I've been sitting on this for several days and it's been much longer since I blogged at all. I didn't want to jinx it given how long my last permanent position lasted. However, since I've now been employed longer than 6 days, I think I can safely mention it. ;) I have been hired as a screening and triage nurse by New York's largest GLBT-focused community health centre. It's about as far from intensive care as one can get, and I love that about it. The population of patients I see is about the most diverse I've ever come across, and their problems run the gamut from STIs to HIV/AIDS to psych and everything in between. Geriatrics. Young adults. New parents. It's all pretty damn interesting. The clinic treats *everyone* regardless of ability to pay, which is part of its mission. It's also 60% self-funded which is a nice bonus. To top it all off, I've never met a nicer group of people to work with. It's almost scary. Not a single grumpy 25-year nurse bitching about their latest protest of assignment. Refreshing!

 

So, yes it's still early, but so far the organization is amazing and could really serve as a model for health care in a single-payer (or no-payer) era. I'm really fortunate to have been hired there, especially in light of the job market for nurses in NYC. It's a shame every city doesn't have a clinic like this...