The only thing that I've been doing consistently for 33 of my 36 years on this earth is be a friend. I'd say that makes me an expert. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you trust someone who has been doing something for 36 years to be an expert in the area or good at it? Anyone who knows me knows I have "a lot" of friends. I pride myself on networking, communication and being friendly. Ok, flirting...whatever. It is rare that I go somewhere and I don't know someone. It's me, it's who I am and I hope it's one of the reasons that people like me. My husband does roll his eyes when it's time to leave a party or event and I want to go around the room and tell EVERYONE that I know goodbye. It is not unusual for me to strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to me on a New York subway (ask Chad and Andrea Kling about that one).
I have one friend who always asks for my opinion or for help putting her thoughts and opinions into words or white letters for her. I've been known to do that for a lot of people, come to think of it. Today I had the honor and privilege of writing a recommendation paragraph for a friend pursuing the opportunity to further her education and ultimately advance her career. I have a lot of friends, I build relationships with and although different in lengths, I build each one with sincerity and a true interest and desire to know the person. I don't burn bridges and I've become the type of person who is not afraid to admit wrong or call on an "old friend" when I need a favor or a contact or just information. I removed the names to protect the innocent but this is what I wrote:
FRIEND has always excelled academically as long as I've known her. I've always been sort of jealous, in fact, that she retains so much so quickly and consistently. She is thorough and direct in both her studies and her communication, sometimes maybe a little too direct. She has always been the companion who, although emotionally tied to me, could speak objectively and thoughtfully when providing advice or clinical guidance. FRIEND is always able to give the appropriate responses without "sugar coating" the information, some people can't handle that, while others encourage it. That being said, she has an ingenious way or presenting data/information both clinical and informal that is comforting and easy to understand. She is a leader and a passionately ambitious nurse. Many times in life a friend exists that is a gem in a certain field but because you know that friend better than you know yourself you would never allow them to "practice" their work/profession on you or with you. I've worked on the human resources side of healthcare for 8 years of my 10 years in HR. Knowing what key competencies are necessary for a clinician both in a hospital and home health setting and knowing a family member is in need of skilled nursing care, I would without a doubt feel complete comfort in knowing that FRIEND would be there to follow through on a plan of care and administer the treatments/medications necessary for rehabilitation and recovery. She has wanted to advance her career for a while now and I'm proud to be able to witness her advance her career and see her challenged as an adult and a professional.
I hope that she gets what she deserves. This friends deserves it, whatever she wants is IT!
On a side note: the new job is great and I'm glad I made the transition. I'm ready to get settled into the job...always something new going on and always something fun around the corner.
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