Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Ruh-Roh

So!  The new job.  This is my first week in the office.

and ... things are not as they were represented to me during the interview process.

I was told that while 12-hour shifts were required, they would never be back-to-back.

Turns out that's not quite true.  One of the women there is working THREE back-to-back 12s this week, and she says it's not unusual.  Oh, and that it's often more like 13 hours, depending on the patient load.

I am confident in my ability to learn the position, and I'm told that I'm doing great so far, but there is NO WAY I am doing multiple back-to-back 12s, which sometime turn into 13.  The intensity level for the position is quite high, and I KNOW I'd be burning out by hour 10. 

So!  I am going to talk to my supervisor the next time she is in the office, and tell her that unless the schedule can be altered, I am not interested in continuing in the position.  There are simply too many other admin jobs out there right now for me to commit to that kind of a schedule.  I don't see the point in me burning myself out for a job that, frankly, doesn't pay all that great to begin with.

I'll let you know how it goes ...

9 comments:

James P. said...

Nupe! Sounds like the Army or something.

rockygrace said...

Yeah, Ginny. Like you mentioned on an earlier post, sometimes 12-hr. shifts are necessary for continuity of care, but this is a walk-in, not a nursing facility.

I did talk to someone else with knowledge of the situation tonight, and she said that the reason they're doing back-to-back 12s is because they're down a person, which is why I was hired. So I'm feeling a tad better tonight, but I'm still talking to the supervisor as soon as she's in. Just to make my expectations clear. I don't want the company to spend a lot of money getting me trained (turns out I will be in training until July, at least) if I'm just going to walk when the back-to-back 12s start. *sigh* It's okay. It'll all work out, one way or another. And tonight has been the first night this week that I've been able to unwind a little when I got home, so I'm doing better on the personal front. :)

But! Here is something that does give me pause - I was chatting with the supervisor yesterday, and she said that there were times when SHE was so overwhelmed by things at work that she would go home and cry at night. And I'm not really sure that an office that makes employees cry is a really healthy environment, so ... I dunno.

James P. said...

Yikes! The supervisor weeping???

(And it wasn't ME who felt that the 12-hour shifts were necessary for continuity....That was the line they were feeding the nurses with that schedule at our hospitals. The dialysis nurses where James goes are there from 4:45 a.m. until about 11 p.m......sound safe??? Nope!!!)

fmcgmccllc said...

I wonder why, is it truly an industry shortage, or perhaps a pay issue. Some people are just not gonna slave and kill themselves for peanuts. Hmmm, bait and switch or truly just a person down. But, by the time the new person is in and trained does someone else quit from burn-out. Does not look good with the crying supe. Wish this looked better for you.

Random Felines said...

yikes.....we hope you can get everything nailed down quick and if not find something else

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

Ugh, I once interviewed for a job and I was told every other weekend, and just as I was about to accept the position, I was told it would be EVERY weekend.. Nope. not even for free massages (it was at a spa, some days I do regret that choice though)

rockygrace said...

I talked to the super today, she reassured me that they were only doing back-to-back 12s because they're a person down. And she said that past 4 p.m., the lab and the primary care portions close, so it's just the walk-ins to deal with. I'm going to do an 11:30 - 8 tomorrow, just to see what the evening shift is like, and then take the weekend to think about whether I want to continue. They don't have a lot of churn in the positions, so it's not lie people are frying out constantly.

It's hard to make a decision when I'm smack in the middle of training, and I don't want to be TOO hasty. I'm just REALLY glad right now that I do have enough of a financial cushion to be able to walk if I decide to. So many people don't have that choice. Right now I'm inclined to stick it out, just to be able to put all that med training on my resume, but who knows how I'll feel tomorrow night?

Ay caramba! haha.

rockygrace said...

Oh and Ginny, I'm convinced that a lot of facilities just use 12-hour shifts because it's convenient for them, and because in most states (California is one exception that I know of), an employer only has to pay overtime if a (non-exempt) employee goes over 40 hrs. in a week, not 8 hours in a day.

fmcgmccllc said...

On the 12 hour shifts, the car companies do it so they can have max output with min O/T. 7 days of work with 3 or 4 shifts working. Rarely do these people get O/T on paper. In reality there is always someone who wants the O/T and will work.