency of patient care delay has been removed from the situation. and so, i spent two days organizing and spreadsheeting all the data that they had generated, analyzing the potential causes for this shift they were seeing, discussing options for further investigation, giving suggestions for optimizing their process, and nodding as their needs and concerns were expressed.

it truly felt good. and best of all, at the end of it they were more than appreciative of my efforts - the perfect reward.