What do you "do"?

[lightelement94]

Full time high school student with a dash of science research on the side. ;D Or as close as you can get to that while underage...without a college degree...

It'll get there, though. Hopefully after counting myself as a proper author.

[FK7]

A good friend of mine left med school after 2-3 years. That was his reason, too. Your life is your work, which for some people is fine, plus I'm certainly grateful for what they do. But you can pretty much chuck every second of your free time out of every window in the hospital. Wish you the best with your novel, FK7.

Thank you Colonel. I was heading to pedo-oncology, which is a difficult but very fulfilling specialty. I do miss working with children, which is why I really hope I'll be able to go back and finish what I started one day.

[r louis scott]

I worked on helicopters for 20 years in the Navy, now I am involved in some fairly high-technology research and development engineering. I've worked on various gas separation and laser communications projects over the last ten years, since once you have researched a project and then developed a project it usually means it's time to look for a new job.

At night, of course, I think about people that built ballistae...

[Nick]

I did various sorts of construction (from literal construction to simple road work) from the time I was 13 until I was 16, working for my uncle, since he and his brothers own just about every construction company in our area. Worked in a grocery store for a month after that. Now I do...stuff (read: chill at home). Planning to go hunting for a new job in a little over a month, when I've graduated.

[otherside89girl]

This is so fun to read! There's such a wide variety of people here. It's awesome.

[Robin]

I wish I could say I "do" just one thing. Lets see, I was a local talk show host. Then I created launched my own consumer product and licensed it. I became a PR professional shortly after, and currently I manage my husband's IT firm. All this while raising 2 beautiful kids.

[aspiring_x]

i wash dishes and make salads in a hospital cafeteria. there isn't much thinking involved, so it gives me plenty of time to think about the WIP.

[Quinnykins]

I fix and break computers! Not desktop computers but huge linux/UNIX switches, translators and circuits. Been working in this industry since I left college when I was 18. Never went to university but instead learnt on the job doing night classes and taking time out to put myself on courses. I love it, shame about the majority of the people I work with though.

I'd move on to another data comms company but we're the world leaders - not much option out there!

[karenbb]

love this...everything from helicopters to heroin

I'm a mom and handbag designer/maker. I do make money from time to time as a freelance writer, doing mostly Lifestyle/DIY pieces and once wasted two years shopping a sewing book. My career before mommyhood was in the music industry, doing everything from band booking agent to film and television licensing.

[heather_hangs_it]

I'm the single mom of two boys, 12 and 5, who works as a Surgical Technologist in Labor & Delivery at my local hospital. In the fall I'll be a full-time nursing student and third shifter. Eeesh! I'm also an artist, a seamstress, a storyteller on occasion (the live-action kind) and a singer.

So, let's just say I've got more than my fair share of distractions at any given time.

:-)

~heather

[abc]

I'm working toward my license as a mental health therapist. Currently I work in a junior high helping kids with mental health problems. I love it!

[mmcdonald64]

I'm a respiratory therapist, have been for 24 years now. I remember when I started, I'd get so nervous when I had to go to a code, I was always so happy when one of my seasoned coworkers showed up, all calm cool and collected. Now, I'm that seasoned coworker. lol.

There's is acutally quite a lot of variety in the patients I get to deal with on a daily basis. For instance, in one day last week, I was at the birth of 31 week premature twins, and assisted stabilizing their breathing (they were doing great when they transferred to a higher level nursery, btw. :-)). Shortly after that, had a 94 yo man who was a DNR, with the family at the bedside, and the poor guy, who'd been very alert and sharp the prior two days, was having cardiac issues affecting his breathing. Had that 'air hunger'. Not easy to watch. Just started eating my lunch a bit later, and got called to a code. Only that man was also a DNR, so after I'd given him a few breaths with an ambu bag, the doc told me to stop, that we were done. I went back to lunch.

Most of the the time, I like my job, so I'm lucky for that.

[Jaime]

I'm the mean lady in cardiology who makes patients run on a treadmill until they feel like they're having a heart attack. When I'm not being mean, I'm diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias :) I work in a fantastic hospital, with fantastic colleagues and a wonderful boss who are all desperately hoping I get published so that they can tell everyone they work with me - oh, the pressure!

I'm also the mother of a beautiful 20-month-old boy, and my hubby and I are expecting our second bubba in early November :D

My favourite moment of today . . .
My patient: "Does your pulse have anything to do with your heart?"
Me: . . . . . . . . *hangs head and sighs*

[mmcdonald64]

Jaime, love that comment from the patient. Hehe. Once I was giving a patient a nebulizer treatment (pretty mundane stuff) and he smirked and said, "It must be boring to watch people breathe all day." Of course, it wasn't until I was half-way down the hall that I thought of the perfect comeback. "Yeah, you're right. It is boring watching people breathe all day; it doesn't get exciting until they stop."

[Jaime]

Hahaha! Well I used to work with people who didn't breathe - in a mortuary. The living ones are so much more exciting, especially considering they talk back!
Prior to today, my favourite moment was (after setting up a treadmill stress test) . . .

My patient: "I guess we have to wait for the Cardiologist before we can begin?"
Me: "Yep. Legally I'm not allowed to call a 'time of death'."

Thankfully the patient thought that was hilarious! :D