Flash-backs to my past

I started my Occupational Therapy career in a sole position in the country. I was almost the only OT within a couple of hundred kilometres. The job entailed seeing people from young children right up to nursing home patients. Seeing them as inpatients as well as in their homes and in my department at the hospital. I even was involved in health promotion and patient education. Very much a GP (General Practitioner).

It was a lonely, yet stimulating job. I had so much freedom to develop the service somewhat as I wished. I wrote the budget (it did have to be approved, of course). I determined what initiatives to take. I also had limited supervision. It spoiled me. No other OT job I had after it seemed as challenging or interesting.

It reminds me a lot of what I'm doing now. I am my own boss. I have no other OTs around. I write the budget (very limited - I'm not spending someone else's money now). I have to take the initiative, make my own decisions. And I'm confronting cases that challenge my experience and knowledge. Just like back then, I'm calling in help from others, seeking advice from people who are less of a GP than me or who are from a different speciality altogether (like Speech Pathology).

So, I'm going to look past the challenges and the uncertainties and self-doubt and enjoy the freedom. I did last time. I can do it again.