Yesterday I went to work and as usual after blicking in and checking my allocation, I went to reception to check if I could book any shifts based on my availability. I received a shock of my life. I had booked some shifts earlier but somebody cancelled them and put themselves in. Okay, I am not a permanent member of staff- I usually do bank shifts there but still no one has a right to discard me as if I was some recycling waste!
I made this known to the person in charge and they said that they would have a word with the culprit. I know that we all want to make money, especially now Christmas is approaching and the demand for presents and the like is high. I also need to make money and this is no excuse to take a shift away from me. How am I supposed to earn if I have no work to do? Okay, miracles do happen and I believe this but I have still to make an effort.
I am very busy with my studies and I do not want the need for money to cause me any stress because it interferes with my concentration. So I decided to come off all those night shifts that I had booked and luckily was able to get day shifts instead. And I am guaranteed that these day shifts will not be cancelled because the day staff are more respectful of some one's choices. Even though someone may complain in my absence (I hear it from the grapevine, they do not have the audacity to change it! And for me what I hear as long as it has not taken me off the duty rota comes out the other ear.
I am sure the next time I work there will be more drama. Watch this space.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
No one told me
I arrived at work just before 2.00p.m. and clocked in. I then checked the duty allocation to see where I was working so that I could report to the floor. I went to the nursing station to wait for the nurse on duty to come and give me a handover which went something like this:
Nurse: Hello. So you are working here today.
Myselft: Hello. Yes, I am working here today.
Nurse: Have you recently worked here before?
Myself: Yes I have, actually.
Nurse: So you know the residents well then.
Myself: Yes pretty much unless somebody's condition has changed.
Nurse: Oh, well, you know your way around so I don't need to tell you much.
Myself: Okay. Is there anything I need to know that needs doing urgently? (I look into the diary just in case something has been missed and find that two service users need to go for a group activity). Oh, looks like two people need to get ready for their group. Are they ready yet?
Nurse: I didn't know. Who are they? Let's check
(she quickly looks into the diary and without saying a word starts walking towards one of the service user's rooms and I follow suit. She then tells me to check if they need changing before sitting them on the wheelchair ready for the activities team to collect them. This I gladly did).
That was all. I went ahead and got the service user to toilet then on the wheelchair and the other one did not need a wheelchair so I just checked that they were okay.
Later I spoke to the tea lady (she normally has the title feeder/carer because she helps with laying the tables, tidying up the kitchen, making tea and coffee, filling in water jugs and making sure everyone has a drink). Afterwards, I got on with the usual routine. We were supposed to be two carers but I was the only one. I was starting to get tired because I was answering all the bells, hoisting people to bed and really doing the afternoon jobs by myself. I was not complaining but I just wondered if I was on my own (as sometimes happens) so that I can plan my afternoon well. After a while, I asked the nurse where the other carer was and she told me that the carer had gone for a training session and would be back at around 4.45p.m.
Why wasn't I told? Surely I am not a mind reader to know things just like that. I told the nurse that she should have told me. She looked apologetic and said that because I had done all the afternoon jobs I should leave some for my colleague when she returned. I did not agree with that because this meant leaving one of the service users up until 5.00p.m yet the service user was so tired and needed to go to bed. I chose to put the service user's needs first - a move which shocked the nurse. She probably thought that I would moan about it. But I did not. I was quite happy to do my bit.
As I was finishing hoisting her, the other carer arrived and the rest of the shift went well without a hitch. The nurse in question was one of the new nurses and she was supernumerary. The main nurse whom she was shadowing was 'busy' with paperwork and making phone calls and usually she does not help with basic care skills and this is not something new so I usually just don't bother with her otherwise I could end up getting so stressed out and ruining my energy levels all for nothing.
I did my best to make things normal in the absence of the other carer but at the end of the day, no one told me.
Nurse: Hello. So you are working here today.
Myselft: Hello. Yes, I am working here today.
Nurse: Have you recently worked here before?
Myself: Yes I have, actually.
Nurse: So you know the residents well then.
Myself: Yes pretty much unless somebody's condition has changed.
Nurse: Oh, well, you know your way around so I don't need to tell you much.
Myself: Okay. Is there anything I need to know that needs doing urgently? (I look into the diary just in case something has been missed and find that two service users need to go for a group activity). Oh, looks like two people need to get ready for their group. Are they ready yet?
Nurse: I didn't know. Who are they? Let's check
(she quickly looks into the diary and without saying a word starts walking towards one of the service user's rooms and I follow suit. She then tells me to check if they need changing before sitting them on the wheelchair ready for the activities team to collect them. This I gladly did).
That was all. I went ahead and got the service user to toilet then on the wheelchair and the other one did not need a wheelchair so I just checked that they were okay.
Later I spoke to the tea lady (she normally has the title feeder/carer because she helps with laying the tables, tidying up the kitchen, making tea and coffee, filling in water jugs and making sure everyone has a drink). Afterwards, I got on with the usual routine. We were supposed to be two carers but I was the only one. I was starting to get tired because I was answering all the bells, hoisting people to bed and really doing the afternoon jobs by myself. I was not complaining but I just wondered if I was on my own (as sometimes happens) so that I can plan my afternoon well. After a while, I asked the nurse where the other carer was and she told me that the carer had gone for a training session and would be back at around 4.45p.m.
Why wasn't I told? Surely I am not a mind reader to know things just like that. I told the nurse that she should have told me. She looked apologetic and said that because I had done all the afternoon jobs I should leave some for my colleague when she returned. I did not agree with that because this meant leaving one of the service users up until 5.00p.m yet the service user was so tired and needed to go to bed. I chose to put the service user's needs first - a move which shocked the nurse. She probably thought that I would moan about it. But I did not. I was quite happy to do my bit.
As I was finishing hoisting her, the other carer arrived and the rest of the shift went well without a hitch. The nurse in question was one of the new nurses and she was supernumerary. The main nurse whom she was shadowing was 'busy' with paperwork and making phone calls and usually she does not help with basic care skills and this is not something new so I usually just don't bother with her otherwise I could end up getting so stressed out and ruining my energy levels all for nothing.
I did my best to make things normal in the absence of the other carer but at the end of the day, no one told me.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I said this you understood that...
Yesterday an incident at work really tested my patience.
I was asked to work with a new recruit who was still on supernumerary status after 3 months on the job. I was baffled as to why this should be so. Anyway, as the other carer refused to do it, I decided to give it a try. After all, I was also once new and had to be shown the ropes by someone else (whether they liked it or not)!
We set about the daily tasks as usual but I noticed that in spite of knowing what to do, this person did not demonstrate any confidence in their ability to work. To be honest, I was starting to get worked up as I felt I was being slowed down. I tried everything I know how to get my colleague to increase their pace but this stalled. After a while, I decided to call a spade a spade and just told the person that they should work with speed and efficiency.
Unfortunately, to them, this translated as 'rush the service users'. I explained that she had got it all wrong and went ahead to demonstrate what I meant and the person said that they had understood. Even one of the service users told this person to work with some confidence and not be afraid of doing what needed doing. At the end of it all, the impression I got was that all had been understood and no offence was taken. How wrong I was!
The person misinterpreted what I had said and stuck with their distorted view of what I had said and 'spread the word'. When I heard about this from somebody else, I simply went to this person together with whoever she had told and explained myself again making it very clear that their perception of the situation was wrong. The person admitted that they had got it all wrong and seemed to apologise.
I am not one to hide things and I am not afraid of confrontation. My reputation is more important to me than jewels and I will do all in my power to protect it.
The lesson I learnt from this is that body language can and does often lead to a situation being misconstrued and that is something that must be watched when communicating. The complaint was my method of communication, not the content of what I said. Personally, I used gestures to drive my point home. Maybe the person did not like it. I would not know.
Am I put off mentoring? Actually no. I will be doing it again if asked to do so.
It is important to note that no service user suffered any neglect during this incident and so my priority on the job was top marks!
Take care y'all.
I was asked to work with a new recruit who was still on supernumerary status after 3 months on the job. I was baffled as to why this should be so. Anyway, as the other carer refused to do it, I decided to give it a try. After all, I was also once new and had to be shown the ropes by someone else (whether they liked it or not)!
We set about the daily tasks as usual but I noticed that in spite of knowing what to do, this person did not demonstrate any confidence in their ability to work. To be honest, I was starting to get worked up as I felt I was being slowed down. I tried everything I know how to get my colleague to increase their pace but this stalled. After a while, I decided to call a spade a spade and just told the person that they should work with speed and efficiency.
Unfortunately, to them, this translated as 'rush the service users'. I explained that she had got it all wrong and went ahead to demonstrate what I meant and the person said that they had understood. Even one of the service users told this person to work with some confidence and not be afraid of doing what needed doing. At the end of it all, the impression I got was that all had been understood and no offence was taken. How wrong I was!
The person misinterpreted what I had said and stuck with their distorted view of what I had said and 'spread the word'. When I heard about this from somebody else, I simply went to this person together with whoever she had told and explained myself again making it very clear that their perception of the situation was wrong. The person admitted that they had got it all wrong and seemed to apologise.
I am not one to hide things and I am not afraid of confrontation. My reputation is more important to me than jewels and I will do all in my power to protect it.
The lesson I learnt from this is that body language can and does often lead to a situation being misconstrued and that is something that must be watched when communicating. The complaint was my method of communication, not the content of what I said. Personally, I used gestures to drive my point home. Maybe the person did not like it. I would not know.
Am I put off mentoring? Actually no. I will be doing it again if asked to do so.
It is important to note that no service user suffered any neglect during this incident and so my priority on the job was top marks!
Take care y'all.
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