Disclaimer:

The contents of this blog are completely mine and do not reflect any position of the Peace Corps or the U.S. government.



Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Make the Wiki Work for You, Part II: Timelines from Clearance to Invitation and Invitation to Service

I noticed a couple of days ago on my online toolkit that the percentage of applicants responding that they are ready to leave in 1-4 months has been steadily increasing from the time that I applied (up to 54% last time I checked), which indicates to me that there are a lot of applicants sitting out there somewhere in this process and ready to go soon. I’ve been wondering if that bottleneck of applicants slows the process or increases competition for available slots (or both!).  Ultimately, there seems to be a whole lot of great people out there waiting for the news that will define the next two-plus years of their lives.

In my case, I’ve been doing everything I can think to do. As soon as I cleared medical and legal I sent my updated resume to my Placement Assistant (because the blogs I was reading almost universally indicated that an updated resume was one of the first things requested in the Placement Process).  At that time, she informed me that my file would be reviewed within 2-4 weeks. 
That was twenty days ago (but who’s counting?). 
During that time, I have been very patient and keeping myself very busy, but as every day passes without an email from the Placement Office or any change to my online account I can feel the pressure and anticipation building again, and so I returned to the Peace Corps Wiki to see what other data I could play with to give my antsy mind some peace.
My last project involving the Peace Corps Wiki was to use the available placement data to try and deduce where I might be invited to serve. While I didn’t find much more than temporary peace of mind, I was astonished at how many people read that blog. Apparently, I am far from alone in the world of applicants patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for information about their placements and looking for any kind of comfort in the form of hard data. 
So this time, I decided to see if I could get a sense of the normal timeframe between clearance and invitation as well as the how far out the staging date typically is from the invitation date.
There are some limitations to the data that I perceive as significant:
1)      The data on the Wiki is self-reported, which can leave a lot of room for error.  Also, if the person putting their information into the site doesn’t put the day of the month, it is assumed to be the first, which could make it up to a month off.
2)      There is not very much data on the Wiki, 158 entries from 2004-2011 and 128 of those are completed.  I believe I read at one point that there were around 200,000 applicants per year, so the significance of the Wiki data is questionable. (See my plea below that you add your information to the site).
3)      The Federal data is from 2006, and I don’t know even where to start accounting for procedural, programmatic or funding changes in the meantime between 2006 and now.

That said, what did I find?
The chart shows my complete analysis of the timelines, but basically what I learned was:
Clearance to Invitation: The data on the Wiki shows a significantly longer period of time between medical clearance and invitation than the federal report.  For applicants under 50 years old, the report shows an average of 29 days (for all applicants, it shows an average of 38 days).  The Wiki shows an average of 76 days and a median of 54 days.  This means that I should expect to wait between 4 to 11 weeks for an invitation.

Invitation to Start of Service: The data on the Wiki again shows a longer wait between invitation and service than the federal report, but not by much.  Again, for applicants under 50 years old, the report shows an average of 82 days (94 days for all applicants) and the Wiki shows an average of 101 days and a median of 107 days.  This means I should be expecting to leave between 12 and 14.5 weeks after I receive my invitation.

So, given that I’m pretty much three weeks out from medical clearance that means that I am looking at 13 weeks at the least and 25 weeks at the most before my staging date. 

I want to do this too!  Where do I start?
1)      Go to the Peace Corps Wiki Application Timelines page and copy all of the data in the table.
2)      Paste the data into Excel (I had to copy and paste only values into a separate sheet after this because of the sorting buttons that are built into the table).
3)      Sort and analyze as you see fit or helpful.  Personally, I deleted the dates and left only the number of days and then looked at averages and medians overall and by year compared with mine.
4)      In order to see how the Wiki data compared with the Federal data (I assume the Federal data is more accurate because it pulls from a larger sample of applicants), I used the report referenced on the Wiki site that came from the Office of the Inspector General, Final Program Evaluation Report Peace Corps’ Medical Clearance System IG-08-08-E, published in March of 2008.  It uses data from 2006, so I did some digging around for a more recent report and couldn’t find anything.
My requests of you dear readers!

First, PLEASE put your application timeline data on the Wiki site!  The more of us that add our information, the more helpful and informative the data will be for future applicants.

Second, I want to write about the impact of the Federal budget on the Peace Corps.  I’ve been wondering if the lack of a Federal budget is impacting the agency’s willingness to move forward on future programs.  If you have any recommended resources or links or ideas that might help my research on this, I would love if you would share!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Refugee in my own country. Thoughts on leaving everything behind to follow your dream.

I feel like a refugee in my own country.  I know that the Peace Corps tells you not to make any major life changes until you have your invitation in hand, but because of the nature of my job, in order to go when I wanted to (as soon as possible), I had to leave before the legislative session started.  So I said a goodbye to my job, my boyfriend, my friends and my home of eleven years to come to Idaho, save money and wait for a placement.
So I am a refugee, in my own hometown as a matter of fact.  I have left everything that was familiar  in the hopes that I can create a new trajectory for my life by following the Peace Corps dream that has haunted me since I was a child.  Unlike a refugee however, the war that  I’ve been running from is taking place inside me and so in a way, it is inescapable.  I find myself in a Boise, Idaho winter (but at least one that is verging on Spring) waiting.  And waiting. And waiting.  Desperate to hear where I will go and when.  There is no point in settling in, so it becomes difficult to make friends or to create any kind of coherent, stable life.  I suppose it's a good trial run for my Peace Corps service. I’m living with my family, and while I’ve loved the opportunity to get closer with them, I am struggling as an adult to cope with not having my own space and feeling the need to justify my time and activities  I’m not used to accounting to anyone but myself, it’s a very strange reality.  I’m also struggling with the feeling that I am going backwards.  I feel like going into the Peace Corps is something you do in your early twenties (even though the data says that I actually am close to the median age of volunteers). It seems very bohemian, if not adolescent, to abandon a career and an established life and place the next couple years of my life completely into the hands of the federal government.  It takes a supreme ability to let go of control, which is something that is hard for me in just the day to day reality.  And I have no plan B, so I can't even think of where I will be or what I will do if this doesn't pan out.
So aside from work and a relatively stable workout routine, I am here with this void of time in front of me and the way that I attempt to cope with the unknown is that I walk around this town.  I put my headphones in my ears and walk.  For hours.  Down neighborhood streets, passing by houses where I lived as a kid.  Up the hills of Camel’s Back Park.  Downtown, up to the top of the parking garage just to look out at the city.  Sometimes I walk buoyantly, sometimes dejectedly, sometimes so overwhelmed with sadness I can’t stop crying, sometimes so overwhelmed by joy that I can’t stop crying, sometimes simply afraid of the future being so unknown, sometimes energized and excited for the new adventures ahead.  Sometimes I am intensely aware of strangers and their gazes on me, and I become so frozen with self-consciousness that I sniff, widening my nostrils, or I cough, or look at my iPhone to make it seem as if I am doing something, or simply avert my gaze or turn it stony and unseeing.  And sometimes, as is the case more and more recently, I can openly and sincerely smile.  Sometimes I try, but it feels pinched on my face and pained and insincere.
So, I have come to the realization recently that the worst seems to have passed, and I feel immensely grateful for that.  I laughed out loud when I realized the enormity of what I have been through (much of it self-inflicted) to get where I am right now and to get where I plan to be going.  So although, I don’t feel completely healed, completely ready, I feel like the load is lifting and is slowly being replaced with the sense of purpose and excitement that I have been so desperately waiting for. 
I’m seeing now that these things take time.  Not to say everyone I’ve spoken with hasn’t said the same thing.  But it has felt like one thing after another after another with so little room to breathe let alone to smile in between, that the idea of every truly feeling like I could make this happen seemed impossible.  I was having a conversation with my mother the other day about focusing on the positive, seeing the signs, keeping the hope and I remembered myself as the girl who saw signs in rainbows and birds and flowers and the weather.  Basically everything.  My mother described herself as a Pollyanna, and all I could think was “Man, I remember when I was like that!”  And I wish that I could get it back, because although it can be irritating when you are faced with the eternal optimist (or so I’ve been told by jaded friends), it is such a happy place to live. There was a time when my smile was unfailing, my bouncy greeting sincere, my optimism about the future never soured, I was charming with strangers and I could always say that things would get better and make plans with no doubts that they would work out somehow.  I just knew that everything happened for a reason.  And now?  I overcome a hurtle and I look to the near horizon for the next one that I just know will be bigger or more impossible to overcome.  When I laugh, it ends in this hollow sound, it kind of trails off into nothing because in every moment of happiness, I remember within seconds that it is likely to be replaced by despair.  But you can’t fake the Pollyanna worldview. It has to come from a place of truly experiencing the world in that way.  I desperately want it back.  I feel it in bits and pieces, which I will take with joy, because for the past few years, those moments have been scattered and sparse.
So for now, I’m a refugee, slowly clearing my head of the overwhelming changes in my life, reorienting to a new place and planning for a new life that is nothing like the one in my past.   I continue on, working to cheer as the applicants whose blogs I read get their invitations (and feeling slightly jealous).  I find myself staring lustfully at the picture on the Peace Corps wiki site of the invitation packet and I can’t wait for that crush of paperwork and information so that I can shift into gear and start making plans!

Monday, March 14, 2011

How do you take no information and then try to logically guess where you are going? Peace Corps Wiki, that's how!!!

So, what does a person do when they’ve got research skills, a lot of time to kill and an insane need to have information (any information!!!!) on what is going to happen in the next three years of her life?  Well, she tries to logically deduce from available data where she might be going in the Peace Corps and when.
Thanks to all those research methodology and statistics and data analysis classes I’ve taken, I’ve created a matrix of likely possibilities for where I might serve.
If you are an applicant looking to do the same kind of thing (or even just to know which country you might be going to based on your nomination for your program and departure date), I gleaned this information from the Peace Corps Wiki (a fantastic tool!) and used it to try to give myself a sense of where and when I might be going.  I took the data from both the Placement Calculator and the Timeline section of the wiki site. 
I’ve included countries that:
·         Show Invitations with departures in 2011;
·         As of 2009 Peace Corps data had programs in either NGO Development or Community Development.
I’ve eliminated the following:
·         Departures that take place in less than 7 weeks.  I haven’t been reviewed by placement yet and know they give you the requisite 6-week notice;
·         Departures to Spanish speaking countries.  I don’t meet the Spanish language requirements;
·         Departures to French-speaking Africa. I don’t meet the French language requirements.
I’ve prioritized the data by:
·         FIRST: Countries that have both NGO Development and Community Development;
·         SECOND: Countries that have NGO Development only;
·         THIRD: Countries that have Community Development only.
I’ve organized the data in each subset in:
·         Descending order by the number of volunteers serving in those countries;
·         I’ve assumed that programs leaving in less than 9 weeks are the least likely (as a result of timing) and so have been moved to the end of each data subset.
WHAT DID I LEARN??
#1 Would be the Ukraine and wouldn’t leave until the end of September (Nooooooooooooooo!!!! On both the place and the date!!!!!)  But there are 31 possible programs in the next six months, so that is good news.  What I don’t know is how many of these still have spots, also, I don’t have data on current programming, so some of these could be no longer operating and there could be new additions.  I will update as more information becomes available.  Was this a helpful exercise?  Yes, at killing time and exerting some illusion of control.  Ultimately I’m still left knowing nothing useful.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Cleared legal, on to placement! Being a real person works!

I accidentally reported my student loan as having non-deferrable interest, which isn't the actual case.  But thanks to the quick responding legal reviewer, was able to get all three legal holds cleared.  ONE DAY!  That's a Peace Corps record!

On to the Placement Review!

Medically Cleared! Now onto legal!

So although my online toolkit isn't yet updated, I received an email from the placement office this morning congratulating me for having been medically cleared yesterday and letting me know that it would be a few days until the legal review would be completed and then 2-4 weeks until the preliminary review of my file by the placement office would take place.  I was very happy (but still a little nervous because my online account isn't updated).

Yet again, my strategy is to be a real person to the people that are reviewing my file and hope that it moves things along.  Thanks to the Peace corps Journals site, I was able to finally get the phone number for the legal services office (which is surprisingly impossible to find with a google search or a search of the peace corps website).  I called and got a nice man who also confirmed that I was medically cleared yesterday and talked me through the three holds on my file and said it would be reviewed in a few days.

However!  When I told him what I had included in my application regarding the holds (1. a general hold, 2. a financial obligation hold and 3. a divorce hold) he said he would look at my file today and get in touch with me if anything else was needed and would otherwise clear the hold.   WHOO HOOO!  (Or as my step-dad would say, WFH!!!!!).

Once again, crossing my fingers that "today" actually does mean "today".  I guess I'll know pretty soon!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Waiting with bated breath! The Medical Review Process.

So I spoke with my nurse at PC Headquarters today, and when she heard my name she said, "Oh! I'm reviewing your paperwork now!", which is so exciting.  Actually, it's beyond exciting, exciting doesn't even do it justice.  Astounding? Over the moon fantastic?  I am so so so so very READY for this part of the process to be over.  And hearing her say that I should have an update on my status on my toolkit this afternoon (which I be able to see in the morning) is a dream come true on the path to making my actual DREAM come true!

This medical process so far has been what feels like a comedy of errors and delays, both on my part, my body's part, my doctor's part and the medical office's part.  I have gone through it trying desperately to smile and stay positive and patient because half of me (the half that is actually represented by the voices of my parents and friends) thinks the process is so intense in order to test your determination, perseverance, patience, sense of humor and commitment to service. However, I have had some intensely non-patient moments in the face of everything that has happened during this process. Here has been my medical timeline, snafus and expenses so far (I am both healthy and uninsured, so I budgeted about a month and $800 for this entire process):

November 30: Receive update on my toolkit that a medical packet has been sent to me.

December 4: Receive packet.

December 11: (Unrelated, but effects my budget issues), my car breaks down.  Pay $372 to fix.

December 14: Go to dentist and find out that I have two "not quite cavities" that my dentist would like to fill. Otherwise get told my teeth and gums are in fantastic shape. Pay $240 for the exam and x-rays and schedule appointment for following day.

December 15: My dentist calls and must reschedule my appointment due to an emergency.

December 16: Happy birthday to me!

December 21: Go back to dentist, complete paperwork, get fillings. Pay $268 for the pleasure.

December 22: Realize that it is more difficult than I thought to get any kind of Doctor's appointment at the end of December right before the holidays. Schedule earliest possible appointment, 01/06/2011.

DECEMBER STATUS UPDATE: One month has passed, as has $508 of $800 of my budget and the doctor's visits haven't even started yet.

January 6: My FANTASTIC doctor, Dr. Mock, who has treated me since I was a kid (minus the 11 years I didn't live here), agrees to waive the office fees on my visit, which is an AMAZING help and relief (and a decision he may have come to regret by the end given all the staff time my file ends up taking (:  ).  Have first visit and physical exam.  Everything looks good, lose a lot of blood to needles, get injected with various things, get poked, prodded, tested, and generally pass this stage.  Pay $345 for all of the various lab tests to be run.  I thank the heavens, my mother and Dr. Mock that I am being spared the office visit fees and feel generally very grateful.  I have to wait to do the TB test because it is almost the weekend and would miss the window to analyze the test.

ALSO on January 6, because I am worried about how long this is taking, I email my medical contact and ask him about the timeline and whether I am still okay to make my program if I get the paperwork off in a week.  He responds that I am fine because the files will be prioritized by the program and answers some other questions.

January 12: Return to office for TB test ($73). Then have to go to a travel medicine clinic at another hospital on the other side of town to get my polio booster ($72).

January 13: Wake up with a hard throbbing red bump where my TB test is.  Ask my co-worker what she thinks, and we look it up online.  It doesn't look good.  WHAT?!?  Call my doctor's office, describe the bump, she says, don't worry, a small reaction is okay.

January 14: Return to the doctor to have the TB test signed off on and pick up my lab results and my completed paperwork.  Find out that my reaction is TOO LARGE and I must have a chest x-ray to confirm that I don't have TB.  My doctor is sympathetic, but firm.  So I get the chest x-ray.  Which shows that my lungs are clear of TB, but also shows that I have a STRANGE MASS on one of my lungs and a radiologist needs to look at the x-rays.  I call my medical contact to see what is needed as a result of the TB reaction, and he says a radiology report of the chest x-ray, but that I should check with a nurse.  He transfers me, I leave a message.  (NOTE: I never hear back as a result of this call, and because I left a message detailing what I was doing and sending related to the reaction, assumed I was okay).  Pay $79 for chest x-ray and lots of anxiety about the strange mass on my lung.

January 18: Got to enjoy three-day holiday weekend of anxiety, convinced I have lung cancer.  Return to doctor to pick up radiology report, learn that the mysterious mass on my lung is actually just a normal bronchus viewed in a way that my doctor wasn't used to seeing.  WHEW!

January 18: PAPERWORK IS COMPLETE!!! Place in mail to Peace Corps.

January 24: Follow up with my medical contact about my paperwork, which is still not there, and what date my file needed to be reviewed by for my program (I'm thinking that this would help me to know when to start looking for an invitation).  He informs me that in fact I will likely not make my program (NGO Advising in Sub-Saharan Africa), because the paperwork might not be reviewed in time.  This is a 180 degree shift from what I had been told about the timing.  I slightly FREAK out that now I don't even know where I am going and when.  I am afraid I will be invited to someplace very cold and won't get to leave for another 6 months.

January 24-31: WAIT for my paperwork to be acknowledged by the system.  Check toolkit everyday.  Convince myself that the snowstorms in DC are what is holding it up.  Then convince myself that they are lost in the mail and will never arrive.  Thank the heavens and technology that I scanned everything.  On the 31st they are finally shown in the system.  Breath huge sigh of relief!  I think to myself "OK, if they really want me in Africa, they will review this file very quickly.  If they start reviewing it quickly, that means I might be okay to go to Africa..."

JANUARY STATUS UPDATE: Two months have passed, as has $1077 of my $800 medical budget (not including my failing and expensive car).

February 1: Dental review status changes to CLEARED.  Freak out with happiness that things are actually moving and think I may be going to Africa after all.

February 2: Car breaks down again. Pay $269 to fix it.

February 2: Medical status shows that my file is being reviewed.  FREAK out with happiness again.  I think I might be going to Africa!

February 3-15: Wait for medical status to change. And wait.....and wait.....well, maybe I'm not going to Africa after all.

February 21: Receive letter from medical office stating that I am missing a Hepatitis B Surface Antigen lab report, and receive a detailed questionnaire about my TB reaction.  Feel thoroughly depressed about this state of affairs because I reviewed all the paperwork a million times and swear everything was done and I called about what they needed for the TB reaction, but find it kind of insanely funny at the same time.  I make the appointment.

February 22: Go back to doctor (I think they might be getting sick of me).  Get more blood drawn.  My doctor decides that they need to call an infectious disease person regarding the CDC recommended course of action in the case of a reaction to the test with a TB-free chest x-ray.  They can't get through.  So I say I'll come back for my paperwork and the information the following day. Pay $41.

February 23:  My doctor calls me with a scary tone of voice to tell me that my Hepatitis B results came back and....BUM BUM BUM.....I need an inoculation.  I breath a huge sigh of relief, because the inoculation is not required to be medically cleared, but I was convinced that she was going to tell me that I had hepatitis B or something because of her tone of voice.  I find out that the CDC recommended course of treatment for my TB response is EITHER a QuantiferonTBGold blood test (which must be done at a hospital) or to take 6 months of INH, a TB medication.  I sigh heavily and tell her I will call the Peace Corps and find out what I am supposed to do.

February 23: I learn that my medical contact is no longer working for the office of medical services and cannot seem to get a hold of anyone that can help me with my questions.

February 24: I learn from my step-father, an RN (who does some asking around for me since no one will return my calls at the local hospitals), that the blood test costs $270 for employees of the hospital (which means it is likely significantly more expensive for an actual patient).  I call my nurse at the Peace Corps (actually I try to call my nurse, but then get transferred to a variety of people first, one of whom calls me back to say she can't answer my question and I need to talk to a nurse).  I finally get a hold of her and she is very nice to me while I push and explain that three doctors have said I don't have TB, I don't have insurance, can't afford a $300-400 blood test and REALLY don't want to take 6 months of medication for a disease I don't have and REALLY don't want to have to wait 6 months to be medically cleared before I can even get a placement.  She says she'll talk to someone and get back to me.

February 25: She returns my call and informs me that I need to take the medication, but that once I start the treatment, I can still get cleared and placed without having to wait 6 months.  She is very nice and understanding about the fact that I really DO NOT want to take medication for 6 months for something I don't have. But apparently that is the policy. I call my doctor for the prescription.

February 28: I get the prescription ($12.99 for 3 months worth, much better than a $300 blood test).  Walk across the street and fax all of the paperwork to the number.  I get fax confirmation.

March 1: I call Karen (my RN at Peace corps), to see if she has received my paperwork.  She hasn't, but she tells me call back the next day.

March 2: I call Karen and get her voicemail which says if I am checking on my medical status or to see if a fax is received I should call this other number.  I call that number and leave a message.

March 3: I call Karen, can't reach her.  Haven't heard anything from the other person.

March 4: I receive an email from the person I left a message for confirming that my fax is received and telling me that I should wait a couple of weeks for it to be looked at and will receive something in the mail if it is incomplete or anything else is needed.  I absolutely refuse to wait two to three weeks to find out if my file is incomplete still.

March 7: I make it my sole job to call Karen every 10 minutes during the work day until she actually picks up the phone (no I don't leave messages, I just want to actually talk to a real person).  I don't get her today.
I also repeatedly try to get through to my new Medical Contact to ask some questions.  I manage to get her on the phone, and she tells me that she can't answer any of my questions.  She also gives me the email address for the business placement office so I can try to find out what they might be looking at me for.

March 8: I still can't get through to Karen, I keep trying.  The last time I leave her a message. I email business placement.

March 9 (TODAY!!!!): I get an email from Business Placement telling me that they won't look at my file until it's medically cleared, but that I should be geographically open and flexible to be assigned to a new program and that when my file is cleared they will review it.  Basically I learn nothing, but it feels like contact.  Also, I call Karen and she actually picks up the phone.  When I tell her my name, she knows immediately because she is LOOKING AT MY PAPERWORK right now.  And as you know from the beginning of this blog post, that is incredible.  She did say something about running it past a medical officer, but she didn't say anything about any incomplete or additionally needed information. Fingers crossed!