Double-Time for Napping

None of the patients have mistaken George for Eminem's manager yet but the patients are sicker than the average Mountain Crest patient with many schizophrenics. As the staff say, they are quite mad. George still enjoys working with the patients and likes his co-workers. Many new nurses have come so he's no longer the new guy. He's even beginning to understand most of what they say to him.

One of the things that does drive George crazy (no pun intended) is that they send patients on leave and then give their beds away. When the patients return, the nurses are the ones who have to hear all the complaints and find them accommodations. The hospital is very full so it is a challenge. George's co-workers say it has been worse in the past, with patients lined up on gurneys in the hallway and even outside. They even stashed some in the parked ambulances. Unfortunately, being a government facility, administration is largely comprised of politicians instead of medical personnel. It's enough to drive one to drink!

We have yet to check out the hospital bar on a Friday night because George is usually working. His schedule has sucked for the last couple of months with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, making it difficult to plan social activities with those who have normal weekday jobs.

George wishes for a better schedule but loves the overtime pay and differential pay for evening and night shifts. Those of you who know him know that it's hard for him to resist overtime. Here they have an even greater incentive for double-shifts. When he works an evening and a night shift together, he gets time and a half for the first two hours of the night shift and double-time for the last eight hours. If it's not busy, he gets a nap during the night. To top it off, he is allowed to come to work four hours late the following day and gets paid for that. Sort of makes up for the lack of technology!

After working a lot this week, the scheduling office asked one of George's co-workers to find out if he'd like to work another double-shift. George replied that he'd rather eat a truckload of dog poop. Not batting an eye, his colleague told the person on the phone, "No, George is dining out tonight." I'm so glad people are able to maintain their senses of humor despite having such stressful jobs.