New Job?

I talked briefly here about the new job opportunity.  Well it seems to be moving forward.  I got an email from the supervisor yesterday saying that she has a position opening up and wanted to make sure I was on the transfer list and still interested.

We went back and forth a few times via email once I got to work and she ended up offering me a tour.  So this morning I'm heading over there before going into work.  I can't help but smile at the mere offer.  I figure it HAS to be a good sign.  I mean, why offer a tour to someone if you aren't interested in them coming to work for you.  I know it can be a two way street... it's a chance for them to show off a bit to me, but it's also a chance for them to check me out in a non-interview setting.

I'm very excited by this.  I can picture this happening very quickly from here on out.  In fact with the union transfer rules, I'm not sure I'd even HAVE to interview.  They already have a glowing review from my supervisors, and now they'll get a chance to see me up close and personal.  I'll also get to pepper them with questions without trying to appear all self important and 'confident' during an interview.

YAY!

Hopefully I'll have something more detailed to write tomorrow!

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Tomorrow has come and yes I do have something more detailed.  Read on for the actual tour and a possible glimpse into my future.


First let me explain this prison complex that I'm visiting and compare it to the one I currently work at.  The prison complex I'm visiting is actually four separate correctional facilities.  These all grew out of what used to be the worlds largest walled prison. I'm not sure on how the timeline progressed, but at one point this was the main prison in the state.  It housed tens of thousands of inmates.  The state changed direction and made many smaller correctional facilities including the one I work in.

I talk about the 'south side' and the 'north side' of my own correctional facility.  Those used to be two separate facilities.  The 'north' was built as a permanent correctional facility, while the 'south' was built as a transfer facility.  When it was combined and made into an entirely permenant facility they had to carve out some areas in buildings that weren't designed for it.  Health Care included.  Our healthcare area used to be offices and storage.  Except for all the medical equipment and people wearing pajamas (scrubs) it doesn't look like a medical facility.

The big facility had a transfer facility as well.  I imagine it would have been combined into a single facility like the one I work at if it wasn't for the fact that they are across the street from each other.  There's no physical way to connect them, so they can't be the same facility.  They also carved out space for an 'entry' facility as well as a prison hospital.  The entry facility is where all new inmates go after they have been sentenced by the court.  They are tested medically, mental health wise, education wise, and categorized into needs.  Once they are fully categorized they can be assigned and transferred to a permanent facility.  This facility is called many different things by different groups... entry, counseling, intake, quarantine.   It's where my 'new' job may lie.

About 15 years ago they built entirely new buildings for it.  So the buildings I got to tour are modern, clean, and well laid out.  They sit across from a walled prison that was built in the early 20th century.  Building new means that it's laid out for it's intended purpose.  There are separate areas for dentistry, optometry, mental health, the general clinic, and intake.  They all flow well together and have standard places for the correctional officers to sit and watch over everybody.  Looking at this place reminds me more of a hospital rather than the 'barn' where I currently work.

I've talked about how many transfers we get on the south side, and how it ebs and flows.   Intake is the same except they are getting new inmates as the counties ship them from their jails.   The day I was there was considered a 'light' day... there were 29 inmates coming in.  A 'heavy' day would be between 80 and 90.  There is obviously a finite amount of beds/cells so the goal is to get these new inmates in and out as quickly as possible.  The goal is between 30 and 45 days.  Staffing levels are held up quite high so that they can keep this river of new inmates moving as quickly as possible.

Critical staffing where I currently work is one RN in the clinic and two nurses for the med rooms.  Good staffing adds another nurse into the clinic.  Before we added the option of 12 hour shifts, we had as many as three or four nurses in the clinic.   The intake facility has three RNs as critical staffing.  They want an additional one (hence the hiring process).  There are also at least two LPNs for  the med room (they scoffed at the idea of an RN working in the med room "that's not their job!"), and two medical assistants.  The medical assistants work with the medical providers (an all encompassing term to cover all the 'docs'.  Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants.... people who can see patients and prescribe medicines).  Again... the RNs won't be seeing patients and taking their vitals before they go see the 'doc'.  ("That's not their job!").  Speaking of MPs (medical providers), they have six.  We have two.

So... a LOT more staff.  I met more people working at 9:00 AM than we have on our entire staff.  The RNs mainly tackle sick calls (an inmate requests care for something health care related), and intakes.  They of course also handle emergency calls.  But where my current clinic is 'open' 24 hours a day to handle emergencies, this clinic closes at 7:00 PM.  After that all emergencies are routed to the onsite hospital.  Actually, as the providers all leave between 5 and 6, all emergencies are routed to the hospital starting at 6:00 PM.  Which means no last minute call that will lead to an hour of overtime!  YAY!

The work obviously ebbs and flows with staffing levels meant to handle the big loads of work.  When it's a low level of work, the supervisor will go to the nurses and ask them if they want to take the rest of the days off.  They still have to use either sick or annual leave, but they can go home.  I'm sure you can see that with our current staffing levels, that never happens where I work.

I was initially told that this would be 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday through Friday while working every 6th weekend.  That's changing so that it's now every 5th weekend.  Still WAY better than every other weekend.  At our facility there are three 'shifts'.  Morning or first shift is 5:30 AM to 2:00 PM (or 6:00 PM if it's a 12 hour shift).  Afternoon or second shift is 1:30 PM (or 9:30 AM if it's a 12 hour shift) to 10:00 PM.  Night or third shift is 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.  That's it.  There's no variation.  This facility opens up around 5:00 AM (I didn't ask the specific time), and closes at 7:00 PM, and there are many overlapping 'shifts'.  Staff are ending their shifts at 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

They don't assign specific call outs.  There is simply a list of sick calls for the nurses to see.  When you are ready for your next appointment, you check the next name on the list and call that inmate out.  They had a 'normal' day when I was there.... there were 10 people to see.  Our 'normal' day is closer to 40.  Most of these sick calls get seen in the morning leaving the later shift to take the intakes.

There are a few 'other' tasks that the RNs have to do.  They have to do the assement and med pass in the special housing unit.  It's like our segregation unit (we call it SEG), but there is some technical difference so it's NOT seg.   I forget what the M stands for but it's the SMHU (special msomething housing unit), and it's pronounced schmoo.  For one week an RN will handle the schmoo.  There's getting the KOP meds from the pharmacy (located in the hospital), and then handing them out to the new inmates.  There's the diabetic line (they currently have a lot... 13.  We currently have a low amount... 40).

I'm sure there's more than I learned, but it was a lot of information in a one hour tour.  I was overall very impressed and really want to work there.  One odd thing though... I thought that it must be a normal thing to have people come in for a tour.  I mean, even among correctional nurses this is a unique setting.  But as I was introduced around I didn't get the sense that this was a normal thing.  People more often had that slightly confused look of 'Why are you giving an RN from a different facility a tour?'.

The supervisor gave me the basic plan moving forward.  The position should technically open in about a week.  She has to post it for all internal transfers for at least a week.   Once she has all the people that want to transfer in, she can then choose who she wants.  It doesn't go by seniority or 'first in fist picked', or anything like that.  She's handed a list of transfers by the HR department and then she picks the one she wants.  Right now theres only one name on the list... mine.  So unless a former nurse that transferred out wants to come back in (i.e. would need almost no training and be ready to go), then this job is mine.

At that point they let my warden know that I'm transferring out.   He has several options available to him (and I'm sure he'd make this decision in consultation with my supervisor and her supervisor).  He can let me go immediately (not going to happen).  He can keep me on for the remainder of the pay period.  He can keep me on for the remainder of the pay period and up to two additional pay periods.  But after that he can't stop me from transferring out.  So if she's right about the position opening up n a week, I should be starting there no later than late July.

I know better than getting my hopes up.  A lot of the 'this job is mine' is inferred and reading between the lines.  I don't place bets on assumptions.  So I told her at the very end of the tour that before stopping by, I was interested in the possibility of the job.  Now that I've seen the place and kicked the tires, I WANT the job.  If that happens now... great.  If it happens later this season... great.  If that happens later this year... great.  If that happens next year... that's fine too.

So when I went into work I sat down with my supervisor and told her that I fully intended on taking the job.  That I believed it would happen soon, but even if it didn't I would now be actively seeking transfer to that job.  I say actively because I only contact them when I heard they may be hiring.  I heard that through one nurse in September of last year, and heard it through another nurse last month.   If I don't get this job now, I'll be contacting the supervisor there every month or so asking if she has a position opening up.  I'll get my name on the top of the list and keep on doing that until I'm working there.

I hate leaving where I currently work.  I really like the team I work with.  I can hope that I work with people that I like at this new job, but I in no way expect it.  For one, it's a much bigger team.  There are just simply put more opportunities to have people that work differently than me.  But even putting that at risk, I think the benefits weigh it out.

• Monday through Friday.  I love working Monday through Friday and have always looked at the weekend as time that should be 'off'.  
• 10:30 to 7:00.  I still won't have to use an alarm and will still get my 'morning' time.  In addition I'll get evening time now.  
• 10 minute drive.  The proximity will save me 10 hours of driving a week.  That's like getting an extra day off every week.   I've even started mentally spending that time... I can get a gym membership, hit the gym after work, and STILL have extra time every day!
• Car Money.  Obviously tied into the shorter drive.  I currently put about 25,000 miles a year on my car.  My new car will be out of it's warranty in about 14 months.  This job would put about 3,000 miles a year on my car.  Unless I start driving a LOT more I could finish paying the car off and STILL be under factory warranty!
• Intake.  The part of my job that I love the most is doing the transfers.  Intake is the ultimate transfer... these people are not transferring from facility to facility, they're transferring from freedom/jail to their prison sentence.  There are a LOT of educational opportunities here!

For now I'm in a holding pattern.  It's tough not to get excited about it, but I don't want to take my eyes off the ball.  I still have work to do where I'm at.  I still work there today.  I'm in the med room today (BOO!), and there are 13 new transfers coming in.  I still have to work out in 5 block next week.  I still have to provide competent nursing care to my patients right up until they are NOT my patients.  

But in the back of my head, I'm already celebrating my new job!