So, I work in a small veterinary hospital in a small community. Mostly me, the vet tech and the vet. About 6 months ago a gal we know, we take care of her animals, is taking some online vet tech classes and needed some intern hours. So Doc, said she could come in and work on Saturday mornings.
She has a full time job as a lab tech at the local hospital. You would think that she would have a grasp on medical/practical protocol!
Not so much. I know what we do is different. We have sick animals, boarding animals, surgery animals and, well it just is what we do.
We have tried and tried to train her how to do things that make the most sense for us.
We do a lot of dog boarding and one of the things is, put the dog in the outside run, clean the run, put in clean food and water bowls and then bring the dog back in. She will not do that. The rest of us do it that way, simply because it prevents a dog with no manners from spilling it's water bowl down your front and scattering it's food willy nilly when it jumps on you and the bowls go flying.
My biggest gripe is on Saturday morning, (the vet tech and I trade, so I only get her every other one), I take her back to where all the animals are and explain to her, who is who, what is what, who is boarding, who had surgery, who is sick, which boarding dogs have meds, who does not get a blanket cuz they eat it, which boarding dogs have their own food and so on and so forth.
There is also a method to the madness, certain dogs and cats some days, go in certain places for a reason. She does not listen! Last weekend, she stayed after we closed, for what reason, I do not know, and moved dogs around. We had several little white dogs, (maltese), she put a dog who did not need insulin, in with a group of other dogs that live together. She got confused about who was who. The dog that should have gotten insulin did not, and one who did not need it got a small dose. Thankfully, no great harm was done, but I was so freaked out when I walked in the next day, and the dogs were all screwed up.
This was all after I explained to her who was who! The 2 little Maltese, do not even look alike!
In the morning, we are about half full with boarding dogs, and we do have two large, not fixed male dogs, boarding in the back, because they pee all over everything, and we have 6 more boarding dogs coming in, and appointments. Some need meds, one is a blanket eater, and so on.
Before I left work, I got everything lined up, chores should be a no brainer in the morning. But, she is not going to want to listen to me. There is a reason we need to do it a certain way. If we don't it's going to be chaos we do not need!
And God forbid the phone rings! She will run your a@@ over to answer the phone! Forget her running the computer and doing an invoice, she locks it up every Saturday. I have no clue how she gets it so screwed up! But she will run your a@@ over for that too!
Anyway, tomorrow, we will be having a talk, and if she does not listen, I have a dog to shave, and she's on her own! I've tried to help her, but I'm pretty much done with covering her butt!
I quit helping her about 2 months ago, just let her go. The problem is tomorrow we are going to get slammed, and she needs to listen, or myself and the vet are going to be up s*$t creek without a paddle.
I've tried to be nice, tried to explain, left her to her own devices. *deep sigh*, did that last weekend, and she thought it was great! Screwed up boarding dogs and insulin and she locked up the computer.
We are going to be so busy tomorrow, I'm over it. She will listen, or I'm going to chew her posterior! She has been told over and over and over, why we do it this way. Tomorrow, she will or I will have a big old eye rolling, hair on fire FIT!
If it is the doc who said she could come in and work, then the doc needs to set her straight and make her do her job right or get out. If he allows this behavior he is setting himself up for problems, injured (or worse) pets, and a potential lawsuit. And if he lets someone do this in his business, he deserves it. You are right to stop covering for her. Let her take the consequences of her actions.
I wouldn't cover for her at all!!! She's making mistakes that could turn into a major liability!
^^^This.
This whole original post is why I'd never board my dog. He requires meds, a safe environment, and respect as a doggy. Makes me sick to know someone as incompetent as that "intern" is running her own show over there.
Last edited by elvislover324; 03-16-2013 at 06:41 AM.
This is scary. Hopefully your vet will figure out what is going on and get her out of there quickly. Is it possible that she lied about being a hospital lab tech? If she really had that sort of training, she would most certainly pay much more attention to the details. As a lab tech, if you are sloppy with running patient's lab tests or preparing blood for transfusions you can kill them! Good luck with this lady and keep an extra close eye on your furry patients while she is there!
Is it possible that she lied about being a hospital lab tech? If she really had that sort of training, she would most certainly pay much more attention to the details. As a lab tech, if you are sloppy with running patient's lab tests or preparing blood for transfusions you can kill them!
Ahhh, more likely is that she HAS had training and she's an idiot. I've worked in the hospital for 18 years with many of them. How people even manage to get out of their houses and get on the right buses and show up to work is beyond me with their limited intelligence level. It's one of the reasons I gave up my job as manager, I couldn't stand the stupidity. Honestly.
Giving medication(insulin) to the wrong dog should be grounds for a warning or "talk".
When you mentioned about her staying after and re-arranging, I can only imagine that she is one of those people who feel that their way is the only way and the right way. Still, it's not up to her to dictate how you do things and she should have gotten a "talk" when re-arranging things. Seriously..how has she worked there for months now? Yikes.
What someone else said about a serious liability..very true! I just hope it's not too late by the time the vet realizes this person should not be working there.
Last edited by valalltogether; 03-18-2013 at 07:18 PM.
One of our cats is diabetic, and I would be horrified if the wrong cat got the insulin. The vet needs to let this woman go, and perhaps even contact her program to let them know her errors.
elvislover324 It is important to be able to board your dog - accidents happen, emergencies happen, and it's important that you have a safe place you can trust your dog to be. Boarding can be a positive and socializing experience for the dog, you just have to choose a trustworthy facility.
I would go to the vet immediately. The wrong medication is grounds to be on probation, as is putting a dog in with a group from a different household. Anything could have happened. And if she makes another big mistake, which it sounds like she WILL, then you guys will for sure be up s*** creek indeed. She's making your job harder, not easier, she needs to go. I also work at a vet and if a client asks if we're hiring, I always tell them no - it's almost always a bad idea.
I swear it's something with vets! I worked at a vet office and I left there aggravated everyday because of co workers! My job was to come in, feed the animals, take them out, clean cages, etc etc. Laundry was also one of my jobs which believe it or not, I loved doing. Anyways, I would come in in the morning and this one co worker would take it upon herself to go around and feed random animals. So instead of doing everything, she would just go around planting food so I would never know who actually got fed or who had food left over from the night before! Then she would get mad when I would take my time to check which food was fresh so I didn't over feed anybody!
Also, I was 1 of 2 "boarding" workers. That's what they called us in the back. There was this girl who was in school some mornings and since she was there longer than me she kept telling me I had to stay in longer to cover her shifts. I did it because 1.it was more money for me and 2. thats what she told me to do so I thought I had to do it. One of my co workers who actually got me the job came in one day and goes "what are you still going here?" I'm like "I have to stay because so and so isn't in yet" she goes 'That's not your job to stay, you can go home when your shift is done", then when this one girl heard I wasn't staying anymore to cover her shifts she was LIVID!!
My last straw with working there was one day it was a blizzard out and obviously we still have to come into work. I was in, did my shift and everything I was supposed to do and went home. The next day I get called in by one of the big wig vets yelling at me about not doing my job. I'm like I have no idea what your talking about. He goes on to say I didn't follow directions given to me, I didn't shovel, throw salt down, anything like that. I'm like when was I supposed to do that? We go back into the room and hes searching high and low for whatever and goes I'll be back. He comes back and opens the TOP CUPBOARD with a huge hand written list of things I was supposed to do. I looked right at him and said "how was I supposed to see that considering YOU couldn't even reach up there, and who would look up there anyways?!" I felt like from the beginning that one co worker didn't like me and it proved right there that she didn't like me and wanted me gone. She would always set up little "traps" like that.
Last edited by celigirl88; 03-20-2013 at 03:47 PM.
Wow....let me tell ya something...stupidity is everywhere. I have a coworker like that, and I do not cover for her at all. I used to, but it was so frustrating when she wouldn't stop making the same mistakes over and over. Now, I just let the boss handle it.
Of course, my job is very different from you considering I work for the government. But believe me when I say I have truly questioned how some folks managed to get their positions. And it's a lot of them that I questioned by the way...
Why not have a meeting with your boss privately and explain what has been going on? It's really his place to decide what to do with the girl. Furthermore, she is only an "intern". Why not tell her that since you appear to be incapable of multitasking and getting it right, you only have 1 or 2 things to do and that's it? You don't touch this, or that, and if you do, it will go into your performance appraisel type of deal. You have got to be stricter if you want things to be done right and in a sane manner.
I volunteered at a cat/dog shelter for five years. There were procedures in place, but people always decided that their way was better. And you know what, animals got hurt because of it. We had numerous dog fights with horrific injuries. We've had people bitten because they thought they were the dog whisper and could befriend the aggressive dogs. Too many examples to list. I eventually had to leave because the Board did nothing to reprimand or remove the offending volunteers and completely preventable incidents kept occurring.
The woman at your clinic is going to get someone/an animal hurt with her negligence. If she can't be bothered to listen or make sure it's right before proceeding then she needs to go. You don't want your clinic to turn into my former shelter.
Co worker!GAHHHHH! Just a vent, it'll be ok!
The 2 little Maltese, do not even look alike!
