Have interview Friday...

Hi, I'm doing Occ Med per diem now and it's ok. I prefer the acute setting, but you do learn some interesting things. It's a little monotonous but very stable and easy. I work with a great doc, I think that makes the difference!

Well I went to the interview and I think it went well....nurse manager said I would be a "perfect fit" due to my past experience but they might tell everyone that. I should find out either way next week. I actually really liked it. I would be with an RN my whole shift. Basically I am acting as an MA with more pay but this hospital system is huge and are trying to move ma's up front to reception and put more LPN's in the clinic with the RN managing them. I would be the only Lpn. We are contracted through the plant but the good thing is if the plant for some reason does not renew a contract the hospital system will place you in another office because they don't want you to take all your certs they pay for to another office....

Sounds like fun to me. I've been doing Occ Med now for about six years and yes, it can be monotonous or not, depending upon the patient load, if so, be thankful for there is the opposite situation too, where you have to handle twice as many patients each day than you really have time for and are forced to triage. I've done Med-Surg, ICU and this is where I'll stay. I enjoy it.

It sounds like a good contract group, recently my industrial site did not renew with my parent company and whammo...out of a job and looking for another in Massachusetts. But then my parent company really was not that big.

I am so sorry to hear that : ( I was concerned about that since this hospital system just took over 2 years ago for another company. They told the had seen a three fold increase in workers coming in since switching so the company is happy with them...apparently they renew every 3 years and are up this October for renewal. The NM said she wasn't worried in the slightest though. The company is actually wanting to build a start of the art facility and become a PCP clinic for their staff of 8 k plus their dependents. Right now the existing clinic is behind the gate as they call it and only employees are allowed as you need security clearance to gain entrance(apparently they have military contracts).

I was wondering one thing. The plant we are contracted through is unionized so they have days off that say for example banks have off such as MLK day because that's how they voted. But since my potential company does not recognize that as a paid holiday you have to take it without pay. Normal? It's only a few days a year but I wasn't sure if this were standard or not. It was literally the only very small con to this job. The RN's seem super knowledgeable so I really want it so I can train with them.

Just wanted to give an up date that I got the job :)

Congrats!

Normal? Yes...and no.

It's downright rude in my opinion. The company that you serve gets the day off with pay and you get a reduced paycheck. So instead of looking forward to a holiday, it's the exact opposite. It smacks of an inconsiderate negotiator when your company took on the job.

But then today anything seems normal. Back in '08 I worked for a company and had good benefits, then the crash came and they cut wages. Then a year later they "sold" the company to a new company and there were new cuts which included severe reductions in the quality of insurance and no holidays since the new company then considered me a "probationary" employee for six month. Yup, having worked there the prior year and now I'm a probationary ee with no benefits. The strange thing was that the same people worked at the same location, so only the name changed... Was it really sold, or just a way to plunder employees?

My last job though at a Big Pharma company had many holidays that other companies did not observe such as Martin Luther King day, and I got it off with pay. So it's a mix, and much depends on the professionalism of the parent contract company. But frankly, were I you and were I to get a nice offer from another company in a year or two I'd say that your company does not deserve a whit of loyalty--they lost all loyalty when the started doing things like docking you on holidays.

Yeah I see what your saying! But it is everywhere, the mentality of let's work em with less people less pay...I just grow tired of LTC and the 1:28 patient ratios. Hopefully it will get better and we will all get paid what we are really worth!

Hurrah! Occ health can vary more than many specialties, depending on what the client needs -- anything from urgent care to OSHA-regulated medical surveillance to wellness programs to safety programs, or a mix of these and more. I really like it -- slower pace, get to know your "patients"/employees very well, wide range of duties, lots of variety.

I've worked as an employee of a company with the medical contract, with the same holiday/pay situation as you describe. For me, it was a small annoyance but the autonomy far made up for it.

Hi - congrats on your new gig! Can I ask how you found out about it? I am in charge of finding an occupational nurse for our facility here in Torrance, CA, and the traditional job boards just aren't cutting it for us. . . . . any hints would be appreciated!

Terri Potts

[email protected]