Neurobics Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 So I work as a phlebotomist for a staffing agency for a big healthcare company and had a placement in a health center where there are about 8 or so doctors, a PA, and an NP. During my lunch breaks I would see one of the doctors in the break room and we began exchanging pleasantries and I made him laugh once at a joke and we introduced ourselves. His office was right next to the break room and I always saw him with the door open. This was my 2nd week at this new job and I approached him and mentioned how I am interested in becoming a PA and heard there was a PA in the health center and inquired if I could potentially shadow him. The dector was very friendly and offered to introduce me to him and walked me across the center to the PA's work area where I was told to wait for a few minutes until he comes back out and I can introduce myself to him. So I did. The PA was very friendly and open to having me shadow him but advised me to talk to the health center manager first about the health center's policy regarding shadowing. So I walked over to the office manager and told her I spoke with the PA and he is willing to have me shadow him and instructed me to come see you about getting whatever approval I need. She seemed very open to the idea and said she will check into it because she isn't sure and for me to come back the following day. I come back the following day on my lunch break and she has papers ready for me to sign. I jokingly apologize and say sorry I don't mean to be a pest or anything but I am trying to become a PA and shadowing is an important step in that process. She said okay now I will send this in and we will see what happens basically. So I come back the next day and she says she had to send it to her boss's boss and it's in the hands of administration now so we just have to wait, and to not worry, that we'll take care of you. So I say great, thanks, I'll check back next week. 2 days later I am let go and am removed from that assignment and am given a "do not return" by my staffing agency to that location. My staffing manager said that the complaint that the health center had about me in their report was that I made the office manager feel uncomfortable, awkward, that it was inappropriate how I asked to shadow, and that I should have spoken with the office manager first. Did I do something wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoyaHoya69 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 imo, absolutely not. especially if what you're saying is true about the doctor, PA, and manager being friendly throughout the whole ordeal. I have 100+ hours shadowing at just one pediatric medical center, and most of that was me blindly emailing PAs that I had never met before. Only once or twice did I ever not get an email response from them, let alone an official reprimand. The way you put your story sounds like something isn't right. If everything you're saying is true, I would recommend you take some sort of formal action, because being officially terminated from a job may be something you need to disclose to future employers. just my 2 cents. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Not your doing by your description. Someone got feathers ruffled or has a hierarchy issue. At least you found this out before being there to shadow and having someone freak out or blow up in your face. Some folks are just crazy but hide it quite well............................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neurobics Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Yes, this is honestly exactly as how everything occurred. Well, when I told the story to my staffing manager she said well that is how they perceived it and there is nothing I can do about removing that "do not return" status, and if you get one more of those, you will be terminated from our staffing company. The doctor, PA, and manager were all friendly. People I have told this story to, family, friends, and other phlebotomists have suggested that maybe the manager doesn't like seeing a new, young, student coming in there and quickly on their way up. I didn't think this at first until others have suggested it. The staffing manager did seem to emphasize that in the report it stated I should have approached the office manager first before approaching the physician or PA, so maybe the office manager did give me the boot for some heirarchy issue. It was strange though, it was an IOP so it was me and 1 or 2 other phlebotomists, and one of my coworkers was warning me, saying that the office is "full of women" and that our supervisor had told her and our other coworker to not allow me to go over and speak to anyone else in the health center that wasn't involved in the lab. My coworker thought our supervisor had told me that as well, but she did not. She actually gave me an entire tour and introduced me to everybody, so I had no clue. My coworker said she wasn't sure why she would have told them to not allow me to communicate with them, but she did. She said there was a weird relationship between our lab manager and the health center the lab worked for. Well, I just wanted to see what others had to say. It really bummed me out because I can't think of any more tactful way of attempting to get shadowing than that to be honest, and I end up getting terminated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nubienne Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I work at several outpatient centers and was able to shadow a PA at one last week. I approached the PA first, who then directed me to the office administrator and everything went fine. I have been working with the group for almost 5 years though, so I had a bit more rapport with the administrator. Don't let this deter you. Perhaps in the next scenario, wait a little bit longer before approaching, but still definitely take the initiative. Closed mouths don't get fed It might even work out better if you shadowed at a place you didn't work at, so the politics wouldn't affect you as much. Keep trying! Good luck! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eian01 Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 I don’t think so…..some doctors worth it. There are good and bad people everywhere. You must take some formal action as it’s not only you but others also might face this in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 I think it was wrong for the office manager to pretend they had no problem with it when the opposite was clearly true. On the flip side, you had only been there a week and were already asking about shadowing. Might have been too soon. Nice that you got good reactions from the doc and the PA but it sounds like the office manager didn't know you from Adam when you showed up asking to shadow, having already subverted their process by getting permission from the wrong source. I'm not excusing the way you were treated. Next time (and please, don't stop looking for opportunities) ask about policies and politics first. You might avoid squished administrative toes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 So I work as a phlebotomist for a staffing agency for a big healthcare company and had a placement in a health center where there are about 8 or so doctors, a PA, and an NP. During my lunch breaks I would see one of the doctors in the break room and we began exchanging pleasantries and I made him laugh once at a joke and we introduced ourselves. His office was right next to the break room and I always saw him with the door open. This was my 2nd week at this new job and I approached him and mentioned how I am interested in becoming a PA and heard there was a PA in the health center and inquired if I could potentially shadow him. The dector was very friendly and offered to introduce me to him and walked me across the center to the PA's work area where I was told to wait for a few minutes until he comes back out and I can introduce myself to him. So I did. The PA was very friendly and open to having me shadow him but advised me to talk to the health center manager first about the health center's policy regarding shadowing. So I walked over to the office manager and told her I spoke with the PA and he is willing to have me shadow him and instructed me to come see you about getting whatever approval I need. She seemed very open to the idea and said she will check into it because she isn't sure and for me to come back the following day. I come back the following day on my lunch break and she has papers ready for me to sign. I jokingly apologize and say sorry I don't mean to be a pest or anything but I am trying to become a PA and shadowing is an important step in that process. She said okay now I will send this in and we will see what happens basically. So I come back the next day and she says she had to send it to her boss's boss and it's in the hands of administration now so we just have to wait, and to not worry, that we'll take care of you. So I say great, thanks, I'll check back next week. 2 days later I am let go and am removed from that assignment and am given a "do not return" by my staffing agency to that location. My staffing manager said that the complaint that the health center had about me in their report was that I made the office manager feel uncomfortable, awkward, that it was inappropriate how I asked to shadow, and that I should have spoken with the office manager first. Did I do something wrong? Did you do something wrong... yes and no. I don't think it was improper to ask about shadowing opportunities BUT...(always the but) I have owned a staffing agency and used staffing agencies as well. When you are on assignment for an agency your sole purpose is to perform the job you were sent there to do. If everyone an agency sent out pursued some personal agenda (not that yours was nefarious or improper in any way) it can have a bad effect on the agencies reputation. Also employers generally pay a premium to have agency staff. Some (most) take umbrage if you do things other than what they are paying you to do. Consider it a life lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oolivia1 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I think it was wrong for the office manager to pretend they had no problem with it when the opposite was clearly true. On the flip side, you had only been there a week and were already asking about shadowing. Might have been too soon. Nice that you got good reactions from the doc and the PA but it sounds like the office manager didn't know you from Adam when you showed up asking to shadow, having already subverted their process by getting permission from the wrong source. I'm not excusing the way you were treated. Next time (and please, don't stop looking for opportunities) ask about policies and politics first. You might avoid squished administrative toes. I will agree here with greenmood that you should not stop looking for opportunities!! When looking for a PA to shadow I have known a few people who have received many, many rejections before a yes, but that yes is so worth it, and they didn't give up! (It took a long time until I even found someone willing to let me shadow and I've worked with multiple PAs for over a year!) Perhaps as greenmood said, ask about policies first or wait a little more time. Are any of the PAs you work with part-time and work at a different practice too? Maybe their close friend in PA school works at a practice just down the street and is always willing to accept students to shadow. These jobs usually help you make connections which are so valuable. Often you can get a sense of which docs, PAs, or NPs are willing to go out of their way to help you. Always be careful about pushing things at your place of work, some may take this the wrong way even if you are only responding to them in a kind way when they offered to help. Keep making connections! Don't think just because this job was through a staffing agency you cannot make good connections with some of the PAs! Good relationships also help with the LORs after working with them for extended periods of time. I am so sorry this event happened, but do not let it get you down! Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLW2018 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I didn't read anyone else's comments, but my impression is that she probably didn't think you were serious about the job position. As, it is a "stepping stone" to your career. They were just trying to find a way to let you go without blatantly saying that. When I told my boss I was accepted to PA school, I gave her 3 months notice. She was so mad... She wrote me up the next day! Too bad, I'm in my second year of PA school now and loving every minute of it. :) Don't let this get you down! You're going to be a great PA! Just don't let your shadowing experience interfere with your work hours... Try to shadow by networking other physicians (not work ones). Just to be clear lol. That will avoid this in the future and best of luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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