Thursday, April 26, 2012

Currently: Eventhough I was supposed to be on vacation this week, I spent the bulk of it making phone calls and arguing with people...let me explain. See, for the past five and a half months i've been working way out in Brooklyn and making a very long commute every day for five days a week. At first I didn't mind it, enjoyed it actually. I enjoyed the mini road trip and that "ahhh..." feeling I would get everytime I would lay down in bed and remove my Bra after a long, busy day. The only thing that was kind of an issue was all the money I spent everyday...but eventually I was able to get around it. But a couple of months ago I hooked up with another Agency and they found me a part-time weekend position at a facility much closer to me. I enjoyed the facility so much that I told one of the coordinators at my second Agency to let me know when any ongoing positions at that facility would open up...just to make it easier for me and so that I would save a lot more money. So on Friday she calls me and informs me that an ongoing position will be available starting April 30th...of course I wanted the position, but I also wanted to be courteous to my current place of work and give them at least a couple of weeks in advance to find a replacement for me. But then the coordinator at my second agency kept insisting that all I need to give my first agency is a one week notice and that it shouldn't be a problem since i'm an Agency worker and not a staff employee...well, expectedly my first agency felt otherwise. When I notified my first coordinator of this he was quite upset (I could tell he was eventhough he's a nice guy and tried to cover it up to the best of his ability)and told me that my second coordinator was wrong and that I HAVE to give the Brooklyn facility at least 2 weeks notice before moving on to another place, especially since I had been working there for months and all...and I half agreed with him, half didn't on that opinion. But anyways, he then recommends that I speak to the Director at the second facility and let her know of the situation so that I would have her blessing to let me give my first Agency 2 weeks and then move on to her facility. Well...I call her up on Monday and tell her whatever's going on and she informs me that the position is for about 6 weeks and it is not guaranteed that they will still need me afterwards...so I figure if the position is not guaranteed long-term, then what is the point of leaving a facility that will keep me for as long as I want for another position that is not guaranteed permanent?...I DO need money consistenly flowing in, afterall! So I let this Director know that I can keep doing the every other Saturday thing but I will no longer accept the April 30th position, I then call the Director i'm currently working for and the coordinator at my first Agency to let them know that I will continue my ongoing work in Brooklyn...*exhales*...this story already feels too long, but I will try to speed it up, I promise! So then the next day the coordinator from my second Agency calls me up, very obviously pissed and goes on a rant over me not speaking to her before seeking out the Director at the facility, and blah blah blah...I then tell her part of what my first coordinator told me about being professional and whatnot...she then continues to insist that my first Agency has no right to hold me back from a more convenient position and that I, as an Agency worker have the right to move onto another position whenever I felt like it. Hearing this from her riled me up, but at the same time I did want to be professional and courteous to the Brooklyn facility. But nevertheless she kept reassuring me that I was doing nothing wrong and that I shouldn't let such an opportunity pass me by...so I change my mind again and decide to take the position at the other facility. I call up my first Agency to let them know of this and of course they are upset yet again. The coordinator there then informs me that if I don't complete one more week in Brooklyn, that he'll have no choice but report me to the State for "...a violation of Ethical principles." That REALLY sent me over the edge because i've been NOTHING but professional and courteous to this Agency and gave them FIVE AND A HALF months of my time eventhough I didn't have to. So I requested to speak with his Director...and I honestly have never spoken to a more nasty person on the phone before in my life. She first has the nerve to compare me to a "Yo-Yo" who can't seem to decide where to go, and then in a nutshell DEMANDS that I give the Brooklyn facility one more week or else...I was just so caught a back at how this woman was speaking to me and basically trying to control me...I broke down. I notified her of the long commutes, all the money i've had to spend, and all the hard work I have put in for her Agency...but the Bitch just WOULD NOT back down! More words are spoken (and I speak calmly throughout this conversation) and she eventually starts ranting about how the Agency no longer wants to work with me anyway and then proclaims that after I complete my stay in Brooklyn, "It's over!" Her words just struck a chord in my heart and I could feel a heavy force literally crushing me...I was going to wait until I got off the phone with her to do this but I couldn't take it anymore...I cried. Right there on the phone with her. I could tell she felt bad because after this she apologizes and tells me to make my decision and then call her or Joe (coordinator) back to inform the Agency. So then I re-group and call up my second Agency to tell them that I basically MUST give Brooklyn one more week or else my name will definitely be put on the line. The coordinator continues to try to sway me and tells me that I shouldn't "give in" to my first Agency...but at this point I am mentally drained, so I continue to insist that working one more week in Brooklyn would be the right thing to do. Long story short (this story is long enough), the coordinator at my second Agency is able to find someone to work at the facility from April 30-May 4th, allowing me to finish in Brooklyn and then start my new position on May 7th. I notify my first coordinator and Brooklyn Director of this...my first coordinator then calls me up thanking me for getting back to the Agency promptly and offering that I continue to keep in touch with them in the future...especially after I eventually pass my Boards exam. Honestly, I don't think I will ever work for that Agency again. My coordinator, Joe, is a cool guy and I understand he has to stand by the Agency he works for. But that Director of his is very nasty and disrespectful and if she thinks its okay to speak to her employees the way she spoke to me, then I want nothing to do with that type of organization. And that's that. From now on I will only work with one agency, cause lets face it, all of this mess wouldn't have happened to me if it weren't for competition! Think about it, i'm a good therapist with a good reputation that these two Rehab Directors look forward to having represent their facility...thus, both Agencies view me as an asset and one doesn't want to let me go, while the other wants me badly. So basically they were fighting a very ugly fight over me and some very ugly words were said about each Agency by the other...which is not right at all, but that is the name of the game! Because of this experience alone I really look forward to hopefully one day having a staff position, so that I wouldn't have to worry about any of this bullshit, or of any Agency trying to force me to stay with them or control me. As one can tell from my very long story, it could all get very ugly very fast.