Moving South

Over the past 2 months I've been involved in exploring another job opportunity here in Minnesota. That may sound strange as I've only been in Minnesota for 5 months, but I can say with a clear conscience that I wasn't out looking to ditch my current employer.

Last fall I had applied with Mayo during our time in Tucson, but they didn't have a position open so when the job in Minneapolis came up I gladly took it. In March I was contacted by the chief perfusionist at the Mayo Clinic. He is one of the most published and progressive perfusionists in the world and so when he asked if I would be interested in coming to work for him I was very surprised. The problem was that I had just started this job and the thought of uprooting again was very unappealing, so with gratitude, I declined. Two weeks later I received a phone call from him again, asking if I would be willing to have coffee if he came up to Minneapolis. He had just won the Gibbon Award (the most prestigious award a perfusionist can be awarded) and the thought of sitting down with him was too good to pass up. That was my first mistake. Evidently he is not only very good at his job as a perfusionist but he is quite persuasive as well.

To bring a tidy end to this long story, I submitted my application and was informed today that I am being offered the job. Not to seem too eager I said I would call Monday with my answer but that it would likely be YES! I'm being hired to "spearhead" the pediatric side of the practice, incorporating teaching and research with the clinical practice. To be completely honest I am humbled and a bit overwhelmed by the expectations. My tentative start date is July 11th.

God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes his hand is too heavy to miss.