Quit Complaining
Over the last few weeks my department has been undergoing some changes. After reviewing our numbers over the last few months, our manager realized we haven't been complaint with the three-hour rule. For those who don't work in a rehab setting, the three-hour rule means patients must receive three hours of therapy five times a week for a facility to be considered a rehab unit. That distinction is important when it comes to reimbursement because rehab and acute stays are paid separately. In order to retain our status as a rehab unit, we must be complaint with the three hour rule. So our manager made changes.
He didn't change the rules. He didn't change the system. He simply made each person accountable for seeing each patient the scheduled amount of time. For the few of us who were already doing that, it made no difference. Everyone else seems to believe the world as we knew it came to an end.
The complaining is endless. None of them are happy with the situation. I have yet to get through lunch without someone bringing the topic up. Every morning I hear how the daily schedules aren't right. I hear how much time we're wasting keeping track of time rather than seeing patients. One person thinks her schedule doesn't flow. Another doesn't have time to make up lost treatment time. That person does have plenty of time to send and receive text messages throughout the day.
My co-workers don't realize that if they stopped complaining and used that time and effort to treat patients, we wouldn't have a problem. Complaining never fixes anything. All it does is allow someone to vent. Then it's time to address the problem. None of my co-workers are happy, but none of them have an alternate solution. One of them is a master at shooting down any suggestion that she doesn't like. Another keeps saying the old system worked fine. It didn't. We wouldn't be in this situation if it did.
I'm tired of hearing all of it. These people need to let it go and move on. You're at work to work, not send text messages, shop on the Internet or talk on the phone. Our department leaders aren't helping. One is doing the extra work, but makes sure everyone else knows how much more she is doing. Please. She needs to refer to my previous statement of talk less and work more.
The new system has flaws. Nothing goes smoothly when it's first started. This is the time to make constructive suggestions not stomp around the floor telling everyone all the reasons you couldn't see all of your patients. That seems to be a trend. Guess what. The patients and families don't care. They just want their therapy.
I'm probably being a little hard on them. It's hard to change the way you've been doing things for many years. The changes have been in place a few weeks. The time for complaining has past. That energy needs to be put to a more constructive use. We need solutions. The best solutions will come from the person who knows the situation and that is us. Instead of complaining about a problem, figure out how to solve it.