Reflections of a Rural Social Worker: The things I won't miss

In acknowledgement of now being properly retired, I thought I would share with you the list of things I won't miss that I sent to my colleagues on my final day of work.

Things I won't miss:

Mandatory Education, now that the on-line versions have taken away the amusement to be gained from the presenter constantly tripping over multiple power cords whilst talking about OH&S and, later on, a fire extinguisher being discharged inside over and over, filling the room with carbon dioxide.

The time it takes to process all the paperwork every time we take out and return a car. When I get in my own car now I have this feeling that I have forgotten something, and need to stop the compulsion of checking that the fuel tank is at least half full when I return home.

Searching for the designated car in the car park (although a District Nurse reminded me that this does give some needed exercise to those of us whose jobs require a lot of sitting).

The frustration of Ferret (our client data system) and having it freeze when we try to hurry it up. I think that when my Manager chose me to be a Ferret Superuser she subconsciously realised that this role would require patience rather than expertise. If Fisch (a former system) has turned me off fishing and Ferret has turned me off the furry creatures of the same name, will Choc (the proposed system for the future) turn people off …? But this one might be good for the waistline.

Endless problems with computers. It is ironic that, being the oldest person in the Health Centre, people somehow think I have the expertise to fix problems. My Electrical Engineering son-in-law, who sees me as being in pre-school with computer skills, finds this very amusing. I will be applying for my Senior’s Card tomorrow (after I hopefully remember to vote).

The messages on the backs of toilet doors, designed to be dry enough to discourage a prolonged visit.

IIMS (our incident reporting system). Luckily, with my accident prone husband, we don’t have this at home, although filling out an IIMS form would have been preferable to driving the Prado whilst towing the caravan for 2 weeks, up the notorious Bruce Highway in Queensland, after he dislocated his shoulder.

Messy kitchens and annual cleaning days, although these can be used as therapeutic processes if we so desire.

The overcrowded fridge where it is a challenge to find space for our lunches amongst the dead and decaying contents.

Planning days – so much information is collated and then left to gather dust, along with other old documents, until the next day comes around and the process is repeated. Oops, I think we missed the allocation of these shelves in the planning process for the new facility!

I can’t leave without mentioning the air-conditioner (surprise, surprise)! Some of us need to dress for the Arctic, whilst others attire themselves for the climate of Alice Springs in the middle of summer. And this is all on the same day!