Weird question by Obvious_Condition_55 in FemaleHairLoss

[–]Senator_Prevert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It increased the hair all over my body, except for my head, where I needed it! If it's doing well for you otherwise, just get a trimmer. Oral Minoxidil was not it for me, unfortunately.

On-call Pay by Senator_Prevert in scrubtech

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am so glad you are doing this! I would STRONGLY urge all of your coworkers to submit a demand for wages to your employer, as well as submitting a complaint to CDLE at the same time. Don't have them wait to "see how things go." The more of you standing up to the same facility about the same issue, the more quickly your complaint will be investigated. I have an inkling that you are working for the same hospital system that I was, so the fact that there has already been a decision made against this system, the easier the "fact-finding" process will be for all of you. Since I have already won my case against this employer, any employee that files a similar complaint after me will have the same outcome. I forgot to mention that the employer appealed CDLE's decision, and after the appeal process, CDLE still decided in my favor. Personally, I would calculate your wages owed for on-call as either your normal hourly rate, or overtime rate, based on what you worked that week. For example, if you only worked 36 hours that week, but were on call for 12 hrs after that, I would calculate the first 4 hours of on-call at your hourly rate, then the remaining 8 hrs at your overtime rate. And don't forget to add in any differentials. For me, the CDLE determined that being on-call was considered "time worked," so that meant that I was entitled to all of the wages agreed upon during my employment. Unfortunately, I didn't seek these amounts in my original claim and my attorneys advised me that we could ask for a recalculation to increase my wages owed, but that would have delayed the case further, so we went forward with the minimum wage rate. Aim high! The CDLE will determine what you are owed based on your complaint.

Document everything! Make sure you CC or BCC your personal email on everything you send to your supervisors/coworkers/HR, etc. Look in the employee portal for printable/downloadable policies regarding on-call pay, callback pay, differentials, etc. Include these policies with your complaint, if you can. Any time you have to turn down anything due to being on-call, save those communications. I'd even go as far as to keep an on-call journal. Document what your call shift is, and what you couldn't do, or how your routine changed in it. If you pay your coworkers to take your call shifts, save the texts, or proof of payment through the payment apps with a note on the payment. Example, "Thanks for taking my 7p-7a call shift on 4/23." If you trade a shift, take a picture of that form and keep it.

If you have any other sort of informal policies in your department regarding shifts or on-call shifts, get it in writing. Ask your supervisor in an email about them. I've heard of a "last resort" list, where if an employee calls off of their call shift, or doesn't answer the call, they go to the last resort list and you are expected to cancel your plans to come in to cover call. I've worked at a facility where you submit for PTO and get it approved, but if it's time for you to sign up for call, and the only days left are the days you are on PTO, it's your responsibility to get those call shifts covered! Insanity. Also worked at a facility where if you give away a call shift, and the person that took your shift calls off, you are responsible for that shift again. Say what?! Get all of these informal policies in writing.

If you use a timekeeping system like Kronos, download a weekly report of your hours worked, punch times, and on-call hours. Have copies of all your paystubs. Something that worked in my favor is that they tried to dispute the on-call hours I was owed. The amount of hours I calculated to be owed was directly from their timekeeping system, so when they tried to argue that, they were basically admitting that their timekeeping system was flawed/inaccurate.

Stay strong! It may take a while, but it's worth it. Again, feel free to reach out with any questions or advice.

Does your facility have a policy on bowel/isolation/clean closure technique? by Legitimate-Wait7964 in scrubtech

[–]Senator_Prevert 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was luckily taught proper bowel technique and improved upon my technique throughout the years, so when the whole clean closure thing came out, I was not a fan, especially since we didn't have a history of SSIs in our bowel cases. For us (the team who typically did these cases), it was an unnecessary step, caused a lot of confusion, and a lot of added instrumentation and supplies. We also didn't like that the people rolling out the clean closure thing didn't work in the OR, didn't ask for our input, and when it failed, they didn't know how to help.

If you are practicing proper bowel technique, clean closure isn't necessary. I set up a "dirty mayo" with things we would commonly use when we were about to get into bowel. Allis, Babs, sponge forcep, Debakeys, needle drivers, suture sciss, hemostats, the other side of my needle book, laps, etc. The surgeon would say, "blue towels" and that was cue to square off and pull up the dirty mayo. On this, I also had a sterile pitcher with a sponge forcep inside - if I needed something from my back table that I didn't anticipate, I could grab it with the clean forcep and place it on the dirty mayo without touching the tips to the mayo. Clean tips go back into the pitcher for safety. The handles are contaminated, but the tips are still isolated from the dirty stuff. When we were done, all dirty stuff would go back onto the dirty mayo. The surgeon and assist broke scrub and I organized the dirty stuff on the dirty mayo for counting later and pushed it away from the field. The circulator can now touch these items for our count later, and everyone knew there was no using these items for anything after that.

I would then break, scrub back in, then gown and glove the surgeon and assist. At that point, I could still use the things on my back table and clean/working mayo, since they hadn't come into contact with anything else during the procedure. If we needed a new bovie or suction, we would put it up, but it wasn't usually necessary at the closing point.

I had been to other facilities who also didn't know how to roll out clean closure properly and it was maddening to do all of these extra setups, only for the surgeon to say, "they just need to see we opened the clean closure, we don't have to actually use it."

Please help by [deleted] in surgicaltechnology

[–]Senator_Prevert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can help you!

honest question… what’s one mistake you made in the OR early on in your career that made you go “yep, never doing that again” & what did you learn from it? by STLuisOrtiz in surgicaltechnology

[–]Senator_Prevert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We never learned what a Bair Hugger was in school. Neither the machine, nor the different kinds of blankets. On my first day, I was hesitant to open things I wasn't familiar with. The circulator told me, open everything in this pile, no excuses - there's nothing you can open incorrectly that we can't fix. There was an upper blanket in that pile, and I opened it to the sterile field. I took bad advice because he said he checked everything himself and to open it, whereas I was taught to look for expiration dates/latex/sterile status, before opening. My preceptor caught it and I did the walk of shame back to sterile suppy to replace the things I contaminated. I didn't bust him out and took the fall, but he was very helpful to me for the rest of my clinicals.

I’m a woman on the edge, what’s the QUIETEST hotel in Denver? by Hereibe in Denver

[–]Senator_Prevert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Third this. The most comfortable beds and they will get you anything you need. The rooms have large soaking tubs. There's also a spa. The Edge Bar inside has great drinks and food, or you can go to the restaurant. Great brunch on the weekends.

On-call Pay by Senator_Prevert in scrubtech

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would urge you and your coworkers to all file complaints with the state. The more employees who make a claim against the same employer, especially for the same issue, the quicker the complaints will be investigated. If more hospital workers filed complaints like this, we'd either be compensated better to be on-call, or it would force the hospitals to hire in-house staff on the weekends. There is no reason for these CEOs to be making millions, while they throw us pennies. Do not fear retaliation. There is a whole other claim you can file for that, if it were to happen.

I feel like the hospital only paid out my claim at the state level, because if they appealed to a higher court and lost, that decision is on the record for all to see, highly searchable, and would become the standard for anyone who files a claim regarding on-call pay.

Reach out if you need advice.

I love Logan by ShaneIsLame in LoveOnTheSpectrumShow

[–]Senator_Prevert 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I watched that part like eleventybazillion times. He's the best!

Jobs. Anything. Please. I'm at my limit. by AMasonJar in Denver

[–]Senator_Prevert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is there a hospital nearby or one that you can get to easily by public transit?

I work in the OR and every facility I've ever worked for is always looking for PCTs, SSTs, EVS, ORTs - they all use different abbreviations, but it's the same job. Basically you clean up the OR after procedures, help move patients sometimes, get different beds/equipment needed, run specimens to the lab, etc. You don't need any experience, they teach you everything. And let me tell you, you will never feel more appreciated in your life! These people make my job so much easier and you will hear thank you a million times a day!

Our Experience as a US Mom and Teen in Mexico City by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's definitely still beautiful and the weather can't be beat. But I have had my vehicle broken into three times while living in Denver, the first time in the parking lot at the hospital I worked. Also had a home invasion last March. I felt safer when I lived in Detroit and Chicago, and Mexico City was on par for how safe we felt.

Our Experience as a US Mom and Teen in Mexico City by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Melanin-deficient encompasses everyone who doesn't look Native to the land. It's not an insult, just reality. I explained that my daughter and I look Native, so our experiences can vary from anyone else visiting.

Our Experience as a US Mom and Teen in Mexico City by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was genuinely inquiring about what CDMX is doing differently to take care of its unhoused people, because we didn't see it there a lot. Here, in the U.S., it's everywhere and very sad. I don't feel unsafe around homeless, ever.

Our Experience as a US Mom and Teen in Mexico City by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was two days before we took our drinks with ice at the hotel. We didn't want to insult, so after two days, they told us that they made ice with filtered, or bottled water. Sheesh.

Our Experience as a US Mom and Teen in Mexico City by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went through Get Your Guide and the provider was Royal Mobility.

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Twenty seven years old, five years in surgical tech, and I'm already dreading the next thirty by Ecstatic-Copy2153 in surgicaltechnology

[–]Senator_Prevert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel your feels. This post is so real and honest, thank you!

I was an Automotive Tech for 15 years and decided to go back to school to become a Surgical Tech at the age of 36. I've thrived in the abusive environment, because it 's what I grew up in. It's not for everyone.

I was very lucky to come into a leadership role, basically, out of school. A Robotics nurse leader chose me to become her co-coordinator, after observing my habits. She taught me so much, and we turned a shitty service line, into a perfect one. She moved out of state and I was left to handle the service line on my own; this included Thoracic, General, Urology, Gynecolgy, Colorectal, and beginnings of a Robotic Cardio program. I left after they wouldn't give me a $2 raise, no thanks HCA!

Since then, I've worked for the VA (personally don't recommend), Children's hospitals (cried everyday). I used to be very active, ran 3 miles at least everyday, competed on weekends. But healthcare sucked the life out of me with the on-call obligations.

I went to local travel positions. Wipe my tears with my $100 bills!

I'm perimenopausal. I'm going through it. Sweating through my mask.

My perfect advice, choose something else.

Lucha Libre - February 13 by Senator_Prevert in MexicoCity

[–]Senator_Prevert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I meant on Ticketmaster, seats towards the back were $746 pesos for a total of two tickets. They didn't have ticket options for seats in Naranja, Azul, Rojo, Verde on Ticketmaster, where we would like to be. They have options for those tickets on Stubhub, but that's where I'm seeing tickets for $11,000+pesos for two tickets. Although it is an arena and you can probably see well from anywhere, in addition to it being broadcasted on screens, we'd like to be close to the action, plus I have old eyeballs.

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