The End of an Era

By the time you read this I will have moved on from my workplace of nearly sixteen years.  The longest stretch of any job I've ever held.  Possibly the longest I ever will hold.  I mean, I hope retirement is less than sixteen years away, but one never knows. 

I figured I would someday compose this entry.  But how it all happened? Not what I expected.  Longtime readers will recall I am an audiologist who works with several ENT doctors.  When I began in 2009 it was still a private practice, one that had existed since 1969.  In 2015 we joined a group.  The name eventually changed as more and more offices across Florida joined it.  It was a bumpy transition but I held in there.  I survived several significant changes and managerial regimes.  A big move to the ninth floor in 2020 to a suite half the size and never really adequate.  A pandemic.  Always focusing on patients; that's what got me though. 

In April I learned that our office was closing.  One ENT decided to go off and open his own spot, still within the group.  The remaining docs and a nurse practitioner who started last year will continue at our other location, about twelve miles north, which has been there for thirty years.  Losing a revenue source was one factor.  The building's management jacking the rent was another.  The current lease was up July 1st.  The last day our office was open for appointments was June 25th.  A day I never expected to see. Employees had breakdowns in the office.   The practice always had a presence in this area, for as long as I've been alive. 

I did not join the departing ENT or those left in the other office.  I am now working with different doctors in a different group.  The departed audiologist there had only worked part time.  I came in to expand the department.  I am excited for this opportunity.  The doctors and staff are great.  One of the medical assistants is someone I worked with for about thirteen years at my old place.  A nice way to start off!

I can't go into too many details about why my journey has taken me somewhere completely new.  There are plenty.  Maybe later.  I could easily compose another of those series I used to do on this blog. Remember those? It could be called "My Years with the ENTs" or some such.  Some real drama in there, but it always seems to be when you get people together.  If you were reading this blog back in 2014 you'll recall another ENT had left our practice to go solo; she's still doing business to this day.  Her final weeks with us were awkward, as things have been this go 'round, to say the least.   It remains to be seen if I will ever take the time to write a new series.  Perform the post mortem, as it were.  Some of it would sound harsh. 

The emotions have run the gamut since April.  The needle clicks from "sad" to "pissed off" almost hourly as the memories (and recent circumstances) flash through my head.  So many co-workers and patients who came and went.  Some got other jobs, some moved away, some passed on.  So much I could say.  Leaving was bittersweet.  50/50 on the bitter and sweet? Ummm..let's just say there are certain things I'm still struggling to understand.  People I'm trying to forgive.  Damned hard.

I will really miss the old location, which has views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean.  Both were even visible from the patient bathroom in the lobby.  Bet your doctor's office ain't got that.  It is a prime spot. Other tenants in the building have also left because their rents were hiked.  It wouldn't surprise me if within a few years the place will be razed for a new swanky condominium, like so many of its current and future neighbors in West Palm Beach.

Be certain as time goes on I will keep you updated on my new job, and give you some more info. on All That is Past.