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bookofmirrorsWell, I finally caught up my email. My inboxes (both of them) are EMPTY. EMPTY, I tell you. A scary thought, considering my combined email was in the realm of 200 messages.
I also caught up on my webcomics. And I sent a few emails I was meaning to send, and even posted to a group or two.
Egad.
Why, you ask, this sudden housecleaning? What, you might ask, even gave me the time to do all this stuff in a relatively short amount of time?
Ah, that's the trick, isn't it?
Well, I lost my job at Red Cross. Actually lost it back on March 1 (which is why I didn't tell you on the phone,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
logomancer... didn't think it would be good birthday news). Details are as follows:
I made 2 genuine mistakes.
The first was a miscount in the pints of blood sent back to the main office. The lady I was training under and I went around and around about it. We both knew the count was off, and couldn't rectify the numbers we had on paper with the pints in the cooler. We finally gave up and sent it on, hoping that the people at the next level could see what we couldn't, and make it right. Apparently, this was a bad idea. I don't know if she got disciplinary action for this or not.
The second was in filling out a temperature graph that I hadn't been trained on. It was identical to a graph I *had* been trained on, but since it was monitoring platelets (which I hadn't been trained on), I wasn't supposed to touch it. I had forgotten this. All I knew is that it had to be filled out twice per shift, and everyone had left, and it had only been filled out once, so I added the second entry. Not remembering that the criteria was more specific than that - that it was supposed to be filled out every 4 hours, not simply twice per shift. My entry was made 6 hours after the last one. I thought I was "fixing" someone else's mistake, but I apparently made it worse.
Now, to me, these certainly aren't firing offenses. There were a few misunderstandings that I think mitigated their decision (I'll get to those in a few), and I asked them if those misunderstandings hadn't been a factor, if I would have still been fired. They were hedgy on their answer to that, stating that with the consent decree Red Cross has with the FDA, they're starting to work from a policy of zero tolerance for mistakes. Of course, in the same breath, they acknowledged that people are human, and they do make mistakes. I commented (without sarcasm) that it must be hard to keep employees with that kind of policy, and they agreed that yes, their turnover rate is extremely high because of this. Personally, I hadn't noticed that when I looked at my co-workers, and I had, in fact, been assured that this WASN'T the case, except with the mobile workers, who have crazy hours that most people can't tolerate for any length of time. But, that's beside the point right now.
What I think really killed me were the misunderstandings.
First of all, I got written up for a dress code violation. Seems simple, right? Except that the woman who did it, did so poorly. She told me (without pulling me aside, and in a conversational tone) that I shouldn't wear what I'd been wearing to work (cream-colored pants and a matching t-shirt), since I was a supervisor, and had to dress more professionally. I pointed out to her that the dress code stated that supervisors could wear scrubs, and noted that I had specifically asked the head of the training department when I started the job if that exact outfit (I have 4 of them) was an acceptable substitute for scrubs, and she had agreed that it was. I did acknowledge that it shouldn't have holes in it, and that I hadn't noticed the hole in it when I had gotten dressed that morning. That pretty much ended the conversation. Never once did I get the impression it was anything other than an FYI conversation. Later, however, there was a copy of a written reprimand with my things. This was handled poorly, in my opinion, but the main problem was that, in the reprimand, she indicated that this was the second time she'd brought this up to me, which implied that, in addition to not complying with the dress code (which I thought I was, based on my conversation with the trainer when I first started), I was also being insubordinate by failing to respond to her first notice. The next morning, I spoke to her privately, stating that I didn't think she had handled it appropriately by not telling me that our conversation was a pre-cursor to a written reprimand (she said she was just covering herself), and that her reprimand stated I had been told about this issue the day before the reprimand, and that I didn't recall her having discussed my dress before. She hem-hawed about this for a while, then finally blurted out, "Well, I can't believe *someone* hasn't spoken to you about it before!" I assured her that no one had told me in the past that that particular outfit was unacceptable, and reminded her what the trainer had said. She simply said she couldn't believe that.
At any rate, she lied.
The second misunderstanding related to computer equipment. I had been exchanging emails (initiated by someone else) with someone in the computer department about upgrading peripherals and hardware to the computer in my office, and happened to mention some of the results of this discussion with one of my supervisors. She agreed with something he had said, which was that I shouldn't buy the peripherals out of pocket. During this discussion, I was showing her the peripherals I wanted out of the catalog, and asking her to order them if she thought they would go through. In the meantime, the guy I'd been emailing back and forth to, decided to forward our emails to the head of my department (I'm assuming because she handles the budget). This happened to occur after I'd spoken to my supervisor, so she jumped to the conclusion that I'd gone over her head after we'd talked about it. A quick look at the dates of the emails would have debunked this theory, but...
I mentioned this at the meeting to discuss this, and was told that I was apparently being misled into thinking that there was still a chance to maintain my employment, and that the decision had already been made to terminate me. Niiiiiiice.
The other thing they mentioned, and I got the gut reaction that this was really one of, if not the, main reason(s) they fired me, was that I asked too many questions. Apparently, asking questions about how/why we do things the way we do led them to believe that I wasn't interested in following procedure, and therefore wouldn't set a good example for my staff. The opposite was true, since I believe that knowing why a rule is set in place puts someone in a better position to follow it, but, again, the decision had already been made. And, never in the time that I'd asked questions, had this concern been addressed. It boils down to, they thought I had an attitude problem, or at least would in the future.
*sigh*
Y'know, I'm so jaded to this, that it was barely a blow to me. It creates all sorts of annoying issues, of course. Like having to pay for, or lose, the kickass insurance Red Cross offers. Like losing the cushy pay, and the (I thought) stability of a full-time job. Despite my earlier posts on having learned how to play the system of nursing in Georgia by working several part-time jobs, I really prefer full-time jobs.
Speaking of part-time jobs, all hope isn't lost. I drove directly from the meeting in which they fired me, over to Para Quad, where I'd done all the groundwork to start there part-time before I took the Red Cross job, to see if they still wanted me. They did. Since I'd done all that, my CPR card and my insurance card had expired, and I needed a chest x-ray to prove I didn't have TB, but once that was taken care of, yeah, they totally still wanted me. I got that information to them yesterday. I also drove over to Shoreham, and asked if I was still on their list of employees. I was. I gave them my cell phone number and said I was interested in picking up some shifts. I worked 3 of them this past weekend. So, I was never actually unemployed. Just lost the best of the 3.
There is going to be a dry spell, as far as cashflow goes. Due to the way Para Quad works, and my decision to go visit my parents during my "time off", I won't be starting there until the 22nd of this month. And I work at Shoreham on an as-needed basis only, so that's sporadic. I've already interviewed for one other job, and applied for more. That's the benefit of being a nurse, even in Georgia.
I've looked at this over and over again. I'm the common denominator in my job losses. I know this. And I've done self-examination, discussed it with people I've seen since then, and other than the potential issue with a rapport rather than report style of communication I prefer (I *can* do either) that was mentioned bywaterfall_sh, I don't know what it is. I've examined the "obvious" answer, which is fear of success, but, y'know, I really think I've gotten over that. I mean, not completely, but I don't think it's affecting my decisions, or the way I act in work situations. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the workforce wants automatons, and I make a really shitty automaton. And frankly, I don't want to make a good one.
There's also the issue of just the workforce mentality in Georgia, especially in nursing. I had a very depressing talk with a co-worker at Shoreham on Sunday night about it. She's gone through many of the same things I have. Interestingly enough, she's also from Illinois. She told me things about the healthcare industry in Georgia that just made me cringe. I would NEVER send a loved one of mine to a facility in Georgia. I have yet to see one that's good enough for my family. In contrast, there were several in Illinois I found acceptable. If I had a developmentally disabled kid/friend/relative that I couldn't care for myself, I'd happily put them in Fox Center, where I worked. They were GOOD. They were clean, the staff really cared, and it was an all-around good place to be. Lots of places were like that. Not here, though. It truly is depressing. Almost makes me want to move, honestly.
Anyway, like I said, it's not the end of the world. I just hate getting so jaded. I am looking forward to the extra time on my hands. I'm looking forward to visiting my parents. I'm looking forward to being able to see some of my friends. I'm looking forward to maybe even catching up on LJ. I haven't caught up since December 5 (hmmmm.... I started Red Cross on December 1... coincidence???). So, if I seem out of touch, it's 'cause I don't have a clue what's been going on with any of you. Still interested, though. I'll get there.
Anyway, this entry brought to you by the letters I (for insomnia) and X (for xtra spare time).
I also caught up on my webcomics. And I sent a few emails I was meaning to send, and even posted to a group or two.
Egad.
Why, you ask, this sudden housecleaning? What, you might ask, even gave me the time to do all this stuff in a relatively short amount of time?
Ah, that's the trick, isn't it?
Well, I lost my job at Red Cross. Actually lost it back on March 1 (which is why I didn't tell you on the phone,
logomancer... didn't think it would be good birthday news). Details are as follows:I made 2 genuine mistakes.
The first was a miscount in the pints of blood sent back to the main office. The lady I was training under and I went around and around about it. We both knew the count was off, and couldn't rectify the numbers we had on paper with the pints in the cooler. We finally gave up and sent it on, hoping that the people at the next level could see what we couldn't, and make it right. Apparently, this was a bad idea. I don't know if she got disciplinary action for this or not.
The second was in filling out a temperature graph that I hadn't been trained on. It was identical to a graph I *had* been trained on, but since it was monitoring platelets (which I hadn't been trained on), I wasn't supposed to touch it. I had forgotten this. All I knew is that it had to be filled out twice per shift, and everyone had left, and it had only been filled out once, so I added the second entry. Not remembering that the criteria was more specific than that - that it was supposed to be filled out every 4 hours, not simply twice per shift. My entry was made 6 hours after the last one. I thought I was "fixing" someone else's mistake, but I apparently made it worse.
Now, to me, these certainly aren't firing offenses. There were a few misunderstandings that I think mitigated their decision (I'll get to those in a few), and I asked them if those misunderstandings hadn't been a factor, if I would have still been fired. They were hedgy on their answer to that, stating that with the consent decree Red Cross has with the FDA, they're starting to work from a policy of zero tolerance for mistakes. Of course, in the same breath, they acknowledged that people are human, and they do make mistakes. I commented (without sarcasm) that it must be hard to keep employees with that kind of policy, and they agreed that yes, their turnover rate is extremely high because of this. Personally, I hadn't noticed that when I looked at my co-workers, and I had, in fact, been assured that this WASN'T the case, except with the mobile workers, who have crazy hours that most people can't tolerate for any length of time. But, that's beside the point right now.
What I think really killed me were the misunderstandings.
First of all, I got written up for a dress code violation. Seems simple, right? Except that the woman who did it, did so poorly. She told me (without pulling me aside, and in a conversational tone) that I shouldn't wear what I'd been wearing to work (cream-colored pants and a matching t-shirt), since I was a supervisor, and had to dress more professionally. I pointed out to her that the dress code stated that supervisors could wear scrubs, and noted that I had specifically asked the head of the training department when I started the job if that exact outfit (I have 4 of them) was an acceptable substitute for scrubs, and she had agreed that it was. I did acknowledge that it shouldn't have holes in it, and that I hadn't noticed the hole in it when I had gotten dressed that morning. That pretty much ended the conversation. Never once did I get the impression it was anything other than an FYI conversation. Later, however, there was a copy of a written reprimand with my things. This was handled poorly, in my opinion, but the main problem was that, in the reprimand, she indicated that this was the second time she'd brought this up to me, which implied that, in addition to not complying with the dress code (which I thought I was, based on my conversation with the trainer when I first started), I was also being insubordinate by failing to respond to her first notice. The next morning, I spoke to her privately, stating that I didn't think she had handled it appropriately by not telling me that our conversation was a pre-cursor to a written reprimand (she said she was just covering herself), and that her reprimand stated I had been told about this issue the day before the reprimand, and that I didn't recall her having discussed my dress before. She hem-hawed about this for a while, then finally blurted out, "Well, I can't believe *someone* hasn't spoken to you about it before!" I assured her that no one had told me in the past that that particular outfit was unacceptable, and reminded her what the trainer had said. She simply said she couldn't believe that.
At any rate, she lied.
The second misunderstanding related to computer equipment. I had been exchanging emails (initiated by someone else) with someone in the computer department about upgrading peripherals and hardware to the computer in my office, and happened to mention some of the results of this discussion with one of my supervisors. She agreed with something he had said, which was that I shouldn't buy the peripherals out of pocket. During this discussion, I was showing her the peripherals I wanted out of the catalog, and asking her to order them if she thought they would go through. In the meantime, the guy I'd been emailing back and forth to, decided to forward our emails to the head of my department (I'm assuming because she handles the budget). This happened to occur after I'd spoken to my supervisor, so she jumped to the conclusion that I'd gone over her head after we'd talked about it. A quick look at the dates of the emails would have debunked this theory, but...
I mentioned this at the meeting to discuss this, and was told that I was apparently being misled into thinking that there was still a chance to maintain my employment, and that the decision had already been made to terminate me. Niiiiiiice.
The other thing they mentioned, and I got the gut reaction that this was really one of, if not the, main reason(s) they fired me, was that I asked too many questions. Apparently, asking questions about how/why we do things the way we do led them to believe that I wasn't interested in following procedure, and therefore wouldn't set a good example for my staff. The opposite was true, since I believe that knowing why a rule is set in place puts someone in a better position to follow it, but, again, the decision had already been made. And, never in the time that I'd asked questions, had this concern been addressed. It boils down to, they thought I had an attitude problem, or at least would in the future.
*sigh*
Y'know, I'm so jaded to this, that it was barely a blow to me. It creates all sorts of annoying issues, of course. Like having to pay for, or lose, the kickass insurance Red Cross offers. Like losing the cushy pay, and the (I thought) stability of a full-time job. Despite my earlier posts on having learned how to play the system of nursing in Georgia by working several part-time jobs, I really prefer full-time jobs.
Speaking of part-time jobs, all hope isn't lost. I drove directly from the meeting in which they fired me, over to Para Quad, where I'd done all the groundwork to start there part-time before I took the Red Cross job, to see if they still wanted me. They did. Since I'd done all that, my CPR card and my insurance card had expired, and I needed a chest x-ray to prove I didn't have TB, but once that was taken care of, yeah, they totally still wanted me. I got that information to them yesterday. I also drove over to Shoreham, and asked if I was still on their list of employees. I was. I gave them my cell phone number and said I was interested in picking up some shifts. I worked 3 of them this past weekend. So, I was never actually unemployed. Just lost the best of the 3.
There is going to be a dry spell, as far as cashflow goes. Due to the way Para Quad works, and my decision to go visit my parents during my "time off", I won't be starting there until the 22nd of this month. And I work at Shoreham on an as-needed basis only, so that's sporadic. I've already interviewed for one other job, and applied for more. That's the benefit of being a nurse, even in Georgia.
I've looked at this over and over again. I'm the common denominator in my job losses. I know this. And I've done self-examination, discussed it with people I've seen since then, and other than the potential issue with a rapport rather than report style of communication I prefer (I *can* do either) that was mentioned by
waterfall_sh, I don't know what it is. I've examined the "obvious" answer, which is fear of success, but, y'know, I really think I've gotten over that. I mean, not completely, but I don't think it's affecting my decisions, or the way I act in work situations. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the workforce wants automatons, and I make a really shitty automaton. And frankly, I don't want to make a good one.There's also the issue of just the workforce mentality in Georgia, especially in nursing. I had a very depressing talk with a co-worker at Shoreham on Sunday night about it. She's gone through many of the same things I have. Interestingly enough, she's also from Illinois. She told me things about the healthcare industry in Georgia that just made me cringe. I would NEVER send a loved one of mine to a facility in Georgia. I have yet to see one that's good enough for my family. In contrast, there were several in Illinois I found acceptable. If I had a developmentally disabled kid/friend/relative that I couldn't care for myself, I'd happily put them in Fox Center, where I worked. They were GOOD. They were clean, the staff really cared, and it was an all-around good place to be. Lots of places were like that. Not here, though. It truly is depressing. Almost makes me want to move, honestly.
Anyway, like I said, it's not the end of the world. I just hate getting so jaded. I am looking forward to the extra time on my hands. I'm looking forward to visiting my parents. I'm looking forward to being able to see some of my friends. I'm looking forward to maybe even catching up on LJ. I haven't caught up since December 5 (hmmmm.... I started Red Cross on December 1... coincidence???). So, if I seem out of touch, it's 'cause I don't have a clue what's been going on with any of you. Still interested, though. I'll get there.
Anyway, this entry brought to you by the letters I (for insomnia) and X (for xtra spare time).
-
- Something on simplysakka's Computer
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Well...
Date: 2004-03-10 03:38 am (UTC)Keep in mind that, just overcoming your poverty-wish doesn't magickally improve the economy at all. or corporate double-speak. or mitigate the unrelenting stupidity of zero-tolerance policies (who made these up!). or make otherwise normal people NOT lie to save their own ass.
So...don't take ALL the blame.
Re: Well...
Date: 2004-03-10 09:47 am (UTC)Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 04:16 am (UTC)So...come visit me this weekend! We are talking about gaming if everyone can make it, but I want to see YOU too.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 09:54 am (UTC)However, in this case, my parents take precedence. I haven't seen them in longer than I haven't seen you (believe it or not), so I'm going to be visiting them from Saturday to Thursday. But yes, it had definitely not escaped my attention that this meant I could come see you soon. It just won't be this weekend, is all.
You're on my list. *evil laughter*
no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 09:55 am (UTC)Which, apparently, is my problem.
C'est la vie.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 07:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-10 09:56 am (UTC)See you soon for movie night!