The home Stretch of Ramadan

Ok, so I am going to try and give you a LONG update. I will try my best to make it interesting. The last 2 weeks I have taught my supervisor ‘boot camp’ that I have been working on for a while. I had a good time and I think the boys enjoyed it. I had about 38 guys in class throughout the 2 weeks. I covered topics such as Leadership Theory, Performance Management, The Disciplinary Process, Management Documentation, Leadership Styles, Change Management, Decision Making, plus I infused a lot of team building and critical thinking exercises. It all went well; except part of my job is I have to show improvement. So these guys got a pre-test and a post test. You would think these guys were taking there SATs. They would do ANYTHING to try and pass, including cheat. My first class was only 16 people and it was easy to police. The 2nd class I had to make them all leave the room and take all of their materials with them. They could only come back in with a pen/pencil. I set up the room so everyone had about 10 feet of space around them. I had guys coming in and trying to move chairs, etc. It was crazy. I had to tell them to stop talking constantly. People would finish the test and then stay in the room and try to whisper answers to their neighbor. They would also try and put their tests where others could see it. It was crazy. I told them that everyone would pass that I just wanted to see what they learned, but that is not Arab culture. Oh well… the class average went up 19% from pre to post test. One guy did 9% worse, but he missed most of the class and I think was guessing most of the time. I also did a organizational chart review…that increased 65% from pre to post test…these guys didn’t even know where they were in the organizational chart….that will tell you what I am working with.

So, we are having some Pittsburgh communication issues over here. I think everyone is forgetting that everything we do is going to be a challenge. If it worked right, we wouldn’t be here. I also think that it is difficult for some people to be the worker bees again and not the queen. Plus, we have some clock watchers in the group…I don’t have to deal with it since I am at EMS, but it is a presence I can feel. We are not supposed to be a clock watcher group, but some like to talk about it a lot. I talked to my boss (who is in Pittsburgh, but comes over 10 days a month) and he is going to try and figure it out and address it. He said he could feel it to. Don’t know what is going to come of it. This actually is a good segue way for me. I actually got a nasty email from medical director. Here is the story. We are working on some projects together. He is mainly taking the MEDCOM strategic plan and I was working on the 4R report. (Recruitment, Retention, Remediation, and Release of EMS Staff) Anyway, something that I do and that is not that uncommon for any of us to do is send out drafts to the group to get input and more ideas or suggestions. I sent out my part of the 4R and this is when I got the email. He told me that since I sent that out that he thought we were not working together and that he was disappointed in me. He also sent an email to the group and told them to disregard what I sent out. I was pissed. I was hoping to get as much input as possible to make my document the best possible. Oh well. I sent him an email and told him we would talk when he got back. I think he is OK now…just a misunderstanding on his part.

So, I found out that Australia has the opposite problem that we have in the states. The medics in Australia get paid more than the Nurses. This causes a lot of nurses to become medics instead of what we do in the states. How nice of a problem would that be?

So, yesterday I got a knock at my door. The maintenance guy stopped by to turn on my water heater. It’s October 10. They are getting ready for winter. It cracks me up. A lot of stores have their winter lines out…sweaters, jackets, toboggans, gloves, etc. Does it really get that cold? Wow. However I did get to do a bit of shopping this past weekend. I bought a new workout shirt and new swimsuit. Plus I am finally moving into my house and getting all the little stuff like coasters and such. It was nice shopping for some new workout clothes, cause I am kinda big and they have my size stuff in the clearance section. NICE!
Finally, one of my dreams has been realized. It is a month late, (it usually is the last few days in Sept and first of October) but there is an Oktoberfest celebration at the Intercontinental hotel Oct. 24-26. SWEET! They are flying in German chefs, bands, food, etc. It costs about $40 a ticket plus you have to buy your beer, but I am there. I am so pumped.
Until Next time…

Cheers!