WHAT A GREAT JOB!
11 July 2003
I found a great job today.
It's managing a gyn's office. Sounds much better than my old job. I'd be tempted to
apply except (a) I am still going to Australia in 2 months, and (b) it is my old
job.
Only it's my old newly-revised job. And this is a job that has appeal.
I went in to the office for a bit today (only two hours...only two
hours...honest!). The reason was to start training my next replacement. In
all honesty, I like this one better. For one thing, she didn't immediately try to change
everything. She wasn't rearranging furniture in the first five minutes, and she hasn't
(yet) told me that she feels she's being hired to "clean up a big mess."
The woman Dr. G has hired to do "odd jobs" around the office was there and at
some point during my training of Replacement #2, Dr. G came out and gave OddJob her job
description.
She is to: do all the filing, notify the patients of upcoming appointments, do
call-backs on lab results, keep all the supplies stocked, do ordering of supplies, keep
the office straightened up, wash the speculums, do the xeroxing, prepare charts for the
upcoming day's appointments, keep new charts ready for incoming patients, enter insurance
payment information on ledger cards, and whatever other jobs come about.
Well, hell, if I didn't have to do all that, I'd look like Miss Organization
too!
That leaves Replacement #2 to do all the rest of the stuff, with DEXA Tech to fill in
when she feels overloaded and OddJob is busy.
Oh yeah--and there is CleaningLady to keep the office tidy and Dr. G having taken over
the bill paying.
Replacement #2 might have time for lunch.
She might have time to keep the top of her desk neat like he likes it.
She might be able to leave on time.
She might be able to keep up the database lists that I set up for him.
She might end up being the golden girl he's looking for.
But if she is, she'll never know it. I was telling Mrs. G today that I'm so pathetic
that all I ever really wanted was for him to just once notice that I'd gone the extra mile
without being asked (e.g., today he was saying that we should have maps to hand out to the
patients to help them get to our local compounding pharmacy. "We have them. I made
them up months ago," I said--at the time I was very proud of having drawn the maps on
the computer. "Oh," he said, continuing his instructions to the patient without
so much as blinking.)
But we both (Mrs. G and I) know why he will never acknowledge work above and beyond.
He's obsessed. He's a workaholic, and it would never occur to him that any work was
"above and beyond." If he can work that hard, naturally everyone can. If he
finds work to be its own reward, naturally everyone else does too.
Perhaps Replacement #2 will have better luck. She seems to have a good head on her
shoulders.
He's been telling patients that she's the new office manager, "...but I have a
feeling Bev will still be around here from time to time."
...I have a feeling he's wrong.