07/03/2009 Post call, new charm!

For Christmas this year my mother-in-law gave me a Chamilia charm bracelet, already outfitted with 4 charms. Being out of the fashion loop recently, I had actually not heard that charm bracelets had made a comeback. Come to find out that there are two big names for these charm bracelets, Chamilia and Pandora, and the charms made by each brand are able to fit both bracelet chains. Anyways, I really love wearing mine and enjoy having a piece of jewelry that I can add to over time. Soon after receiving my bracelet, I experienced my first time being the genetic counselor "on call" at work. For the two weeks that we're on call, we handle all the extra stuff that comes in to our office- physician and patient inquiries, inpatient genetic consults, metabolic newborn screen referrals, etc. It can get pretty crazy at times and we sadly witness our usual work "to do" list slide into the lowest priority category. To reward myself each time I finish being on call, I came up with the idea of ordering a new charm for my bracelet. So far I've been able to add 3 charms to commemorate on call completions. I understand that this system is comprable to rewarding toddlers with a sticker each time they don't throw a temper tantrum at the grocery store. But for me, it was something pleasant to think about while handling the 5 abnormal newborn screen referrals that came in on Tuesday afternoon. If it helps contribute to the preservation of my sanity, I'm all for it!