The First Week

I have survived my first week of work.

I always forget how tiring work is.  It's frustrating to be out of work but it's tiring to be at work. It's doubly tiring to try to look busy at work.

Now don't mistake me.  I am glad I'm back at work.  I'm glad to be working where I am but at the moment, there isn't a lot for me to be actively working on. Until I get credentialed (a process that is slightly different in each place but basically verifies that I know my stuff well enough and can present it well enough that both Epic, the owners of the software, and my current hospital system both feel that I will be a good representative for them) there isn't much to do. This time is usually used to learn curriculum, training methods, specifics for a specific facility.  I don't mean to brag because that usually gives the universe an opportunity to make you look the fool, but I'm a great trainer.  I don't have to learn training methods. The material here is about 95% the same as the last place I was a trainer and there isn't much (so far) that is special for here.

That leaves me with forty hours to fill and little to fill it.  There are a requisite number of hours listening to practice teachings by other trainers, or train the trainer classes on things like learning styles or training expectations. We use YouTube videos to bring people back from break so I spent a couple hours today building a YouTube library (suggestions welcome for funny PG rated under five minute videos!).

To make matters worse, it's been even harder to be at work this week because the weather has been amazing! The last couple of weeks, when I was off work, were gray, rainy and generally crappy. I started work on Monday and it was in the 60's and sunny and lovely.  It's been that way all week, into the 70's. This weekend it's supposed to be 57 and rainy.  That's proof that God created man (if that's what you believe) just to entertain himself and have a laugh.

Working with my contracting company (they hire and pay me to work at the healthcare facility but I still have to interview with the facility) was tough this go around too.  It took all week to finally get the everything they needed and vice versa.  I had to request timesheet submission information no less than four times.  I sent them back their start up packet and apparently missed a couple signatures.  I actually think two of the forms had been left out of the first packet but whatever.

I'm once again a working stif which does mean that weekends are significant again. With that, I'm off to daydream about making the most of my measly two days sans work.

Apparently I don't suck at life

Or I just suck in temporary spurts.

I'm posting writing this on Sunday and posting it late on Monday because

DUM    DA     DUMMMMMMMM

I'm at work at the time I would usually be posting this. The interesting thing about working as a contractor in the field I do (Electronic Medical Records Trainer) is that the work comes and goes.  I know someone who has been consistently employed over the last twelve months at three different positions. I know a couple women who I worked with one one project, had each worked on one since and and are each currently employed on a third, with periods of worklessness in between. I seemed to have the least luck with work.  From October until March I worked an average of two weeks each month, though not evenly distributed. It sounds great, only working about half the time, but that also means less income and a lot less consistent income.

These projects tend to have high levels of chaos, miscommunication, confusion, and flexible timelines. As a contractor one must get accustomed to this very quickly. In the last three months, the three biggest projects I was put in for all had major changes to their timelines which changed the staffing needs and urgency. I was submitted as a candidate by two different firms (for different projects) and more than once for each project. Again and again I was told their needs had changed, they were postponing the projects, yadda, yadda.  I wrote before that interviewing is like dating and again it proves to be.  There was lots of hope and prepping for a company that just wasn't ready and it all turned out to be for naught. Then I got a call on Friday for a phone interview.  wait, wait, wait then rush!

I'd reckon that a part of the reason I got the job is not only that I have applicable experience but that I am a local candidate and can start Monday. I am not going to assume that's the only reason. I am going to make the most of the opportunity and show them what a great trainer I am.  I've been told the job could go through the end of the year.  I want to be on the team that are there until the end. More information but probably a little less first while I adjust to being (happily) employed again!

* Note added Monday evening - First day went very smoothly, I even knew one of the other trainers from a previous project. It was unfortunate that it was a sunny beautiful day and I was in a room without so much as a window. It was doubly unfortunate that either I'm getting a head cold OR allergy season started like a piano landing on my head.  D'oh!