Friday, April 14, 2006

At least try to play nice

Sometimes we get rostered with the same person for a month and sometimes we are on 'reserve' which means we can be sent anywhere to work with anyone for a day. Working reserve is ok for a while but it is always nice to get settled at branch for a time. Its kind of like lotto. Sometimes you get rostered with someone you really click with and you have a great month, a lot of laughs and some interesting jobs. Other times you might not fully click with your partner, but overall it works ok, you both put in and get the job done. You aren't going to be lifelong friends, but you respect each other and its all good. Very very occasionally you'll work with someone who really irks you.

I just finished a shift with a woman I spent a month working with last year. This woman once again spent the entire shift doing the one thing that really upsets me in this job. She was routinely and openly rude and dismissive towards the patients we saw. She would make it quite plain that she thought people didn't deserve her attention and that she thought she was better than them.

We all get tired and grumpy and sometimes in this job you need to walk outside and bang your head on the side of the truck in complete exasperation at the behaviour of some people. But the key difference is that (I believe) you should treat all people with respect while they are your patient regardless of what you personally think about them or their circumstances. I even found myself going back and apologising to one woman's husband after my 'partner' had effectively said they were wasting our time.

By the end of the shift I was furious and embarrassed by her behaviour. Most of all I think I was mad at myself for not saying something to her.

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