Soooo by my countdowns that I started several weeks ago, I should be putting in my resignation tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the day I officially get paid all my unused vacation/sick days back to me (about 2 weeks worth of straight up pay-- which is of course going straight to my savings slash student loans...)... those little bonuses are nice reminders/motivation to deal with some of the stuff I deal with...
Tomorrow was also the day I was supposed to have my new job offer officially ready to go and signed so that I'd have a place to go into work 3 weeks from now.
But, today, I got the voicemail I had been waiting for for WEEKS, an official answer to my next steps in the job world. But it was not exactly the answer I wanted...
"Hey B, this is Anne calling from the Pediatric Clinic. I'm sorry it's taken a little longer to get back to you. I wanted to give you a call and let you know that we received another application last Thursday from another therapist who does have experience in pediatrics, so we got her in for an interview right away. While we think you are great and would be a great addition to the team, we decided to offer her the full-time position at this time. Unfortunately we don't have the caseload to support two therapists so we weren't able to take you both, but we were impressed with you and hope you'll keep us in mind in the future, maybe in the Spring if our caseload grows more and you're still looking......." and blah blah blah.
Sooooo so so so so so disappointing. I know they say, don't count your chickens before the hatch... but these chickens were wobbling and moving and the shells were cracking! I was really counting on them!
Now, I would NEVER have submitted my resignation before having an official, signed contract with a new employer... but I am just disappointed, because I also just REALLY wanted the pleasure of flipping the bird to my company after all they have put me through this year.
I am still looking for a job, but the length of my search so far has made me realize that I really can't just jump right into the first thing I find just because I'm frustrated and want to leave my company...... but that just means it's going to take longer until I can officially move on.
I guess that also means I'm working Thanksgiving........ boo. :(
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
one year down
In honor of medical mondays and my one-year anniversary of being an occupational therapist, I tweaked my blog title to take away the word "new" and just leave... "therapist".
I'm no longer the new grad/new hire/novice/beginner. I am a full blown occupational therapist, calling the shots with assessments and goals and barely needing to stop and ask a question, supervising the assistants with confidence and motivation, and holding my own to represent OT in meetings with other therapists and run-ins with the scarce docs, and most of all just the plain old making patients' lives a little better.
I'm also doing paperwork out the wazooooo and sitting behind a computer 90% of the day........ Because I supervise several COTAs, I'm stuck doing orders, evals, progress reports, recertifications, discharges and G-codes for a caseload equivalent of 3-4 therapists. I don't really get my own caseload anymore-- the COTAs treat, and then I pop in every 10 visits/30 days to talk to them and "observe their progress" from behind a laptop. It mostly consists of sifting through pages of typed notes of OT jargon and trying to sift out the real meat and determine where they are and where they are going with the fab five-- dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting and feeding. And THAT is reeeally hard to do in 30 minutes!
My problem is, when I haven't seen my patient in 10 visits and then I see them and I find out how much progress they made, I can't help but be so excited just to see them in the first place, then catch up with how they are doing, and celebrate their achievements a little bit... that makes it really hard to get the paperwork done. I also can't STAND to sit in front of a patient typing away and pretending to listen to their story... or worse, sit in total silence except for the click-click-click of my fingers and mouse.
I have too much personality and energy and compassion to be a paper-pusher.
This just isn't for me. I want to put down the laptop, and the i-touch devices, and the paper and pen. I want to have both my hands free to work hands-on with the patients, and I want my whole mind free to really get to know them and observe and get in their world so that I can do an even better job of helping them meet their goals for independence and a lot of the time, going HOME.
I officially made it one year in my job and I am really proud of my accomplishment... but sadly, the dream job I thought I was getting myself into a year ago did not turn out to be that way.
It is so hard to be a good therapist from behind a laptop. I don't feel that my skills as a therapist are growing anymore and my excitement for patients isn't there because I can't make the same connections when all my attention is on paperwork and productivity. I just can't do it anymore.
I was really hoping that I would have good news to share today about a new job... but it is still in the pipeline. I have been a candidate for a pediatrics job that has been looking VERY hopeful... I last spoke with the therapist that interviewed me, one week ago, when she said she'd be in touch with an offer by the end of the week... still waiting. If I get my offer and have it signed this week, I will be putting in my resignation on Friday, according to my very carefully planned out calendar! I am really hoping everything works out with the timing. (Not-so-secretly I was planning to have the week of Thanksgiving off completely in between the two jobs, so hopefully this all goes as planned!).
You can be sure I'll be posting with any potential job updates! :)
I'm no longer the new grad/new hire/novice/beginner. I am a full blown occupational therapist, calling the shots with assessments and goals and barely needing to stop and ask a question, supervising the assistants with confidence and motivation, and holding my own to represent OT in meetings with other therapists and run-ins with the scarce docs, and most of all just the plain old making patients' lives a little better.
I'm also doing paperwork out the wazooooo and sitting behind a computer 90% of the day........ Because I supervise several COTAs, I'm stuck doing orders, evals, progress reports, recertifications, discharges and G-codes for a caseload equivalent of 3-4 therapists. I don't really get my own caseload anymore-- the COTAs treat, and then I pop in every 10 visits/30 days to talk to them and "observe their progress" from behind a laptop. It mostly consists of sifting through pages of typed notes of OT jargon and trying to sift out the real meat and determine where they are and where they are going with the fab five-- dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting and feeding. And THAT is reeeally hard to do in 30 minutes!
My problem is, when I haven't seen my patient in 10 visits and then I see them and I find out how much progress they made, I can't help but be so excited just to see them in the first place, then catch up with how they are doing, and celebrate their achievements a little bit... that makes it really hard to get the paperwork done. I also can't STAND to sit in front of a patient typing away and pretending to listen to their story... or worse, sit in total silence except for the click-click-click of my fingers and mouse.
I have too much personality and energy and compassion to be a paper-pusher.
This just isn't for me. I want to put down the laptop, and the i-touch devices, and the paper and pen. I want to have both my hands free to work hands-on with the patients, and I want my whole mind free to really get to know them and observe and get in their world so that I can do an even better job of helping them meet their goals for independence and a lot of the time, going HOME.
I officially made it one year in my job and I am really proud of my accomplishment... but sadly, the dream job I thought I was getting myself into a year ago did not turn out to be that way.
It is so hard to be a good therapist from behind a laptop. I don't feel that my skills as a therapist are growing anymore and my excitement for patients isn't there because I can't make the same connections when all my attention is on paperwork and productivity. I just can't do it anymore.
I was really hoping that I would have good news to share today about a new job... but it is still in the pipeline. I have been a candidate for a pediatrics job that has been looking VERY hopeful... I last spoke with the therapist that interviewed me, one week ago, when she said she'd be in touch with an offer by the end of the week... still waiting. If I get my offer and have it signed this week, I will be putting in my resignation on Friday, according to my very carefully planned out calendar! I am really hoping everything works out with the timing. (Not-so-secretly I was planning to have the week of Thanksgiving off completely in between the two jobs, so hopefully this all goes as planned!).
You can be sure I'll be posting with any potential job updates! :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)