are you my mother?

Just one last week of clinicals in the ICU for me and I have to tell you I sort of love the ICU we're at currently. It's in a bad neighborhood, a number patients of patients come in with substance abuse issues, and the hospital might very well close in a few years time. It's a longish commute, 25 minutes instead of 5, but this ICU is scrappy. I have always been a fan of the underdog, so it's only natural that it would extend to a hospital and patient population that I think many people would like to ignore. A HUGE part of my liking this ICU is that, with a couple exceptions, the nursing staff is exceedingly nice and helpful. I've had one particular co-assigned (nurse I work with for the day) twice now and she's great. She's so young but very cool, incredibly easy to talk to, helpful but quick to say 'let me know if you want help or if you need me to back off' and she actually seemed to appreciate my help at the end of the day. Most co-assigneds that I've had basically ignore me so the few that interact with me are worth their weight in gold. But this girl in particular, if I worked somewhere where most of the nursing staff was like her I'd be happy as a clam. After lunch one of the doctors stopped me and said, You look like you're the nursing instructor. And I sort of laughed, saying, No I'm just a student. So he stops me and asks, Do you know why I thought you're the instructor? Because I look so old? He smiled and said, No, you look like you know where you're going. Now this doctor wasn't your typical looking doctor, he was like 6''5", not wearing a lab coat but instead a polo shirt with a very large white flower in his chest pocket. And I just love eccentrics like that and this hospital, it sort of has an island of misfit toys vibe to it. It's more than capable medically, I'm not saying it's deficient in that respect at all. It's just that it's not snobby in the least and I really like that. Plus the boutonniere doctor wished me luck when he left the floor. I know that when it comes right down to it the environment I'm working in will determine whether I'm happy with my job or not. Sounds like a no brainer right? I think it takes on a new level of importance in extremely high stress jobs where it could quickly devolve into lord of the flies if the environment isn't supportive. And that sort of aggressive, backstabbing bullshit would ruin me, even if I stayed out of it, which I would, because I tend to strenuously avoid office politics and just do my work and be friendly but not get involved. So this will sound odd, but lately, when I go through each clinical rotation, that book 'Are you my mother?' pops into my head. I don't want a snort for a job. I want a nice place, the medical equivalent of that sweet worm seeking bird mom in the kerchief. And it's a bird in a kerchief so there is a bit of goofiness there and I want a place where people want their work to speak for them, not the way they look, or their car or that other status related crap. So if I can find that after graduation, and successfully pass my boards, then I'll be set. But first things first, one more week of clinical and passing this course. I'm done April 13th. My word, the past 13 weeks have been a blur.