“It’s a fire hose”. That is how a Regional Medical Officer that I befriended a couple years ago described the tidal wave of information and stuff you have to do once you finally get an offer from State.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of information, planning, and telling family/friends about our plans. It’s been a pretty draining week.
Once I accepted my offer, I had to upload and input a lot of repeat information into the online system the State Department uses. Seems silly since most of it was collected when I applied and again during the security clearance process, but that’s a government job for you. We are also required to enter a specific resume which is how they will determine our salary offer in the coming weeks.
Almost immediately after accepting your offer, you’re also expected to make arrangements for housing and packing out your belongings for orientation in Washington D.C. They give you the contact information to reach out, and then leave it to you to navigate/initiate the process, which is sort of intimidating. Thankfully, the folks on the other end of the phone and email, have been an absolute delight! I was able to secure an apartment through the State Department provided PCS Lodging Program only a day after I accepted my offer, and I have arranged for some of my unaccompanied baggage to be picked up before I leave to DC. I was worried it would take forever to get this done, or the person on the other end would be a jaded government contractor tired of fielding questions from rookie hires, but the opposite is true. The customer service I have experience in arranging the above has been nothing short of phenomenal.
For orientation, I will be going solo so my daughter can finish up the school year, and my wife can continue to work so we don’t take such a big financial hit all at once. This means I’ll basically just be shipping 250lbs of stuff to DC that I will use for orientation, and at this point I haven’t the slightest clue what I might pack (250lbs is my government allotted personal air baggage). I’m always a light traveler and can basically live off the same 6 or 7 rotated outfits, and since covid, rarely go out and have a sweet collection of Adidas workout shorts. High on my list right now are my desktop PC, some hobby equipment for downtime (I like to paint small wargaming figures since I am a giant nerd), and clothing. Even the clothing part is sort of up in the air since I will travel by plane with a couple 50lb suitcases and with a washer and drier in my apartment, I won’t exactly need the full wardrobe. I guess I’ll have to take a few suits since it’s business attire for the in person (and even virtual) stuff, which means I’m gonna be buying suits. 15 years in healthcare means scrubs, scrubs, scrubs.
One weird thing about orientation, is at least the first month or so will be virtual, but I am still required to physically be in DC. They will pay me per diem of like $80 a day to sit on a laptop in an apartment that they are also paying for. Seems like a solid use of the tax payers dollar. After that though, medical staff will have in person orientation, and thanks to the wonders of the internet, I have already been able to connect with a few people in my class that are also NP’s, and they have been really cool.
By far the hardest part of the last week has been telling friends and family that I got the job and will be moving abroad in relatively short order. All the responses so far have been met with excitement and congratulations, but also with statements of sadness that we are leaving. One close friend didn’t even congratulate me and just told me how bummed he was I would be leaving, which really stung. Coworkers have been the same way, and it really makes the moment so bittersweet. I feel worse for my parents, since they live nearby and I am packing up two granddaughters and moving them to some random location around the world. They are thankfully retired and very able bodied, so have no excuse why they can’t visit for an extended time, but it still definitely makes me feel bad.
Now after nearly two years of saying “this takes forever”, my wife and I are saying “it feels like it’s all happening so fast”. At the end of the day we are both really excited and confident this is the right move for us, and ultimately realized if I didn’t take the offer we would regret it forever. If for some reason it doesn’t work out, we aren’t captives and can come home at any time. El Paso will always be our home where we are keeping our house, and thankfully this job comes with lots of robust leaves and time away.
The next 2+ months are coming fast and furious. I will thankfully get to spend some time with my entire family at my sisters wedding in Mexico, but otherwise, out of guilt, ended up picking up a ton of extra shifts at my hospital to ease my conscious for my boss (who has been such a great friend), and also to make sure on my way out the door I get a couple of really fat paychecks.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll keep publishing some AMA posts that I have answered from a few readers, and share my thoughts and experiences in the buildup to orientation. Thanks for reading.
–Nick
