You're a LIBRARIAN! That means:
- You live for the hunt, unearthing articles, clinical trial info, discussion threads, the best doctors and more, with a passion usually reserved for gold-filled shipwrecks.
- You welcome a challenge and can’t believe we ever lived without Google, Medline, Yahoo! Answers and all the other online community members who help you in your quest for information.
- You may also be: A journalist, author, health professional and Internet addict.
Little do they know that I am actually a librarian. The description is nearly perfect: I do live for the hunt and welcome a challenge. When I get a call for a reference question, I am all over it. When I get to teach people how to use the above-mentioned tools, I am very passionate and love sharing information. It's not just my job or my career, it is part of who I am. In other posts, you have seen me mention decision making a few times. I used to question my decision in becoming a librarian. I finally had enough and realized I was self-sabotaging myself and undermining myself so I stopped. I embraced my choice. In all fact, I love research and teaching and writing. The other choice would have been a professor, but an academic librarian is even better for me. Maybe one day I will fulfill my dream of becoming a professor too. What is best about both professions is that they can accommodate me and my disabilities. It is up to me to advocate for myself, which I have been doing for ages. Every university course I took involved me talking with the professor to let them know of my disabilities: that I am blind in my right eye and hard of hearing in my left ear. To accommodate my disabilities, I let them know I may record the sessions and type an incredible amount of notes to ensure I got all the information. This "advocacy" has continued in my social and professional life. I even have a hearing aid now that I use mostly in group situations. Now I have something else to add to my plate, the fibromyalgia. The question of how to approach this subject has been a serious question in mind. How does it affect insurance? How do I tell my employers? Should I tell my employers? I have always been an upfront person. Even with co-workers, I have always told the people I work with about my disabilities so they do not think I am ignoring them. Even then, I usually pay more attention to my surroundings than the majority of people. This ability to be in touch with my environment is more out of survival and necessity. Honestly, I like this advantage. With every disadvantage there is an advantage, just a matter of figuring it out. I'm a puzzle person, troubleshooter, problem solver, and very resourceful. All these, in a way, are derived from learning to live with my disabilities. I am very grateful for these skills. Back to the fibro question. I have told my current employers and it has been well received and understood, for the most part. I tell them because I do not want them to think I am purposely missing work but I am out of necessity the days I cannot move or function. One of my bosses didn't take my missing work too well, especially the time I had a bad reaction to the Cymbalta. After careful thought, I advocated for myself and sat down and talked with that supervisor about guilt and how I feel guilty enough missing work without being guilted by this particular person. There have been comments made in the past, some I don't think this person realized the impacts of their words. I can say things have improved for now. I am definitely very proud of myself for self-advocating. It takes confidence and conviction to be able to do something like that. It can change a person. I'm generally humble and honest. I am a health advocate and librarian. The two mix together very well :)
Cheers
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