I was working on a very busy Sub-Acute/ Rehab Unit at Sacred Heart Hospital, and I had been a full-time a. m. worker there for about a year and a half at that point. I held the position of a certified nursing assistant or C. N. A for short.
That unit was very busy, and the census was high at that time because it was around the holidays. So the amounts of admissions were at least four to five new patients a week, and all forty beds were filled. But all that work didn??™t discourage me, probably because I would categorize my self as a workaholic. I always like to keep busy, and always trying to find ways to juggle more than one task at a time. That??™s why I think I fit perfectly as a C.
N. A, the job is very tedious and consuming, and eight hours is definitely not enough time to finish all the work in your shift. In health care is a non-stop continuous cycle that never ends, and the amount of needs to fill everyday is endless.
My duties as a C. N. A everyday are to wash, dress, change, feed and answer all the call lights on not just mine but any room. That means if the call light goes on when your passing a room you own it. You also held the responsibility of retrieving all vital signs; blood pressure, pulse, respirations, temp, and you also had to get all weights and specimens for the nurses. I really liked the job because it kept me moving, learning new useful things, and because I??™m a soother it fulfilled that need to always help people. This job definitely involves a lot of teamwork, there are even parts of the job were you have no choice but to ask for help weather you like it or not. So you have to form some kind of bond with your co-workers to make the workday go by a little easier and faster.
And at that point I know I was known as the pushover, or in other words the girl that won??™t say no. As for my co-worker Liz, she was known as the slacker, or the girl that always disappears and avoids the job and especially in times when you really need her help. Since Liz and I were on the same wing, we were considered on the same team and we had to help each other out And after working with her for over a year we developed a relationship and was feeling comfortable enough to tell each other personal things like stories about of families and love lives. We enjoyed each other company while getting all our tasks done during our shifts together. So when I situation came up where I need some to switch a shift badly I knew I felt comfortably enough to ask Liz knowing she knew my life story and would understand I needed this bad. And I was right she accepted my offer and filled out all the paperwork to ensure our switch would be complete. And I was so grateful for her; I must have thanked her everyday we were together.
But wouldn??™t you know it, when that day finally arrived my phone was ringing at seven in the morning. It was my nurse asking me where I was, because I was on the schedule and supposes to be at work. I jumped up in a panic and began to throw my clothes on as fast as I could, when I remembered! I wasn??™t working today, this was the day I switched my schedule with Liz, so what is really going on. I immediately called back my nurse and informed her of the switch I had conducted a couple weeks ago.
At that point of was put on hold to panic and wonder what was going to happen while she called the supervisor to straighten this big mess out. In the mean time I was trying to call Liz on her phone to find out where she was, considering she was the one doing this favor for what I thought was her friend. While the phone was ringing I could hear my nurse come back to the phone, she told me that I was right and that the scheduler just didn??™t update the assignment sheet for the day. Phew!!! I was relieved, I didn??™t want to be on the termination list for a no show no call when I knew I was prepared for this weeks ahead.
In the meantime my phone call went to her voice mail and I shared that information with my nurse so she would know I couldn??™t get in contact with her so she probably wouldn??™t have such luck. But I was relieved of the situation and the fire was now on my friend Liz who agreed to work this shift. And I will admit I did feel bad about the situation, in a friends` point of view what if something bad happened I was genuinely concerned about where she might have been, and why she didn??™t show up. But the next day at work she was there, and she wasn??™t talking to me. It was like I all of a sudden caught the plague or smelt really bad, because the faces she was making and that fact that she wouldn??™t come ten feet near me. I didn??™t understand what I did to make her so upset with me I will definitely take some responsibility for what happened in this situation, I should have seen her red flags.
I already knew her work history and she wasn??™t a very reliable person, and I thought because we got close that would change something. Boy was I wrong! And not only was I wrong, she wasn??™t even talking to me anymore all over this little thing. And not for nothing she was the one to blame for getting herself into this mess in the first place. But she was so stubborn she couldn??™t even look outside of her tunnel vision on life and see that there are things more important then just her. I was so caught up in my soother ways that I sore past her faults, which ultimately would have changed this whole situation if I didn??™t.
But instead I trusted a person that I knew had a 99% chance of messing up, I should have seen this all before it happened. I knew how much of a procrastinator Liz was, and because she was more of a communicator she was very good at talking her way out of bad situations. For me this situation became very over whelming, being the soother that I am I hate conflicts and always run when I smell one coming. So being forced into the situation it caused a lot of stress for me. I was beginning to have a short circuit both at work and at home, and I would get mad easily over small things.
It was making my day and my workday miserable and slow. Not mentioning the fact that I was still considered a teammate with her, and I still needed her help with my work duties each day. Even though she wasn??™t helping me with anything anymore. It made me start to get excited for her days off because I knew that day I wouldn??™t have to come to work and feel this pressure. Her fault was continuing to make my work miserable all because she wouldn??™t admit she was wrongAfter about two weeks of this nonsense and childish acts from her at work I was finished and I asked to switch my position to another wing. I didn??™t feel the need to blow this out of proportions like she was I just wanted to continue coming to work an enjoying my job. And she was making this a challenge for me so after trying to find ways to deal with this stress head on, nothing worked so I found another path and I took flight.
And at that point I only sore her only at morning meeting and if we passed each other in the hallway. It made coping with this situation so much easier when I finally said NO!! I will not let your behavior affect me anymore and walked away from the problem for once. This situation taught me to stick up for myself and not to be as trusting of others just because I can sympathize with them doesn??™t mean I can change them. And eventually Liz changed to another unit and I only sore once a month if that. I don??™t like that this situation never got resolved, I don??™t like conflicts and I especially don??™t like it if I know someone doesn??™t like me, I can be a worrier and consume myself in the whys, and what ifs; until my head explodes! I just feel badly that I lost a friend over a silly situation.
I wash I had stood up for myself with her and told her she was wrong and shouldn??™t be mad at me. But instead I hid in the shadows to avoid any controversy at all. But this situation did teach me to read people better before I trust them with important decisions. Not to expect too much from certain people, especially the ones who show huge signs that they aren??™t to be trusted. I need to be more of a communicator and learn to say no so hopefully next time I don??™t run into this same problem and I will be more prepared to deal with the situation head on.