Mischief wrote:
Well so far this one clinic is looking promising. I've had one
interview which led to a working interview, which led to a second
working interview, which i just had today. And i've been asked back
for a third working interveiw next week.

It's a good sized clinic but the building has been around for like 50
years. The moldings and the floors in the back totally show it. My
first reaction when i went back into the treatment room was "This place
looks lik a dump." The cabinets and countertops were peeling, the
floor is totally uneven.

But they seem to practice good medicine. Both days i've worked there
It's been relatively slow, even though i've been told that it can get
really really crazy. I'm interested to see how they manage crazy day,
cause you nenevr really know the whole truth until all hell breaks
loose.

Lemme give ya a relative summary of both days.

Day one: Clocked in and learned about the morning routines, tour of
hte equipment etc. In the isolation room where three 8 week old
kittens that had been fixed the previous day. Two boys and one girl.
Very cute looking, but they were feral. The staff was trying to spend
as much time working with them so they can become accustomed to
hoomins. The cages hadn't been cleaned yet, and i heard two
technicians complaining that they didnt' want do it because the kits
would go nuts. So I said i would give it a shot.

First kitten, a tortie female, started hissing as soon as i opened the
cat door. "I'm MEAN!!!" So i quickly reached in and scruffed her and
picked her up. She struggled a little bit, but i wrapped her in a
towel and after a bit she calmed down and started purring. But as soon
as I put her back she started hissing again.

Second kitten, a tiny male tuxedo, started hissing and spitting as i
reached for him. I had to move fast cause as sson as i grabbed him he
REALLY started struggling. Again wrapped him up in the towel and after
sitting there and scritching him he calmed down and purred until i put
him back.

Third kitten, an all black male, went NUTS when I opened the door. I
half expected him to come flying out at me. This one i had to cover
with a towel first and then brought him out. Same thing, but he took
longer to start purring.

Periodically throughout the day i went back and visited the kits and
tried to pet them. Each of them hissed again and tried to swipe at me,
but some i managed to get out again and pet.

I assisted with a spay surgery and learned the clinic's surgery
protocol. And the rest of the day went decently well.

Day two: Clocked in and started helping with the hospitlized animals
and morning treatments. THis time i actually took teh chart and check
the medications, check with the vet etc. Took me a while since I
didn't know where the drugs were kept, couldn't find the drawer with
the gloves, etc.

The feral kittens were all in one cage but still hissed at me. The all
black male was burrowed WAY underneath the pillow and was even moving
his brother and sister aside so he could burrow further. They've still
got a ways to go.

While i was cleaning a run, I reached up to one of the shelves where
the towels were kept when i noticed there was a CAT meatloafing on one
of the stacks of towels. Her name is Cali and is a beautiful tortie
and also is the hospital cat.

I talked to her and scritched her ears and then asked her "Um, I need
to get a towel now, may i?" I then gently grasped the towel under her
and tugged a little bit.

Cali looked me square in the eye and took a swipe at my hand. HEY!
"Uh, ok, if that's how you're going to be, i'll just use the stack
you're not sitting on." Again she swiped at me and every time my
handcame close to the towel she would bat it away.

Another coworker was there and she started laughing. "She just wants
to play." Nevertheless, I still needed a towel. I finally managed to
get one despite her batting at trying to love bite my hand. Sheesh!

Fortunately during the day Cali lives in a cage and not in that room.
I visited her again later and she let me scritch her head and ears and
then tried to grab my hand so she could bite it. Reminds me of Imp.

I then helped out and learned the clinics dental protocol and was able
to assist with that. I also got to do an ear cytology and got some
helpful learning tips from one of doctors.

So then the end of my shift came around and i got asked to come back
again next week for another working interview (thank goodness i'm
getting paid for these)

Pros: Nice doctors (so far) and the two head techs are nice and have
been willing to help me when needed. I'm also getting a chance to
apply knowelge that i only learned in school and haven't had a chance
to apply yet.

Cons: The rest of the staff, particularly the female technicians seem
a trifle distance. I'm not sure why, but i'm getting some weird vibes.

Examples: On day one, after i was done with the feral kitties I came
back out and noticed one of the technicians was getting food. I said
"Oh, its time for feeding now?" I know a mildly dumb question, but I
didn't see the harm in asking.

She said, "Uh....yeah?" The unsaid "DUH" hung in the air and i saw it
in her face. Um, okaaaaaaay.... I brushed it off and went about the
rest of the day, but kept an eye out for her.

And this morning i was looking for another technician to help me, and I
saw one who just came in, but I couldn't remember her name. So I said,
"Uh, Claudia, right?"

She gave me a somewhat condescending glance and said "No." And kept on
walking by. Didn't even stop to see what I was doing.

WTF?

The two head techs have taken the time to try to get to know me, and
i've had conversations with some of the other males techs but not much.
But each of them took the time to introduce themselves.

NONE of the girls have really said a word to me, even a hello and
haven't even tried to get to know me. And when i do speak to them, I
get this feeling like I'm treading on eggshells.

So on the one hand the clinic shows promise, it bothers me that I've
only worked there two days and already am getting bad vibes. I've been
trying really hard lately to read people's body language and actions,
and what i've seen isn't impressing.

They seem to me to be mid-level technicians, which is wherabouts where
I would start. But I mean, am I THAT threatening to them already? I
mean as far as I know, I'm not acting like I know everything, cause if
I did why would they keep asking back? And I'm almost afraid to
mention it cause I don't want to start any rifts. Of course i'm not
going to mention it NOW, but with the way things are going, I wouldn't
be surprised if in the next week or so they made me an offer. If at
all, THAT is when I would mention it but worded very carefully. Cause
the fit is very important and from the last two places I';ve noticed if
there's ANY kind of bad vibes, it's only a matter of time.

At the last place, 'A' and I clashed early on. And as much as I tried
to work with her, it only got worse and I ended up being blamed for
"always arguing with her" And the place before that, this high school
brat with a major attitude and I clashed a bit as well. For two years
we managed to keep our distance, but the last few months it just got
worse.

And if you've read my latest rant about my unemployment interview, you
can see how frustrating this is.
As much as I like this place so far, the LAST thing i want is to get
hired and have personality conflicts down the road that end up leading
to my termination. Doesn't matter if it's 3 weeks, 3 months or 3
years. That would be THREE jobs in a row where i would have been
discharged for 'not getting along with the staff'

God if that happened I don't know if i could handle that.

I'm trying ot keep my head up, and will see how the next working
interview goes. I have another interview tomorrow at a different
place.

ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican.....



Kristi

Many purrs on the way that the right place will turn up for you soon.
Hang in there, even though it's tough.

--
Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe