Everyone Else's Work!!!

[Randy 0]

Okay - here it is. I work in an ICF/MRDD facility. That means Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally retarded and/or developmentally disabled. Here we have different State mandated programs to teach Daily Living skills. As an AD I have to provide home and outing activities for our 50 Residents. I have two full timers and a part timer working directly for me. But under our newest rules, I have to get our people out once a week on an outing. This took a lot of work to acheive and still provide home activities but, we did it. Now the state comes in and starts telling our facilities and types like ours that all these people must be packing their own lunches for work the next day. Our programming department has been going crazy trying to put this in place and now - they want my staff in there as well to pack lunches. As if we don't have enough responsibilities. If we were a group home - it wouldn't be a big deal. But I am also supposed to run an afternoon activity at that time. Not to mention that in the morning we have an outing, in the evening we have an outing and another event in house. Then I deal with recreation fund monies and reports and documentation and applications for Special Olympics and Camp and Trips and so on and so on and so on. This is just some of the day in and day out. Not to mention meetings and inservices and questions and residents who constantly need your attention. So I suppose my question is - when does this stop? When do people realize you can't do it all? I try - really I do. I work 10 and 12 hours a day at work and 2 to 3 at home and I dream about it too. My only respite is a few weekends here and there. So how does my department tactfully help other departments understand all we do without them working a week in our department? Sometimes I think they believe it all comes together by magic and I just sit back and enjoy having fun all day. Does anyone have this experience? And are there any other AD's working with MR/DD online who can relate to me?

[Pennie 26]

Hey Randy,

Why is Dietary not fixing the lunches? Do you not have a dietary in your setting? I would speak with the administrator or who ever is the boss. Explain to them that your dept. is already over loaded. May a tipcal daily calander along with the time it takes to do each of the programs on the calendar. Don't short your dept. on the time, account from beging to end. ie., starting with getting the supplied, set-up for the program getting people to the program as well as taking them back & every thing in between. Show this to your boss.

Be sure that you have a possible solution to offer your boss ie Dietary could make the lunches & other depts could do whatever is would fall under their dept. description.

As far as the hours you work, are you on salary? If so is it a flat rate or do you get 40 hours plus overtime?

If you get a flat salary then I suggest that you work the 8 hours that they are paying you for & no more. :-o Do not every take your work home & do it. I know that you are saying "She's crazy, she does not understand I can't get everything done in 8 hours." I know that you want to get everything done & noone but you can do it all. You don't want to add any more workload onto our staff, they are already strecthed to the limit, right? Trust me Randy I have been in your shoes many times. I have learned that it is not worth it. As long as you do all of the work & everything gets done then they don't see a problem & they will con't to add more, unless you say "NO" You are letting them do this & you need to speak up ASAP. It is not fair to you, your staff, your family & especially to the residents.

From reading your post I see that you are fixing to have a major burn-out :-x

I have had these myself -- 10/12 hrs a day, plus 2/3 at home, work all holidays, & dream of the work all spells Stress/Burn-out. You will eventually get to the point that you will hate the job & want to quit. So before this happens you must talk to your boss before it's to late. If you have tried this & it gets you no where then I suggest that you start looking for another job. Because you will eventually quit.

I know that you care deeply for the residents, your staff & take pride in work so you will never do it half-a****, right.

Remember this -- It is just a job. You are giving them 150% of yourself but if you mess up or do a bad job they will not have any problem firing you. The company is not as devoted to you as you are to them, this I promise! So slow down, be fair to yourself & your family. In the end this is what matters the most. You & your family will be together for the rest of your life, but will this facility/job be a life long commitment ?

I hope that I have helped you because I really do know how you feel so please take my advise, or at least some of it. We only 1 life to live & our time on eath is very short.

Please feel free to email me or post on the board for any help you may need OK Let us know how this turns out. I will now get off my soap box 8-)

[Guest Pat8231]

Hey Randy - I hear ya and I was only an AA where I worked. Pennie is right on the dot with her posting. Long story but I put in 110% on the job and got no thanks from the administration or the AD. I worked like a horse doing more then the other AA's. When it came down to the nitty-griddy where I needed my AD and Administration to take charge over a serious issue at work where I was involved (smoking by other employees). I told them take the smokers and move them away from the building doorways, no one said a thing and let the smokers have their way even though it involved me (I have asthma) and patients with their oxygen tanks etc.). I finally was admitted to emergency room with an asthma attack. Still no one did a thing. Listen to what Pennie had to "say", her input is something I wish I knew while I was having this major problem at work. Pat 8-)

[Randy 0]

Thank you both for the advice. I can't say enough how good it is to be in contact with others who know the ropes. I will try to slow down a bit. It's hard for me because my situation is dealing with the disabled. Many of them are young yet and have so much potential. That's what drives me. They all want to be creative and branch out. And hardly anyone ever enables them to. When I give my 110 - 150% it's not for management or to get a raise(ha!) - It's for them. They give back to me far more than what I put in. I suppose that's what I have to keep in mind.

As far as our dietary dept. - we know - but they haven't quite got used to the idea that they are to help with programs. I'd say their the only dept. here still in the dark ages. Everyone complains to my boss about the situation. Even she complains about it. But she's the program director. Not the administrator. I don't understand it all. I will try the idea of time study. I don't know what good it will do. The only answer we get these days is that money's short. And it is. Our lovely state of Ohio is in a fine mess. Worse than CA I think. Our state government is about as good money as our dietary dept. is with their job. Anyway - I'm rambling now. Thanks again.