My (Unpaid) Job

Many of you know I recently returned to tutoring part-time (SAT, writing, and reading comprehension at the moment), and I'm enjoying working again and teaching, even if it’s not in a classroom setting for the time being. But did you also know that I’ve been working full-time in none other than the healthcare industry? Every day I complete a huge range of health-related tasks, including but not limited to refilling and picking up prescriptions, setting up and driving to doctor’s appointments, reporting symptoms, double-checking medication dosing, measuring and administering medication, changing caps, changing dressings, ordering and organizing medical supplies, confirming home pharmacy deliveries, checking blood sugar and blood pressure, engaging in physical therapy, reading insurance plan information, verifying insurance claims, and managing an HSA.

The most comprehensive term for my position would probably be “personal healthcare manager.” Unfortunately, this position is unpaid because, as you may have guessed, it’s for myself. Though I continually wish I had someone to manage this daunting list of daily health-related tasks for me, I’m grateful that I: 1) have an amazing husband who is my partner in all this and helps me as much as possible; 2) have a mother who is extremely adept at many of these tasks and has taught me both verbally and through her example how to perform them without losing my mind; 3) have health insurance; and last but certainly not least, 4) speak English. Seriously. Imagine trying to do all the things I listed above with a translator (if you’re lucky).

So for now, I guess you could say I’m working over-time. But I’m hopeful that sometime in the near future, I’ll be down to one full-time job, definitely NOT in the healthcare industry :).