Annie's First Day at the Mansion... March 25, 2008

I attended my first team meeting at new job today. A bit chaotic but any meeting where people of various personalities and professional backgrounds get together is chaotic. Women, mostly, were coming and going, chairs being rearranged for to fit, cell phones and pagers ringing, papers jostling, private conversations, shushing. I introduced myself to my new co-workers and received a warm welcome. In the words of Annie, I think I’m gonna like it here!

Some highlights…

-->We discussed half of the patient list which included 4 deaths, 1 of which was happening as we met. Nurses, social workers, and the physician all chimed in with their experiences, thoughts, observations, and recommendations on what the patients and their families may need. Already a very colorful picture of my future is being painted.

-->A nurse who is relatively new to the organization commended another employee for always helping others and jumping in to get things done. I joked that I’d now put her phone number on speed-dial and everyone laughed. Then, chocolate was passed around! Wahoo!

-->One of the Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) shared how one of the families she bonded with, who, by all the comments from around the room, sounded like a difficult client, presented her with an American flag that was flown over the Capital to commemorate her becoming a US citizen.

-->I had the chance to talk with one of the part-time social workers, K, who knitted during the meeting. (Joyce, want a job?) She saw me taking notes with a blue pen, and must have noticed the array of colorful choices laid out in front of me, because she passed me a note asking if I had been told that all official documents for patients had to be in black ink. I had not and thanked her. BUMMER!! Seriously, its no big deal, but you all know how much I LOVE my colorful pens!

-->Lastly, I realized I will be doing a great deal of paperwork. (They better recycle!) And K said she never uses the computer! Excuse me, WHAT?!?! The contact sheet for the entire team doesn’t have one email address on it, just phone numbers, which makes sense since a lot of us are out in the field visiting clients and filling out forms on paper and a phone call really is the quickest way to get a message to someone, but NO COMPUTER?!? ME? I know there are email addresses, emailed my resume, didn’t I? There is a system we keep patient information in, but it doesn’t sound like my information will be entered into that system. What if a patient asks me about a program with which I am not yet familiar? I had visions of whipping out a laptop (at this point, I’d even use mine) and getting the answer to their question in a matter of seconds. Now it sounds as if they’ll actually have to wait and let’s face it, its not like these folks really have time on their side! (Jen, I will drink for that!)

No computers and no colorful pens… Annie, are you sure?! As long as they don’t tell me I can’t drink Starbucks’ frappuccinos specifically, I think I will still like it here, but some of you may want to check on me, especially if I haven't answered an email in over a week!