62. October 22nd, 2010 Picture.

My new job rocks, honestly.  Everyone I work with is super nice and pretty awesome.  I actually see and interact with people throughout my day and feel as though I am genuinely contributing to something important, as opposed to my last job where I am not sure anyone actually cared if I came to work or not.  No seriously, no one cared.  It’s really hard to feel productive when there is no incentive or accountability to do your job well, and it’s even more difficult to work hard when moral is low, or technically non-existent.   I think that once you’ve had a bad job, it is much easier for you to appreciate a good one.  The department where I work really values it’s employees, and wants to make sure that they are challenged and always growing, both personally and professionally.  Education is encouraged and finding your true ‘calling’ is a daily conversation topic.  I feel as though people are interested in me as a person, and want to help me become the best version of myself I can be.  This is pretty awesome, if you ask me.


On the Friday of my very first full week at work, we went off-site to the Institute of Healthcare Improvement to learn more about the organization, and play an interactive game they have called ‘Friday Night in the ER’.  Now, there is no way I can completely explain the game, it was so involved and when actually telling people about it, it took me a good half hour.  I will not bore you with that, but here is the website if you want to read more about it [http://www.fridaynightattheer.com/].  The game simulates 24 hours in a hospital, where 4 team members are each assigned a different area of the hospital.  I managed the Surgery department, while my teammates took care of the Emergency Room, Critical Care and Step Down.  Patients were represented by blue glass beads, the appropriate level of care was represented a white bead (each blue bead, or patient, needed 1 white bead with it at all times), and then on call staff were represented by a clear bead.  We had a timer to signify when each hour was up, and we had to manage how many patients were walking in to the ER, how many ambulances were arriving, transfers and various rules and regulations.  At the end of 24 hours, we calculated our data (how many people were waiting at the end of each hour, how many on-call staff members you had at the end of each hour, and how many ambulances to you turned away).  After tallying all our numbers, we could see how much money it cost us to turn people away, and how it is more expensive to re-route a paramedic to another hospital than to bring in an additional staff member.  It was really interesting to play, and it made you realize just how complicated running a hospital can be.  Each department seemed to run independently, without consideration or communication with other departments, and it was to show us that in order to fix problems or improve processes, each group/department/area really has to be open to commutation and working together to make the entire system more efficient.  It was really interesting and it was a great way to get to know some of my new co-workers. 

{Welcoming us to IHI.}

{Friday Night in the ER game board.  Intense, I know.}

{My tally sheet.}

{We got really into it.  Surprise surprise.}

After playing the game, we took a tour of IHI’s office and learned more about their mission and current projects.  Obviously, there is no way I can fully explain everything I learned on Friday, and I could not do it justice, so for more information, I will suggest checking out their website [ihi.org].  I learned an awful lot about the mission of the organization, and it was a really nice way for me to get to know the members of my department.

While at IHI, one of my co-workers invited me to a gala that night.  Blue Cross had purchased a table at the Multiservice Eating Disorders Association Annual Gala, so Ratty and I headed there after work for a free meal.  The event was interesting and it was nice to meet some fellow BCBS employees.  Ratty and I skirted out around 10:15 and made it back to the North End with enough time to grab a bottle of wine and relax on the couch.  I promptly fell asleep, it was a very busy day!