Second Job (Apr. 2011)

Back in February, one of the Audiologists asked me if I would like to train to do the Infant Hearing Screens. I was like, Yeah! I told her I was going to be taking vacation in March, she said she could set up training for me in April. It turns out Donna's daughter, Kendra, would be graduating in May, and getting another job closer to home. So I needed to be trained before she left, since I'd be taking her place. So starting April, 3rd. I began my training. I spent 8 days over the course of the month, learning to do the job. It consists of taking each newborn on the list each day, one at a time into a quiet room. Putting a probe in each ear canal as the machine sends sound waves into the inner ear. When the nerve is stimulated and the sound is heard, there is an "echo" sent back to the machine, which it reads as a PASS. There is a lot of paperwork involved, especially if the baby doesn't pass. Plus you must read over the chart to see if the baby or mother has certain risk factors that would require further testing. Since I do it on my days off from the floor, I've been missing out on having 3 or 5 days off in a row. I've been lucky to have one day off every 10 days or so. But now that I am officially credentialed to do it, I can pick 1-2 days a week to work. The best part is I get my same rate of pay, and I'm only there an average of 4 hours. So it doesn't take up my whole day off. The bad part is, I still have to be at work at 7am on those days. Also, I don't get paid on a separate pay check like when I did the Newborn Photography. So I can't really separate it out as my "Fun Money". Oh well. I'm glad I've found a way to play with the babies again.