Sunday, March 31, 2013

All by myself


More and more it is looking like, in the words of Eric Carmen, I will be all by myself once the merger happens.  The more details that come forth from our side, the less likely it appears that anyone will be employed by the clinics when it finally happens.  

At this point, it looks like none of the infusion staff from Meridian Park will be around.  KG, as I mentioned before, will be starting her new gig when she returns from Australia at the end of April.  They had asked for a few extra weeks of her time upon return, but her new department declined to allow it.  KV (the current charge) will be moving into the pediatric floor position at EH as soon as the clinic at the Park officially closes.  MT will evidently be taking the evening position vacated by another RN (48 hours per pay period, 6p -230a) once the clinic closes.  MK is apparently also seeking other employment (not sure where though).  That will leave them 0 for 4.   
 
The good news is they 'control' the transitions of MT and KV in that they can hold them in their present spots until a time of their choosing since they are staying within the department.  If MK leaves the department though (a possibility unless she also wants a night position), it is unclear how they will cover all their shifts unless MT (currently part time) wants to go full time for a few months.  They are already reducing their core staffing to just 2 nurses, which will likely cause a lot of headaches for scheduling.  Since they have also told me to 'schedule lightly' and the Creek and the Hood to not schedule beyond their means, the whole situation is seemingly one RN away from crumbling (like, lets say, a surgery or long term illness) or if anyone from the Creek or the Hood seek outside positions as well (a near certainty).  As it is, I picture an awful lot of shuffling.   
 
As for Good Sam, they are also experiencing some attrition, though I am not privy to exactly how much.  While I dont anticipate actually being the last one standing by the time the merger happens, I have a feeling there will be less than half of us remaining.  This was evidently a concern that has been discussed at length in the meetings for a number of months, however, my supervisor Stuart places a large deal of the blame on OHSU, as they have not been forthcoming with information and, with the meeting about a month out yet discussing more specifics and providing offer letters, they don't seem to have any sense of urgency.  If true, perhaps it was part of the 'deal' from their side.  While they explicitly agreed to take everyone on, perhaps implicitly they did not really mean to do so.  It is just a theory of course.

At the same time, they are posting the position for me at EH at 32 hours a week.  So, in effect, that is what I will be committing to long term.  I suppose it will be a good compromise still, but I am sure it will be a hard one to deal with as Q continues to grow and the weather starts to accommodate more entertaining outdoor options.  

As always, more to come as events warrant.  Should be a lot of movement until the merger though.

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