Surgery

I will be having knee surgery June 12. The doctor does not know what is wrong with my knee, but will fix the meniscus tear and biospy some tissue and also look at how much arthritis damage I have. Will update more soon.

New Blog Look

I have a new look and I thought Id share where I got my great background for free...


http://www.simplychicblogs.blogspot.com/


Hope you all enjoy!

{I don't know how to put the link where you can just click on it so you may have to copy the link to get to it, sorry}

Bride Wars/ Girls Night

Just about one of my favorite chick flicks ever! (along with notebook, and 27 dresses) Last night the girls got together to eat delicious spaghetti and salad and cookies. Lauren, Sarah, Amy, Emily, and myself ..... oh and precious Hadley hung out for the great movie. Thanks for having me over last night Lauren, can't wait until next weeks girls night out on the town!

Safe to Say...

Its Safe to Say that because no one at my job ever follows through with what they say, I will more than likely not have that dreaded meeting with Stacey! They wanted me (since I very well update myself on all the "laws" of the hospital, the policy's) to educate her on what she does that creates tension, refer back to policies, and tell her what she can improve on, and what the call center as a whole can improve on. {Are you kidding me? I am not her supervisor and I don't think she would respect my opinion since 1. I am younger than her 2. She is my lead, I am techniqually under her} On an upside Linda the director found out that I am really good at Excel and is going to have me working with her personally doing some spread sheets and stuff.

Work tension has gotten pretty thick lately. Sandra was sick Monday and Tuesday, but still worked 4 hours each morning. In the policy it states that if you miss 3 hours or more it is considered an "occurrence" as with so many occurrences you get a verbal warning, then written up, and eventually lose you next merit increase (which are yearly). So since she missed more than 3 hours on both days she was supposed to have 2 occurrences, and that is what Renee our boss told her. Well she wasn't happy with that so she emailed HR, and HR responded saying that if it was from the same illness and it added up to 8 hours, contrary to what the policy states it should only count as one occurrence. She got her way. Usually Sandra pretty much picks her hours. She will not take a lunch and stay late to make up time missed or to add up her hours to get Fridays off early or to "flex" her time and take off when she wants. Well finally yesterday they told her she can no longer make up her time! Finally! Her hours are 6:15-3:15 with an hours lunch and it is rare that she ever sticks to it. Well she got mad that they are making her stick to it now, and keeps talking about going to HR. I hope someone tells her she needs to stick with her time she was hired for. Plus when she doesn't take a lunch (or even when she does for that matter) she asks me or Crystal to buy her lunch and she eats it at her desk; without taking a break. When I talked with Renee about 2 weeks ago now about school, I told her that it was not fair that Sandra can not take a lunch eat a full meal at her desk then pick when she wants to take her extra time off that she built up. Her only response was that she is not supposed to eat at her desk, and that she would talk with her about that. Well since they never follow through with anything I am sure they never talked. That same day she ate a chickfla sandwhich at her desk, they next day she ate a big mac at her desk, and so on...

Maybe today will be a better day! Just sitting at my desk minding my own business trying to just do my job.

YAY! I get to go to School JUNE 1 official new job date!

Wow so I just had a really long talk with Renee and Linda and Stacey for part of it. First we talked about school. Long story short they are going to work with my school and are letting me start the weekend shifts starting JUNE 1!!! That means I get to go to all the wedding showers I need to in May and birthday partys! They talked with my previous supervisor and they are doing some sheet where they both sign it and share me! I work Saturday and Sunday 6a-6p at the hospital, and Monday (Tuesday for the summer) (Wednesday for Fall) 8-5. They are going to cross train me to work down stairs (of course, I heard that when they hired me) so that I am not just twiddleing my thumbs answering phones, I need more of a challenge.

Then they started asking If I had something I needed to tell them about the tension. Then they told me my letter sounded really good (posted in another blog), then I told them I just don't feel like we are respected, and Linda asked if it would be a true statement that maybe Stacey isn't respected back, I said that was a true. It is hard to respect someone when they say one thing to you but then do it themselves. She asked if I would be comfortable talking with Stacey and Renee about things that have happened or things that could be improved on. Anyways it was a pretty long meeting and I am glad they are going to work with my school. I am kind of dreading the talk face to face with Stacey, I will really have to get my thoughts down on paper tonight so I am not stumbling on my words or freeze up. I can't wait until June 1!

Weekend Shopping and more work

This past weekend me and mom did quite a bit of walking, we started when she got off of work at noon until about 9:30 pm! Ok, we didnt go for the exercise we went to shop! As crazy as it sounds though I just couldn't find anything that I wanted to buy until I found this picture frame at Michaels. (No picture just yet) It was Originally $100.00, but I got it on sale for on;y $40.00! And better yet I got a 40% coupon for any one item in the store to use on Sunday only. So what did I use it on? The same picture frame for Kristy! I got it for $25.00! what can I say I am a bargain shopper.

Sunday was mostly a relaxing day. Minus going to the grocery store 3 times. I watched the notebook, then headed over to wills and watched Lucky Number Slevin, and Old School. It was a well needed realxing day.

Yesterday was crazy busy at work, nothing too exciting happened. Oh, I had gotten an email Friday that Linda (the director) was supposed to talk with me about my school...yeah she never did. And I got an email from my old supervisor that she wanted me back and when could I start?! Well the idea is that I will work there Sat and Sun 6a-6p then work at the clinic monday and wed 8-5 that way I will be full time and still get benefits and still get to go to school. So I sent Linda another email asking her to talk with me about school sometime this week so I can get everything figured out. I hope she talks with me today, because I have to get back to my old supervisor today. Plus all the drama Friday, I had told my supervisors that I have been documenting, and Sandra told me she wants my notes by the end of the week to do something with them... she should've taken her own notes if she wanted to do something with them. Plus yesterday she went home at 10:30 because she could possible have pneumonia... she didnt look sick and she had told me she had just gotten off a sitter shift at the hospital that she worked the night before until 6 then came here to open the lab at 6:15. She just wanted to go home and sleep. Plus she is mad because they are moving her to a module and making her have an 8-5 job. Anyways, I hope today goes well. Wish me luck

Rant, Work Drama Never Ends

Where do I begin?

Last Friday:

Last week me and Crystal hadn't had our breaks in the morning so we were going to take our 15 minute breaks. Stacey (the lead) said that it was ok if we wanted to start our breaks but she needed us to only take a 10 minute break. Long story short it turned into a HUGE deal because I said we didn't get one in the morning so instead of 2 10 minute breaks we should get a 15 minute break. Our supervisor and the Director and Stacey were all calling HR trying to find out what the policy stated then we were called into a meeting! (Crazy right?!) I finally got my point across, that I understood that if we were busy that maybe we would need to take just a 10 minute break, but we weren't and the only reason she wanted us to take a shorter break was so she could put up the mail in the Doctor's mail boxes (she hates answering the phones).

Monday:

Monday afternoon (after Sandra had left) one of us in the call center picked up a call without knowing, the gentleman on the line heard everything that Stacey had said to Maria about her Silpada Jewelry party, and alcohol. Stacey was asking if Maria was going to make Mexican Margaritas, talking about how she could drink some wine, and trying to find out if Friday nights would work. The gentleman hung up and called back to complain, Stacey got the call. She said that she was the supervisor and took his complaint, then turned to me and Crystal and kind of snapped at us asking who hung up on this man, that he heard her whole conversation with Maria and that we should make sure we take care of the patient calls. She did not acknowledge anything about her conversation with Maria that he had heard.

Wednesday:

The last blog I posted discusses this about the letter I wrote to Stacey after she got chewed out for over an hour.

Thursday:

After Lunch Sandra had some Diabetes Education papers on her desk, and while she was up Stacey had asked me and Crystal what she was doing with them. We both said we didn't know and that she would have to just ask Sandra. When Sandra came back she asked her about it, and it became a HUGE deal. Stacey was saying that it was her job to delegate it to one person and that was Crystal, that Sandra shouldnt be doing it. Sandra kinda had an attitude back about it was told to us that we would all learn how to schedule for Kim (the diabetes educator) and Stacey said she never said that, and Sandra said yes you did say that. (It is just a power struggle). Then you could hear them both typing emails to Renee and Linda. Stacey went to talk with Linda for like an hour, then Linda asked both of them to come into the office. Just Drama.

Friday:

So today Sandra hasn't said more than 2 words, Crystal (my buddy in this whole Drama work world) has the day off so I am alone with Stacey (since Sandra left at 1:45)....Well this morning Stacey decided that she wanted to listen to some music so she went and got a radio and blasted it and was dancing in her chair, while me and Sandra were on patient calls. After I got off I asked her to turn it down. After I had gotten back from lunch I swear she had turned it up, and after an hour I finally politely asked her to turn it off, and she snapped back and said well why? I just said because it is a distraction for me and I am trying to answer patient calls, plus that I had always been told that we were supposed to be quite and answer the patient calls as if we were in a library. She had even put signs up that said to be quite when going through here because our phones pick up noise. She just jumped back and said that Linda said we could listen to it, but that it was fine she would turn it off and let Linda know that it bothers me. (by the way Linda is the Director of the Clinic, and Stacey is dating her son; they just bought a house together and she isn't even dicorced from her husband number 3) I could just hear her typing away I am sure sending Linda or Renee an email that I was being rude, when she didn't even ask if it was ok or if any of us minded if she turned some music on.

About an hour later I started taking all the information I had made off the walls and decided to put it all into a binder, well that apparently got the attention of some people and I got pulled into the office with Gina and Renee asking me if I was going to quit. (DRAMA) I said no I wasn't planning on quitting. Gina told me that I am a very good worker and am a valuable asset to the team and they don't want to loose me. Then they asked how everything was going, I said umm ok. They of course didn't believe me. So I brought up Mondays incident, and todays incident and told them that it just feels like I am on pins and needles and that I can't do anything without her knowing, it's frustrating. They told me that a nurse had overheard what happened monday and told Gina that we were getting jumped on for no reason. They told me to send them an email about what happened and they will write Stacey up for it. Plus there is another person having trouble with her. They gave me advice to talk with Linda about what is going on that way she knows it is not just one person having trouble its more. I am meeting with Linda on monday to discuss my school situation and work, so I guess I will talk about it with her then. I hate Drama. I wish I could just avoid it all. So pray monday goes over well.

Work

I still have not spoken with my supervisor about what I am going to do about school. Yesterday was registration day. They have started a new website for everything and because of the difficulties I just got my last class registered this morning. I got all the classes I want too so I am excited. I don't know how it will work out with school and work but we will see. Yesterday the Lead got chewed out by 4 of the administrators/director then she had asked us to write down one thing that would make her a better lead, and to be honest. Everyone else had turned theres in to her and she asked to have mine by the end of the day. I asked her if it was ok if I took mine home and gave it to her the next morning, she asked why I would need to take it home and I told her because I want to go through the employee handbook, and she said it wasn't something that was formal just to write something down. She said it wasn't herself that asked us to do this, but the director she had to turn them in to. So I took a break and got my employee hand book out of the car and wrote about half a page of things, (spent about 2 hours to get it the way I wanted it to sound)and typed it up as a letter to her. Today she was very nice about things, and praised me on how well my letter sounded and about how honest I was. Her and the director said that my letter was written really well and that I am well beyond my years! Finally it made me feel good like someone appreciated me and knew that I am not just here to answer calls. Hopefully things will get better!... maybe

My letter:

----------, 04/21/2009



Since we found information about the breaks in the Employee handbook, I have been reading through it to learn more about the health system. I have found a commitment to co-workers with some very valuable information. For instance, “Our relationships with each other are to be equally respectful, regardless of job titles or levels or education preparation.” “Be sensitive to the feelings of co-workers” “Each co-worker is to be valued, recognizing that each of us has an area of expertise”. I have been a trainer at 3 of my last jobs and one thing I had learned that I think would help is the Oreo effect. As an alternative to “don’t say that,” when you feel we are saying something the wrong way, you say something that the person is doing well at, then politely say what they should work on, and end with another compliment. Instead of making it known that you are a lead or our superior, respect us more, act like we are a team and help us grow when we have questions and want to learn. We are all women who have previous medical experience, and to me it seems like you belittle me like this is my first job and I don’t know anything, especially when you say “my girls in the call center.” I am confused if you are a leader or are our supervisor. I don’t feel like it is necessary for you to tell us when we can take lunches or to make sure to tell you that we are going to the bathroom we all know when we normally take lunches (unless there is a change) and that bathroom breaks are 5 minute breaks and back. I hope this will help you to grow as our lead.

Respectfully,
Kayla Crawford