raia_national_awards_08_10And exhale.

Thursday morning, my Head of School knocked on the door of my office as I was taking off my coat. I invited him in to have a seat and the solemn look on his face nearly made me wilt. I’ve been living on annual contracts with the university since I got here and October is contract renewal time. They seem to like me around here because this year they basically created a new position for me, wrote the job description to suit my experience. But the position had to be advertised and based on my Head’s cloudy demeanor, I thought that maybe that had found someone more me than me.

I guess he was just having a bad morning, or perhaps was employing that notorious arid Australian wit, because the news he had for me was all good. I’ve got another year of teaching work at the university. Another year doing a job I love. A year to begin activation of my master back up plan.

nurse_ellie_by_laika_lorienHowever, things are going to be a little bit different for your favorite university lecturer.

I’m going to be teaching nursing students.

I was trained as a plant geneticist.

Dr. O’C’s Mum put it best when she asked me the question that has been ringing around my head since I heard I would be teaching nurses:

“Teaching them what?”

You’ve got to love mothers-in-law. Even when they aren’t legal.

Short answer, Anatomy and Physiology. I’ve never taken Anatomy & Physiology. I dissected a frog in high school biology. Or a fetal pig. I can’t remember. I did, however, take Plant Anatomy as an undergraduate.

If you end up in hospital in South Australia in a couple of years, it may be a good idea to ask your nurse who her Anatomy & Physiology professor was before you let them start poking around at what they think is your ‘kidney’.

My favorite part of this new position? The university runs a couple of small regional campuses out in country South Australia. Next semester, I’ll be sent out once a week to one of these campuses. By plane. When I heard that I had visions of flying out over the Outback in a single engine prop plane to bring the light of education to eager scantily clad natives. If not a Royal Flying Doctor at least the guy who trains the Royal Flying Nurses.

royalflyingdoctor

In reality, it’s probably more like a regional commuter flight to deliver a two hour lecture on the integumentary system to some bored miners’ kids in Whyalla.

Still and all, beats working for a living.

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Image credits:

University

Nurse

Royal Flying Doctors

This live version of The White Stripes’ “The Nurse” comes from the performance at Glastonbury 2005. The original is from the brilliant “Get Behind Me Satan”, available from The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan.

 
icon for podpress  The White Stripes "The Nurse" (Live at Glastonbury, June 2005): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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