Since dq is direct experience, and this is the
cutting edge, more direct experience of what's
happening in my little hub of the world can reach
across boundaries and oceans and this might not just
be about me, but you, too.
I've moved out of the drama of the residents into
the drama of the staff. At the placement facility,
politics and philosophy are the undercurrents that
bubble events across all levels. Philosophy is
definitely a key component. Static perspectives that
have helped one understand what's happening on the
residential units persist for those that no longer
work daily and nightly in direct contact with the
residents. There are a handful of administrative
staff that were once supervisors and direct care staff
on the units, and these administrative staff use what
experience they've gained to understand what policies
and procedures are to exist on these residential
units. These administrative staff are no longer in
direct contact with the residents and staff on the
units. They are not directly experiencing what's
happening in the meat of the organization. This is
understandable. They have different duties now.
These duties include the ground level, the heart of
what everybodies there for whether they like it or
not. Everything in everybodies job description cycles
around these residents that stay and eventually go.
Are you a disciplinary or a talker? Do you hold
heavy to keeping the residents in line on an orderly
level or no matter what the residents do, you'll talk
and try to appease them letting the residents do as
they please hoping that one day they'll listen to
reason? Hmmm, reason, that's the kicker here. What
reasoning, thus motive does one base their actions
upon? Slowly, as the administrative staff run their
business as usual demand, changes are occurring.
Micro changes that burst into macro changes from time
to time, but the show must go on.
I was reading the recent National Geographic
article that discusses the pre-classic, classic, and
post-classic Mayan. One of the reasons given that the
Mayan classic period ended was the demands of the
social elite. It clicked. I'm not talking about a
click on our government. I'm talking about a click at
the placement facility, the administrative staff in
particular. Their business as usual. The show must
go on mentality. No matter how difficult and what we
have to work with on the residential units can be
salvaged - the show must go on. No matter what
happens, the stress that builds and swells, the show
must go on. The administrative staff see ideally what
needs to happen. They have their pressures, too. The
place must keep running, the $ coming in, so jobs,
their jobs exist. Yet, the stresses that occur day to
day mean nothing to them. As long as the place
doesn't burn down, they can come in do their jobs and
leave.
A resident was yelling and screaming, after she
punched a hole in the wall, "I want to go home. I
want to go home." Two administrative staff walked in
the door, inspecting the unit to prepare for an
outside agency, the Department of Public Welfare, own
inspection. What could I do for the resident?
Nothing. She just punched a hole in the wall. We
can't send her home. The two administrative staff
walk in, and the resident asks them to do something so
she could go home. Now, one was a supervisor before,
and the other, I don't know much of his job history.
All's they said was, there's your supervisor, talk to
him, we can't do anything about it. I'm thinking,
what the heck can I do, but deal with this very
elevated resident and help her calm down. That's all
anybody could do at this time, but these two
administrative staff passed the buck. This is a real
human being. A resident with a problem, and I
couldn't just send her home. They knew that. What
the event was, was a resident was yelling and
screaming, and did they care? Did they help? Did
they try to help this person calm down? Nop... it's
business as usual, they have their job... did they try
to help this child? They had an opportunity to step
in and do what was only humanly possible and help us
calm this resident down - this person - this human
being, but they blew it off and walked out the door.
Nobody wants to directly help these kids out that
works in the administration building. Heck, that's
why you get a job position in the building in the
first place, so you don't have to deal with the
residents anymore. The supervisors are caught in the
middle. The show must go on, no matter what we have
to work with, with staff leaving left and right,
supervisors stepping down so they can all get more $
(for supervisors they can become assistant
supervisors, pick up one overtime shift every two
weeks and get paid more than a supervisor, if your
willingly to lose your steady shift.), it must be
business as usual. It has to be so the place works
and stays open, yet, the pieces are crumbling,
something needs to change. The business as usual
shields the administration from the grounded
experience that the place exists for. This kind of
mentally demands certain things from people, even if
it means more pressure, more work, and heart
palpitations. I miss meals at work due to the work
overload. If I don't get certain things done, like
grievance from a parent towards a staff, find the
placement facilities car keys, write the staff's
schedule, make sure papers get to staff for medical
appointments, forms need to be filled out and faxed
within 24 hours, but they weren't, so, I had to catch
up with staff to make sure they wrote-up what
happened, then a supervisors meeting, the nurse giving
me a paper that asks for a form that must be turned in
that day so the facilities psychiatrist will actually
know what the resident is doing the other 167 hours
during the week. These all needed done that day, and
by the time it was all said and done 10 hours later, I
left and went home. The show must go on no matter
what the meatgrinder.
woods,
SA
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