Do you have a job that "helps"?

[vettechick99]

One that you are emotionally involved in? One where you change people's lives? What that leaves you satisfied at the end of the day?

What is it and how did you get into the field?

 

[chell]

Mine isn't a direct involvement like you are looking for, but I am involved in a round-about way. I work for a non-profit Christian radio station. Not only do we minister to people over thei air we also help the community. We have drives for coats, eye glasses, etc.

I am not a people person but I have always felt the need to help others. Just over 7 years ago I went to a temp agency after having a discussion with some family members stating that I really need a job with meaning, a job where I was doing something helpful. The next day I started at a non-profit Christian relief org. I was there for 5 years before coming to the radio station. I started out as a temp and was hired on full-time and just worked my way up from there. I moved from data entry to computer support. Now at the station I still do computer support. Like I said, I'm not directly involved in helping people, but I do keep some things running so that everything can keep going and others can be helped.

I just love the fact that I'm involved and that I'm doing at least a small part to minister to people and to help encourage others. It is very rewarding when we receive letters from listeners and they say how much the station means to them and how much it has helped them.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Yes and No.

On the surface, I process returns for a huge book publishing house. The rest of my time is spent tracking down lost shipments for the company.

However, through my job, I have taken part in adult literacy programs teaching illiterate adults how to read. I also take part in a program to go to inner city schools and read stories to elementary school kids (they don't require that we read them "our" books, any book will do) and help teach reading comprehension and encourage reading as a hobby.

The school program takes place a few months out of each year, once a week and my trip to the school takes place during my normal working hours and technically, I am paid for my time at work then.

 

[chell]

EsmeraldaX, it's great that you are so involved and do so much to help out.

 

[luvwinnie]

No, but my dream is to have a job like that.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

EsmeraldaX, it's great that you are so involved and do so much to help out.

Thanks. It's amazing how excited the kids in the school I go to get when "the book lady" comes. Kids really do yearn for learning.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I did. I was a Job Coach for people with disabilities. I went out and helped them find a job and once a job was obtained, I would train them in the job. There was so much more to it than finding appropriate employment though. I was able to use counseling techniques and see the actual results. You don't usually get that in normal counseling.

 

[lynetteSC]

well, kinda! Last spring, I started working a home part-time when our ds was born. On Wednesdays, I volunteer at our local HOSPICE thrift store. It gets me out of the house and he gets to spend quality time with his g'ma. I love HOSPICE and think they are such a great organization!

 

[tar heel]

I think I do. I plan programs for a local arts council. One of the things we do is to bring a professional performing arts program to about 30,000 school children each year. Many of these kids would never see the symphony, ballet or a children's opera without our programs. While this isn't as obviously a "helping" job as my last one (I worked for a hopsice), I think my organization enriches lives and makes our community a better place to live.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes to all of the above. My mother worked in a local nursing home when I was growing up so I used to go in to see her and I'd end up sitting for hours talking to the patients. Later, throughout high school and college, I worked there myself. So it was only natural I'd become a nurse.

ETA: just noticed I didn't answer one part of your question: what satisfaction do I have at the end of the day? Well, as Disney Doll said below, nursing can be tough with the rewards few and far between. So sometimes it's the little things that make me know I've made a difference.

When I leave the hospital I know the patients under my watch were well cared for. I probably brought a smile to at least one patient's or coworker's face. I worked as a team member with lots of other professionals to solve problems. A patient's family member may have told me they were glad I was their nurse. I probably took the time to show a student how to do something and they were appreciative. I may have caught an error that prevented harm. I may have gotten a nice letter from a patient. My manager may have asked my opinion on something.

There are also days I am upset when I leave. I may have had to argue with many to see the patient got what he needed. I may have had to make an unpopular staffing decision. Patients may not have understood why I had to do what I did. A patient may have died unexpectedly.

Luckily most days when I leave I feel pretty good about myself and my career choice.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm a nurse, so I guess I qualify for a job that directly "helps". I do get a sense of satisfaction out of helping the patients and try to do my best for them. There are many circumstances that surround the profession that are less than desirable (lack of respect from employers, weird hours, danger posed from contagious disease exposure, physical/mental drain), but ultimately, it is a good feeling to know you have helped someone get better or die peacefully.

 

[castlegazer]

I used to and I loved it - I was a Chief of Staff to a state Legislator and started with him as a District Director. You perform amazing acts as a constituen service person and I loved the interaction and doing this and also being involved with my community in a very profound and effective way.

I took a sabatical to do this job from my true profession of commercial real estate. I did it to help my community as we needed economic development help or else, selfishly, I would not be able to earn commissions any longer in this so called "real" job. I ended up staying for four years because I loved it so much.

I simply was someone who was already active in my community so when I told my legislator I wanted to do this he immediately hired me - looking at me kindof wierd as I took a pay cut - but hired me immediately.

 

[WDWBetsy]

I work for an organ procurement organization (OPO) in Indiana. Basically, we are a not-for-profit that works with organ, tissue & eye donor families and transplant centers. If someone has signed up to be a donor, has a head injury which results in brain death, then their family is approached for consent. For those who die a cardiac death, they can be a tissue donor and their family is approached for consent.

My role is that of a family aftercare coordinator for tissue donor families (last year we had over 440 tissue donors in the state of Indiana). I send out bereavement aftercare items and materials to tissue donor families for a 13-month period after their loved one's death. Our families receive a memory box, donor medal, and portfolio containing a letter explaining what tissues were recovered, as well as a signed U.S. Surgeon General certificate honoring their gift of life. If a family member calls with questions, I am there to assist them. I also help on our organization's care council which organizes an annual donor memorial service in December. I don't have as much direct face-to-face contact with donors and their families as many of my co-workers, but my role is still somewhat mentally draining due to the nature of our organization. While these families are confronted with the sadness of losing their loved one, they are able to be comforted with knowing their loved one was able to help others through donation.

I love my job and really appreciate the service we provide to our donor families - and ultimately the transplant recipients with life-saving and life-changing gifts of life.

 

[FroggyinArk]

i run and operate a home repair service as my paying job, so thats not what you are looking for, however i am on the board of directors of a local charity and we feed roughly three hundred or so people at christmas. we provide groceries that we work all year to procure the money for, then we start buying and delivering groceries in december. for that job, yeah theres a lot of satisfaction seeing the look on the peoples faces as we deliver the bags is priceless, also getting the thank you calls and notes from people that we help its great and very reassuring

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

Yes and No.


However, through my job, I have taken part in adult literacy programs teaching illiterate adults how to read. I also take part in a program to go to inner city schools and read stories to elementary school kids (they don't require that we read them "our" books, any book will do) and help teach reading comprehension and encourage reading as a hobby.

I just knew you were a great lady!

 

[orrnluvswdw]

I am also a nurse - guess you could tell that by my disname I'm an operating room nurse. Like WDWBetsy, I too am involved in some surgical cases involving organ harvesting. It always makes my hair on my arms stand up when I stop to think about how many lives can be saved by organ donation. Most people think about the standard organs (the ones we hear about alot) like heart, lung, liver, kidneys - most don't stop to consider the skin. Hundreds of people can be helped by just tissue donation alone Anyway, off my soap box.

So, yes I guess one can say what I do helps to save lives. My special is trauma. Just when I think I've seen & done it all, there's something different coming into the OR. Just participating in helping the OR team save a life is soooo, well - words just can't do that justice! I truely love what I do & wouldn't trade that for anything.

ps we need more nurses helping us

 

[minkydog]

In my 28 years as an RN I have done many things--worked in ER, ICU, peds. I once delivered a baby in the backseat of a car and I have held many-a hand while that person left this life behind. But I am doing my best work now.

I am a telephone triage nurse for a children's hospital. Parents can call when their little ones are sick or hurt and we help them figure out what to do. It usually takes me less than 5 min to know whether it is safe to treat at home or whether they need to go to the hospital, or even call 911. We educate parents about how to treat illness/injury, what to expect, how much med to give, etc. We help parents find a new ped if they don't have one and we help them connect with programs like Asthma clinic, Scoliosis, Rehab, and Early Intervention. And we also advise about more mundane parenting things, like potty-training, night terrors, breastfeeding, and sibling rivalry.

I know for a fact that what I do changes lives and I am very proud that I can help others, even though I will never see them face to face. I would like to thank my college roommate, who was in nursing school while I was flopping around from major to major. She asked me to help her study and before you know it, i was hooked. I loved everything about nursing and I am very glad I chose this profession.

cathy

 

[DisneyPhD]

I always seemed to take helping jobs. I was a pre-school teacher for years (during college and then some after.) After getting my master in Social Work I got the job that I went to school for, a clinical thearpist in a out patient mental health clinic in a inner city hosptial. I specialzed working with people who are Deaf or hard of hearing or had family members that were. I also worked with hearing patients too. In addtion to my social work degrees I have a ASL one too. However my ASL skills aren't as good as I would like them to be, always growing.

I liked my job and went into this feild because it was really important to me. However I did find I really had to distance myself. I had friends that would donate and volunteer a lot, and I didn't as much. I felt I gave so much of myself in my work and I while I really cared for my pateints, I had to be careful not to burn out.

I was laid off last year (budget cuts) I decied God says it is time for me to be a stay at home mom. I loved my job and never would of left it, but I am not starting a new one with a new baby and a pre-schooler. We can live on hubbys income for now.

I miss my patients and being a therapist. I really hope they are doing well. I wasn't worried about myself or family (I have skills, I can get a new job later when my kids are older. ) What concerned me is the lack of mental health services out there and the way the hosptial just dropped my department. You can't ignore mental health treatment, it doesn't just go away. Espcially my deaf or hard of hearing patients, no one wanted to pick them up at all. (communication was so much more work and things always took so much longer.) Insurance hates paying for that, they want quick, fix them and get them out treatment. That doesn't work in long term mental health either. The job offers I was getting was for a 40% pay cut. Not worth it to work and pay for child care. I hate that such a important field is considered so low paid.

So anyway I like to think I helped people, at least the ones that wanted to help themselves.

Sorry, that is my soap box. I hope to go back to it someday, but for now I must admit my life is so much less stressful now! (even though I have a baby that eats every 2 hours, for the past 5 months and doesn't seem to be starting to sleep all night any time soon.)

 

[DisneyPhD]

In my 28 years as an RN I have done many things--worked in ER, ICU, peds. I once delivered a baby in the backseat of a car and I have held many-a hand while that person left this life behind. But I am doing my best work now.

I am a telephone triage nurse for a children's hospital. Parents can call when their little ones are sick or hurt and we help them figure out what to do. It usually takes me less than 5 min to know whether it is safe to treat at home or whether they need to go to the hospital, or even call 911. We educate parents about how to treat illness/injury, what to expect, how much med to give, etc. We help parents find a new ped if they don't have one and we help them connect with programs like Asthma clinic, Scoliosis, Rehab, and Early Intervention. And we also advise about more mundane parenting things, like potty-training, night terrors, breastfeeding, and sibling rivalry.

I know for a fact that what I do changes lives and I am very proud that I can help others, even though I will never see them face to face. I would like to thank my college roommate, who was in nursing school while I was flopping around from major to major. She asked me to help her study and before you know it, i was hooked. I loved everything about nursing and I am very glad I chose this profession.

cathy

minkydog, as a mother of 2 young children and someone who thinks "when in doubt calls the RN", you do help people in your job and I want to thank you. I can't tell you how many times having the nurse to call when I wasn't sure has helped me know I was doing the right thing with you sick child.

Keep up the great work and Thank You from all the parents out there.

 

[Dizkneenurse]

I do..I am a nurse in the intensive care unit. Some days I feel like I help more than others. I try to treat every patient and family in the way that I would want my family treated in a similar situation. I do feel satisfied with the kinda work I do.

It can be draining work but I wouldn't know what to do with my life if I didn't do this!

heidi