Free. That’s my state of mind right now. New job, new opportunities. Did I mention I quit my RA job? Well, yes, and I started three days later in a new RA position, or I should rather say, on an RA project. Because from now on I will be jumping from project to project and problem to problem. Short-term assignments, never knowing what comes next. Many people I talked to seemed to regard this as a step down. As if giving up the protective shell of the corporate environment would render you utterly dependent, lonely and vulnerable.
But I have not felt so free in years! Confident, too. I can rely on my knowledge and give input as I see fit (OK, OK, still within the boundaries of respect and politeness). But I am not bound to political alliances between departments and people and managers’ etiquettes. Because I will be mostly ignorant of those. I am a stranger. Someone from the outside. Such, I can focus on outside interests (patients and authorities) and take a less biased view on a device. And if my advice is not wanted, I can be let go, but then I also don’t have to accommodate decisions that I don’t support. Or I may still have to stomach decisions I don’t support – but I can leave them behind at the end of a project. It’s like changing the job every few weeks and months, which is something you have to like I guess.
I like it! Why? See, when you’re new, everything is new to you, people tend to show their most professional behaviours. And at the beginning, you’re ignorant of everybody’s limitations. The strings that attach them. It’s like you walk in, take a fresh look at everything and everything seems possible. So nice.
Then you start getting to know the limitations of everyone and everything around you. Oh well! But at the beginning, the feeling is just great.
So, here I am, in this euphoria state of fresh impressions and working my way through documents, doing a gap analysis against MDR requirements, reviewing GSPRs. Just as I did before and although everything around me is new, with a list of GSPRs next to me I am quite at home.
And.. what else? A couple of days after I handed in my resignation letter at my previous employer, their notified body received the MDR designation!!! Can you believe I had to leave that company to see their notified body designated!… Well, such is life I guess 😉 I truly wish them well.
