Job Update - Flist help?
Feb. 11th, 2013 09:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesWhen I first posted about my new (and first official!) job, I discussed what a hard time I was having with my co-workers and the way things were run at the office. Well, I've now been at the job for nearly two months (it will be two months on the 18th) and things have actually gotten worse.
- When I was hired, I was told the job could be three or six months or even longer. I was told it was a receptionist job, though things were always a bit fuzzy. They never seemed to know what to do with me. They still don't know. While it is nice to learn new skills, I've been trained by six different people, six different ways in the last seven weeks. Let me be clear: every week I'm told six different ways to do one thing. So, I ask which way is right and they look at me like I'm crazy: "No baby, it's this way. We told you that." gets said to me a lot. I have written prove that it didn't happen that way, but they are actively ignoring my prove - like I made it up. They tend to cover up for one another and I've been blamed for things I didn't even do; things I didn't even know about. When I try and say this, they all act like I'm crazy: "No, we told you to do it. You didn't? *confused look* Then who did? We didn't."
- They take days or even a week to tell me mistakes I've made. Especially in billing. So, I'll have been making this mistake for three days-one week, messing things up, and no one bothers to tell me. They are supposed to be checking my work, but apparently no one is. And it is part of their jobs to check my updates at the end of everyday. See, I was checking insurance cards and they were supposed to make sure it was all right, but they didn't. There was one point where they waited five business days to check, it turned out I did something wrong on a handful of cards, and the bills had been sent out. I understand that they are also busy, but there are moments were the other receptionists disappear for minutes at a time (shortest count has been three, longest ten. and they are usually in the nurses station laughing and eating with the nurses) or chat with their husbands/friends/boyfriend on the phone. It takes all of five minutes to check my work. Couldn't they just do it and not wait?
- They are all either polite to my face or ignore me. But, I've overheard my co-workers and the doctors talking about me behind my back. They talk about how I can't make decisions and don't speak up. Let me be clear: My saying that I'm willing to learn different areas (after they told me they would teach me different areas or letting the woman with neck problems use the best phone) isn't me being a brat. I'm trying to help out. They keep moving me around, so I'm trying to make it easy for them. I'm trying to be nice to my coworkers. Keeping quiet to learn isn't me being a snob or me being too serious. It's a new field, I'm trying to learn a lot of stuff (that they keep changing) in a short amount of time. The fact that they call me "too serious" and "a brat" and "she never speaks up." and even "stupid" isn't nice. The fact that a lot of this was said in front of the doctors - who did nothing - is worse.
- Things keep changing! Friday (just a day to say my point) I'm told my new job is this and they'll get me a desk. (Oh yeah, I still have nowhere to sit. Though they bought a chair for me, as they love to remind me daily) Monday I get there and the desk is for someone else and they put me doing discharge or something else I've never done, and no one checks on me. So, I figure it out on my own. Wednesday its a whole new thing and a whole new set of rules and when I mention how things keep changing, they act like I'm crazy - like this is the way all offices work.
- I've been insulted (actually called a piece of crap) by patients. Which happens, but the fact that I was following Hippa laws and was called that made me raise an eyebrow.
- It's a zoo. So I go to the office manger with my concern. It's really fasted paced, I'm being told six different things by six different people, I'm trying to learn medical words and practices and laws and it's very stressful. Maybe this isn't for me. Her reply: "Oh, it takes everyone three to six months to get used to it. You're doing fine." Yes, okay, but -
- I've now had two seizures in four days. That has to be from the stress. I had one at work for f's sake. So I take three days off and go back today:
Office Manger: Oh, we thought you wouldn't be back until the 21st. After your doctor appointment.
Me: No, I wanted to come back. I knew we had to discuss this and I wanted to work. So, again - I'm being told a lot blah blah blah. I've decided that if I have another seizure I may have to leave.
Office Manger: Yeah. Listen, we're going to find a place for you and Inez will be in charge of training you (because she doesn't have enough to do. woman runs the front office.) It takes three to six months to get used to it. Take it easy today and just do faxes and insurance cards. (AKA sit around bored for six of the eight hours you work.)
Me: Um. . . ok.
Office Manger: Look whose back everyone!
Then, everyone - even the ones who had ignored me or been bitchy or called me stupid - were sweet the whole day. Lots of "You okay?" "If you need something, I'll get it for you." "Are you sure you're okay?" "I'll get you some water."
Makes me think they had a meeting about me and my seizure at work. It was nice, but a little creepy to have 15 people hovering and acting like it is hard to check a fax.
Later I was told that next week, they (as in the doctors) are going to call me in and have a two month discussion. They're going to let me pick my own job duties and where I go, be it admit or discharge or whatever. That should go over well with my coworkers. Because if I pick admit, the woman who does that is moved to discharge and she hates that. If I pick discharge, the woman there moves to her old job - which nearly caused her to have a break down last year. I also overheard that my coworkers are supposed to be really nice to me and "keep a close eye" on me. Now, I'm being treated like a princess! That should go over well in the upcoming weeks. I'm getting special treatment - the one thing I didn't want.
I'm just really confused:
- Being blamed for things I never did
- Being told different things daily and then either the office manger/doctors changing their minds or the others acting like they never told me Ex: I'm told people are new patients after two years. so, when some woman calls and says her teen has been sick for two weeks and hasn't been seen it two years, I say we can see her two days later (I take responsibility for that mistake. I should have asked the doctor to double book her in. The woman angrily hangs up) Later, the woman - a friend of the doctor - calls and complains that I didn't make a same-day appointment and I'm told by a whole room (at the same time!): "No, it's three years."
- Being given other peoples duties so they can text with their friends or check their OK!Cupid profile
- Being told to do five things at once (that must be done by a certain time, like before lunch) and then being told I "take on too much at once" when I fall behind, etc is all a bit much.
I'm stressed. I'm not enjoying my work. Or my days. I'm becoming ill. Maybe this is the way all offices work. Maybe coworkers are mean and maybe the newbie does get all the work. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'd like to know others thoughts. I've spoken with some people (both online and in my personal life) and they think it is a toxic and clicky work place. Most say I should quit, but I'm not sure I can because of the way I got the job (via Goodwill and a government work program - they keep mentioning 90 days! and me staying forever. 'First job, last job.' is their favorite sentence) I'm just not sure. Is it me? Honestly I feel like it is all my fault/in my head. I just don't know how to fix it.
- When I was hired, I was told the job could be three or six months or even longer. I was told it was a receptionist job, though things were always a bit fuzzy. They never seemed to know what to do with me. They still don't know. While it is nice to learn new skills, I've been trained by six different people, six different ways in the last seven weeks. Let me be clear: every week I'm told six different ways to do one thing. So, I ask which way is right and they look at me like I'm crazy: "No baby, it's this way. We told you that." gets said to me a lot. I have written prove that it didn't happen that way, but they are actively ignoring my prove - like I made it up. They tend to cover up for one another and I've been blamed for things I didn't even do; things I didn't even know about. When I try and say this, they all act like I'm crazy: "No, we told you to do it. You didn't? *confused look* Then who did? We didn't."
- They take days or even a week to tell me mistakes I've made. Especially in billing. So, I'll have been making this mistake for three days-one week, messing things up, and no one bothers to tell me. They are supposed to be checking my work, but apparently no one is. And it is part of their jobs to check my updates at the end of everyday. See, I was checking insurance cards and they were supposed to make sure it was all right, but they didn't. There was one point where they waited five business days to check, it turned out I did something wrong on a handful of cards, and the bills had been sent out. I understand that they are also busy, but there are moments were the other receptionists disappear for minutes at a time (shortest count has been three, longest ten. and they are usually in the nurses station laughing and eating with the nurses) or chat with their husbands/friends/boyfriend on the phone. It takes all of five minutes to check my work. Couldn't they just do it and not wait?
- They are all either polite to my face or ignore me. But, I've overheard my co-workers and the doctors talking about me behind my back. They talk about how I can't make decisions and don't speak up. Let me be clear: My saying that I'm willing to learn different areas (after they told me they would teach me different areas or letting the woman with neck problems use the best phone) isn't me being a brat. I'm trying to help out. They keep moving me around, so I'm trying to make it easy for them. I'm trying to be nice to my coworkers. Keeping quiet to learn isn't me being a snob or me being too serious. It's a new field, I'm trying to learn a lot of stuff (that they keep changing) in a short amount of time. The fact that they call me "too serious" and "a brat" and "she never speaks up." and even "stupid" isn't nice. The fact that a lot of this was said in front of the doctors - who did nothing - is worse.
- Things keep changing! Friday (just a day to say my point) I'm told my new job is this and they'll get me a desk. (Oh yeah, I still have nowhere to sit. Though they bought a chair for me, as they love to remind me daily) Monday I get there and the desk is for someone else and they put me doing discharge or something else I've never done, and no one checks on me. So, I figure it out on my own. Wednesday its a whole new thing and a whole new set of rules and when I mention how things keep changing, they act like I'm crazy - like this is the way all offices work.
- I've been insulted (actually called a piece of crap) by patients. Which happens, but the fact that I was following Hippa laws and was called that made me raise an eyebrow.
- It's a zoo. So I go to the office manger with my concern. It's really fasted paced, I'm being told six different things by six different people, I'm trying to learn medical words and practices and laws and it's very stressful. Maybe this isn't for me. Her reply: "Oh, it takes everyone three to six months to get used to it. You're doing fine." Yes, okay, but -
- I've now had two seizures in four days. That has to be from the stress. I had one at work for f's sake. So I take three days off and go back today:
Office Manger: Oh, we thought you wouldn't be back until the 21st. After your doctor appointment.
Me: No, I wanted to come back. I knew we had to discuss this and I wanted to work. So, again - I'm being told a lot blah blah blah. I've decided that if I have another seizure I may have to leave.
Office Manger: Yeah. Listen, we're going to find a place for you and Inez will be in charge of training you (because she doesn't have enough to do. woman runs the front office.) It takes three to six months to get used to it. Take it easy today and just do faxes and insurance cards. (AKA sit around bored for six of the eight hours you work.)
Me: Um. . . ok.
Office Manger: Look whose back everyone!
Then, everyone - even the ones who had ignored me or been bitchy or called me stupid - were sweet the whole day. Lots of "You okay?" "If you need something, I'll get it for you." "Are you sure you're okay?" "I'll get you some water."
Makes me think they had a meeting about me and my seizure at work. It was nice, but a little creepy to have 15 people hovering and acting like it is hard to check a fax.
Later I was told that next week, they (as in the doctors) are going to call me in and have a two month discussion. They're going to let me pick my own job duties and where I go, be it admit or discharge or whatever. That should go over well with my coworkers. Because if I pick admit, the woman who does that is moved to discharge and she hates that. If I pick discharge, the woman there moves to her old job - which nearly caused her to have a break down last year. I also overheard that my coworkers are supposed to be really nice to me and "keep a close eye" on me. Now, I'm being treated like a princess! That should go over well in the upcoming weeks. I'm getting special treatment - the one thing I didn't want.
I'm just really confused:
- Being blamed for things I never did
- Being told different things daily and then either the office manger/doctors changing their minds or the others acting like they never told me Ex: I'm told people are new patients after two years. so, when some woman calls and says her teen has been sick for two weeks and hasn't been seen it two years, I say we can see her two days later (I take responsibility for that mistake. I should have asked the doctor to double book her in. The woman angrily hangs up) Later, the woman - a friend of the doctor - calls and complains that I didn't make a same-day appointment and I'm told by a whole room (at the same time!): "No, it's three years."
- Being given other peoples duties so they can text with their friends or check their OK!Cupid profile
- Being told to do five things at once (that must be done by a certain time, like before lunch) and then being told I "take on too much at once" when I fall behind, etc is all a bit much.
I'm stressed. I'm not enjoying my work. Or my days. I'm becoming ill. Maybe this is the way all offices work. Maybe coworkers are mean and maybe the newbie does get all the work. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'd like to know others thoughts. I've spoken with some people (both online and in my personal life) and they think it is a toxic and clicky work place. Most say I should quit, but I'm not sure I can because of the way I got the job (via Goodwill and a government work program - they keep mentioning 90 days! and me staying forever. 'First job, last job.' is their favorite sentence) I'm just not sure. Is it me? Honestly I feel like it is all my fault/in my head. I just don't know how to fix it.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-12 01:21 pm (UTC)Either way, that office sounds like a bizarre and stressful place to work, especially since it seems like there's no one there taking you seriously. I would be freaked out, too. I guess at this point go to your two month meeting, bring up your concerns again, and see how that goes? It might be too much to hope for a different outcome, but since the meeting is already scheduled you don't lose anything by trying again.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-12 11:11 pm (UTC)I secretly did some research and it seems that a lot of patients and doctors offices/hospitals in the area find the office to be rude and unorganized. The more I hear about the office (like how they've had three other receptionists in a year and four nurses have left in a year) makes me think that there is something really wrong. I will try to explain how I feel to the doctors and office manger. I have a feeling that no matter what I say, they'll badmouth me down the road. (To future possible employers.) They act like they have moved the stars and moon for me; they just bought a year. I have a feeling that if I leave in a month or six months or even a year, they'll act very shocked.