~Here we go~

Stressed.  Excited.  Worried.  Hopeful.  Nervous.  Optimistic.  Anxious.

Just a few of the feelings that I have been feeling lately.  I am in the process of finding a placement for my 4th year.  I only have a few short months left of actual school school here in Knoxville.  {I can't believe it!}   

I am gonna back track a little.  This semester I see patients 3 days a week.  Tuesday afternoons I see adult patients.  I love what I do, so I enjoy Tuesday afternoons.  But Thursdays are by far my favorite days.  I am at a pediatric ear, nose, and throat office in the morning, and then in the afternoon I see only pediatric patients in the clinic on campus.  I am loving it.  After my first day at the pediatric ENT office, I was hooked.  I love the atmosphere.  I love that it is fast paced.  I get to do all different kinds of testing.  I see cochlear implant kiddos and hearing aid kiddos.  I really love it all.  I have been there for several weeks now, and I would really love to be in that kind of atmosphere once I am out in the real world.  So...

When it comes to looking for and applying for a 4th year spot...

In a perfect world here is how it would go...I would find a pediatric ENT office in the Nashville area, that takes a 4th year extern, pays well {some externships placements are not paid at all}, and at the end of my externship it will turn into a job.

Don't know if that will happen.  So here is my more realistic plan...I have found several places in the Nashville area to submit my resume to {an ENT office, a few private practices, Vanderbilt University's clinic}.  I also will be submitting my resume to the clinic at Duke University as well as a pediatric ENT in Atlanta, GA.  So far that is all, but I may need to submit a few more resumes, as these placements are pretty competitive.

What I need from you...
Happy, wishful, hopeful thoughts and prayers. 
I hate this feeling of the unknown.  It freaks me out.  I am too much of a planner.  It scares me to death not knowing where I will be 8 months from now.  I know that it will all work out.  But that doesn't keep me from losing sleep over this at night. 

So pray for...
1.  a good placement for me:  somewhere I can grow as a clinician, somewhere I will love walking into everyday, somewhere that I can be happy with geographically, somewhere that I can make some money.
2.  calm nerves.  I tend to overthink things, and it just gets me all stressed out.
3.  if and when I get called for interviews: pray that I can think of the right things to say and make a good impression

If all goes well, I should know something by Christmas time or soon there after.  Eeeee...Here we go!