first day

Monday, 10 Sep, was my first day of CPE. My clock was accidentally set an hour late, so I was a bit late to work (thankfully I only missed a little of the HR orientation). I hadn't slept well the night before because I miss my partner and it was my first night in the room I'm staying in during my internship. I was groggy and achey and sweaty. I was nervous about starting CPE. And for an introvert like me, it's draining to be in the "hi, nice to meet you. where do you come from?" mode. I didn't get to do some of my paperwork because I didn't know I needed to bring another 2 forms of ID. And when I got off the bus to ride my bike home, my bike was missing its seat, seatpost, and back wheel. And the tire pump. They let me keep my water bottle. I had to carry my bike back to the house, about a 20 minute walk. I got a few sympathetic looks for people who guessed at what happened. I felt a little hatred for Newark. Not a great start to my CPE program, but it could have been worse.

My second day went more smoothly, and I feel basically fine about the program. The staff chaplains seem great to work with, and there are many opportunities to work with different kinds of patients in areas I want experience with -- PTSD, aging, Alzheimers, polytrauma, hospice, homelessness... very difficult things to work with, and I don't think I have the capabilities to do this work. But at the same time, I have a lot of trust in the supervisors, staff chaplains, and my fellow students that we will mentor each other and work through and learn a lot. So we'll see.