nana2003

Thank you for all the suggestions, i actually filled out an app online today for a position for phone triage. And I mailed out 2 resumes for supervisor positions. Now I am going to look into EMR and HIT...thanks again.

I would love to do phone triage...that would be great for me. But not many opportunities in this area (southeastern Wisconsin) for an associate degree. I have actually done a few things in the last 30 years but mostly long term care and rehab. For 7 years I did case management but now everyone wants a bachelor degree for that. I also worked in a manufacturer medical office for extra money on weekends, but that factory closed....go figure. I am just so tired lately and thought night shift would be a good shift for me but I had a lot of trouble adjusting to the sleep schedule. One thing I would like to say is thanks for responding, I have been feeling so low lately and wanted to reach out.....thanks.

I am 55 years old and it is getting more and more difficult to do this kind of work. I have had problems with jobs since a severe shoulder injury 2 years ago. I am looking for ideas of how to use my experience to find a job not so physical stressful, any ideas?

Around here, 6 weeks is the usual time off for maternity leave. If your 6 weeks were up in January and you told them you were not ready to come back it sounds to me like you may have quit, or extended your leave. But that would usually involve some paperwork, but say you did not do any paperwork. Then you got a letter of termination this week…..more than 2 months later. I do not understand why you have not been in contact with your employer for so long. I can see how they might come to the conclusion that you did not want to work there anymore. Maybe you should call them and get this all straightened out. Sounds to me like there is a definite lack of communication here on both sides. I’m thinking the only way you can get a true understanding of your benefits is to talk directly to your employer.

hi nancy, nancy from wi here. i am not personally an independent provider, but i know people that are, and they do it here in wisconsin. so you can count wi as one of the states. hope this helps.

Here is another chapter to the saga. Today I got an email from the DON telling me I need to take the time on Friday to go and do a trach change with the other nurse. Then she preceeded to tell me that I need to watch what and how I say things to other employees. She said I really hurt the other nurses feelings Saturday because she was an LPN and I said I needed to do the trach change but had to be checked off by an RN or the DON. (Should I really be orientated to a trach change by an LPN when I am an RN......no offense to LPN's, I was one for 20 years and could teach a lot of RN's stuff in an institution setting, but in a homecare setting?) She also said I was abrasive to the other people at the orientation meeting. I was there for 1 hour, and the other people were 3 aides, one nurse the scheduler and the DON. I don't think I said more than 2 sentences! She is unhappy that I discussed schedule changes with the other nurse instead of the scheduler or her and was not happy that I was starting out my employment like this. Then she goes on to say that all these things can be fixed and she hopes we have a long and happy working relationship! I was stunned.....I really do not think I am the way she has described. I called my husband and he said right away to tell her and the job goodbye. So then I called a friend that used to work for this agency but she did not know the DON, but gave me the number of someone who did. After talking to her I sent an email back to the DON and told her I thought she should be aware of the negativity she made me feel and I did not think her agency was right for me and I would not need anymore orientation because I would not be working for them any longer. I also mentioned her telling me to call in sick. I am keeping copies of these email and am thinking about sending them to the administrater, but from what I have heard it will probably not make any difference. This is sad because I know the family really needed some respite time on the weekends, but I think the DON is not safe and she is a little nuts! I really feel bad right now...............

After talking with the 2 different nurses that orientated me and the parents of the baby......I get the impression that the DON is laking in people skills. Even the family said that! I really like the family, the baby and the other nurses. I would not have much contact with the DON so that problem would resolve itself. Since working on Saturday I feel so much better about the whole thing. Thanks for all you input though, I really do appreciate it.

I can understand your concerns regarding my pediatric experience. I had a lot of apprehension myself. But I have to admit I have told everyone that that has any connection to this job that I do not have any pediatric experience, including the family, but I have experience with adults with the same needs. That is why I am taking the orientation slow. And yes I have never changed a trach on a pediatric pt. That is why the DON wanted me to work the dayshift, to get more experience with it. As it turns out I was able to do a dayshift last Saturday and I will be going back again this week for more orientation in the evening and do a trach change. When I was hired the DON told me she would not be giving me a child with a trach, but she changed her mind. I think she changed it because the Mom is so involved with the child's care, that when it comes down to it she is the one that does most of the cares and we assist her. And I feel comfortable with that. The parents have been doing these cares all along (the baby is 14 months old now) due to the shortage of nurses. They usually only have help for 8 hours 5 days a week, but are approved for 24-7, so my help is more respite for them. Also the child is scheduled for surgery in a couple months to upgrade the trach to one with an inner cannula for a short term and then to DC it all together, so she is very stable. She is covered for nursing service under the Katie Beckett which is Wisconsin Medicaid. Even though I have had a lot of doubt about this job, I like the baby and the family, plus they live very close to me. After I am done orientating I can tell the compnay what hours I will work, and it will be much easier on my back. P.S......the child is not vent dependent but is on 35% humidified O2.

Thank you so much. I was really starting to think there was something wrong with me! I kept thinking about her telling me that I needed to make a sacrifice, and I think they should be making a sacrifice and pay the overtime or change a schedule a little to get me orientated so I can fill those weekend hours for them. The fact that they are not flexible enough to do this scares me. I am seriously thinking about doing something different for a 2nd job.

I had a few oral presentations in school, I thought everyone did. Plus I had to take a speech class. I got a good hint from one of the instructors. He suggested to practice in front of your family or friends, some people even do it in a mirror. So I used to stand at the kitchen counter and look out over the front room pretending like there was an audience and practice the presentation until I practically had it memorized. My kids thought I was kind of nuts, but it did help a great deal. The presentations I did with a group were harder because we did not get to do this together, but it worked out. Good luck to you!

Hi, I just need someone to sound off to. I work fulltime in a position that is more of a case management job with elderly and disabled. Recently I took a 2nd job doing hh with pediatrics for weekends and maybe evening hours. (I have never worked peds before, but have worked with adults with trachs, g-tubes, and the other things this little one needs.) I am planning some evening hours to orientate. The DON wants me to orientate to a day shift but, they could not have me orientate on a weekend day shift with another nurse because they just don't have anyone to do it. She said that if I really wanted this job I would need to make a sacrifice and take a day off my primary job for orientation. She even suggested I call in sick. But my job does not work that way. I get so many days per year and when I call in they take one of those day. Due to severe health problems with some of my family members I only have 2 1/2 days left for this year, which I have been trying to hold on to for the same reasons. Last night I did orientate a few hours with another nurse and she offered to orientate me on a weekend day, but that would mean changing her schedule which she was willing to do. She suggested I call the scheduler, so that is what I did. I thought, what the heck it's worth a try. The scheduler said she had to check with the DON. A few minutes later I get a call from the DON, and she says the other nurse should not have offered and they can not change any schedules just for me. She was rather snotty about it, saying I only have 2 choices, and we had this conversation before. Blah blah..... Basically treating me like a kid. I am sitting here thinking.............do I really want to work for this company? I am also thinking, I am not very important to them, even though I am going to be filling a big void for them. I can understand sacrifice, I have made a lot of them in my life. I keep thinking why wouldn't they make sure I get the orientation that they think I need to do this job. Am I wrong to feel this way? Tell me what you think.

You are right we do have expense reports we fill out periodically for reimbursement for mileage, certain meals, and parking when we go to seminars and homevisits. Next time I will suggest she put it on her expense report, with the required receipt.................for probably less than 25 cents! :)

Oh how I wish I could do that! But unfortunately that is not an option. The first caller is the head of the disaster response commitee or someone she appointments. What I would really like to do is not to have to call her, or have her call me. We all have to record the time we got the call and the time we called the next person. I never thought about recording the call. That might be an option. And I really wished she had never picked up the phone, I would have been more than happy to talk to the next person on the list. She is very nice. LOL

You are 100% accurate..............she does not like change. I seem to be the one that she dumps on, she is sweet as pie to the others, they never see that side of her. But we are so closely associated because we are the only nurses that work in this program, I do not want the higher ups in the health dept thinking the phone tree fell apart with me. So I guess I am enabling her to continue this type of behavior. Maybe I am the one that needs to learn how to deal with her differently. I prefer not to deal with her at all! LOL. Her attitude makes me rethink the whole nursing theory of being there and helping.

You actually did nail her attitude. And usually I would just nod and get out asap. She always acts as if she wants your advice, but when you give it, she doesn't like it. I try to limit my contact with her as much as possible. But when I have to talk her into doing her part on an emergency call tree, then it has probably gone to far. She was not just gripping this time, (she always gripes) she was saying she was not going to do it, and could not afford it. That is what made this time different. But there is probably no good solution to this type of personality.