ok� waiting for people to return from their breaks here at work, I have the choice of staring at the walls, getting a book to read, making more work, or bringing this computer out into the hall and typing whatever comes into my head...

since I already do several hours more work than anyone else (except Berry) around here, I am not in the mood to create some new work� as it is, most of the night shift people grumble under their breath at the work I have created for them over the years� when I got here, the night shift slept most of the night� most of management is often alseep most of the day, so it was fair I suppose� but over the years, several incidents that, upon investigation, revealed patients were taking advantage of the lack of supervision that sleeping staff provide and that forced management to wake up and contemplate methods of insuring better supervision at night� I suggested we actually do some work, but that was not the direction management saw us going�

management was more interesting in bandaids than in major surgery... so they took to making new rules, taking away privileges, challenging and threatening staff, and using the usual fear tactics that managers use when they are suddenly made aware of serious problems in their organization and have no constructive corrective measures to take...

simply, they could not come up with ideas on how to utilize night shift employees most effectively to increase productivity and efficiency, so they resorted to scare tactics...

meanwhile, I developed my own work to keep my unit awake, give staff a sense of worth, and improve the product we can offer on the night shift (which is basically auditing and paperwork)� first things I instituted were the semi-simple, very basic things... these included pre-stamping forms, auditing medical records, auditing the behavioral data, and leaving deficiency reports for the other shifts to review so the medical records would get higher scores during audits and the behavioral system might be implemented more consistently... at first most staff balked at the idea (go figure, balking at the idea of getting medical documentation right and providing consistent care for the kids) because it meant more work (or getting the work right the first time), though some staff, including management, balked because they had no idea what they were doing and the auditing provided the details that proved it...

eventually the assistant chief-honcho, who actually ran things at the time, chose to put her stamp of approval on a policy and procedure based on my auditing forms and procedures... this was in response to an external government audit that faulted the facility for not having an internal auditing process... duh... of course she took credit, but then, that's par for the course around here... those who actually know what's going on know where the forms and procedures came from... this was a gradual process, since it was pretty much the blind leading the blind, until they asked me to train people in the process... I asked how much of the process they wanted implemented on other units and they chose the least work that would satisfy the minimum requirements of the auditors...

over the years the outside auditors cited this hospital at increasing levels of auditing criteria and while they still have not demanded the level at which I audit, management has been forced to incorporate more and more of my auditing procedures into their policies and yeah, ask me to train people in how to do it...

privately I am thanked by some, but in general, publicly they deny my involvement because they are very educational status conscious here and my measly BS credentials do not match up to their perception that you must have an MA or higher to be management material... unless, of course, you have an RN after your name in which case you can almost get away with murder and still be treated like gold... I love nurses for the most part, but finishing nursing school does not automatically make one a good manager... so I suppose the intimidation factor, that is the fact that they are intimidated by my knowledge and experience because most of them are in way over their heads from a hospital QA and management standpoint plays a role in their attempts to deny my involvement...

the irony is I am not looking for anything other than to keep busy and be left alone (I tired of the daily administrative rat race and that's why I retired for a while and returned to the profession at the ground floor as a night shift tech working directly with the patients, programs, and records)... unfortunately there's a lot of insecurity, some paranoia and emotional instability, and much jealousy among management, so they seek out problems (and sometimes create them) just to justify their worth to the system... and a lowly tech creating policy and procedure and forms is an easy target... the fact that the auditors and doctors praise the products of my nightly self-assigned tasks irritates them all the more...

at least the top administrator recognizes my worth to the organization, even if I only hear it privately from him at the Christmas party or some casual meeting, or they'd have found a reason to boot me out of here long ago... I just try to keep smiling (which probably irritates the more insecure or ignorant ones all the more) and continue doing what I do...

and that's enough noise about work... let's see what else might be on my mind at the moment...

this weekend week the past two weeks was my attempt to support The Red Cross by participating in Blogging for Relief... the first entries inspired by this effort and the events in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina can be found here:

1 * 2 * 4 * 6 * 7 * 8 * 9 * 10 * 11 * 13 * 14 * 15 * 16 * 17
18 * 19 * 20 * 21 * 23 * 25 *

and you noticed missing numbers, of course you did, you're no fools... the missing numbers are the following three entries now dedicated to deliverance (from evil, madness, dirty drawers, and many other things) and respectfully dubbed:

The Mississippi Chronicles
Mess (A Message From Mississippi)
Hope (Hope Grows in Mississippi)
Anger (Anger and Angst in Mississippi)
Sigh (A Sigh From Mississippi)
Rant (A Rant From Mississippi)

because they were mostly guest entries to pass along email from a friend who witnessed Mississippi first hand cuz he lives there... bless him and his family, in fact, do it yourself... find someone touched by the events of the past week and share some love... and then go tell Michael and Tim and our own DLand Michael something good J

You can go into Walmart anywhere in the country, log onto any walmart website, even call an 800 number and either post a message to loved ones or search for messages from loved ones. Anyone can use it.

It is available at any Wal-Mart Store, SAM'S CLUB, Neighborhood Market, or Distribution Center via the hiring center kiosks, connection center kiosks, gift registry, and all Wal-Mart websites.

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)