Sara2020 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 I was wondering if anyone knows if there is any regulation regarding office condition! My colleague and I were recently forced to moved to a very small space that appears to be a storage. When I moved in yesterday, realized that there is air flow but not much air. I called facility and the person who came asked me if I know that we are in storage/closet and he said that there is no ventilation in the room just air flow. I was by myself in the office yesterday so the air didn't really bother me but today when my colleague joined me, I felt chest tightness and tiredness but thought it was due to being tired from work when I left work after 30 min felt much better and so I did some reading and realized that this could be due to lack of ventilation. I also learned that OSHA doesnot have a standard air regulation that can be enforced at work environment. I really do not know what to do. We work for a large organization. Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAdamsPAC Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Contact your Employee Health Department or Safety Office. If all else fails speak with HR Department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara2020 Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 I thought about doing that but I am worry about retaliation, I am not part of Union where I am and so I don't have representative so I am worry about them letting me go if I make too much noice about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cideous Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 9 minutes ago, Sara2020 said: I thought about doing that but I am worry about retaliation, I am not part of Union where I am and so I don't have representative so I am worry about them letting me go if I make too much noice about this! If you are in an at will state where they can fire you for pretty much any reason I would think long and hard about just how important making the complaint is to you.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SedRate Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 10 hours ago, Sara2020 said: My colleague and I were recently forced to moved to a very small space that appears to be a storage. When I moved in yesterday, realized that there is air flow but not much air. I called facility and the person who came asked me if I know that we are in storage/closet and he said that there is no ventilation in the room just air flow. I was by myself in the office yesterday so the air didn't really bother me but today when my colleague joined me, I felt chest tightness and tiredness but thought it was due to being tired from work when I left work after 30 min felt much better and so I did some reading and realized that this could be due to lack of ventilation. I really do not know what to do. We work for a large organization. I hope you love your job and have really good benefits to be forced to work in a storage closet. I mean seriously, what self-respecting medical organization has their revenue-generating medical personnel working in a storage closet? Please evaluate your work situation. There should be a standard in which you are treated, especially since you make the organization money and are expected to be high-functioning. I'm sure that's not easy to do in a working space like that with restricted ventilation. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cideous Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Sed said: I mean seriously, what self-respecting medical organization has their revenue-generating medical personnel working in a storage closet? You have obviously never been to a minute clinic. That is exactly what they put their providers into and many of them do not have AC. It got so bad MC was trying to retrofit lots of them with portable AC units because they started off pretty much as storage closets. Another fun fact....MinuteClinic is by FAR the largest employer of PA's and NP's in the country. So, the largest employer of AP's puts their providers in large closet like rooms to work for 10 hours a day. Not a big stretch to see how this could happen to the original poster.... Edited August 22, 2019 by Cideous 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAdamsPAC Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, Sara2020 said: I thought about doing that but I am worry about retaliation, I am not part of Union where I am and so I don't have representative so I am worry about them letting me go if I make too much noice about this! If you are physically suffering from your workplace conditions, how can you not speak up? Are you willing to have your health put at risk? Working for an entity that would injure you for the sake of making money is not an acceptable option in my world. Edited August 23, 2019 by CAdamsPAC 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SedRate Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 33 minutes ago, Cideous said: You have obviously never been to a minute clinic. That is exactly what they put their providers into and many of them do not have AC. It got so bad MC was trying to retrofit lots of them with portable AC units because they started off pretty much as storage closets. Another fun fact....MinuteClinic is by FAR the largest employer of PA's and NP's in the country. So, the largest employer of AP's puts their providers in large closet like rooms to work for 10 hours a day. Not a big stretch to see how this could happen to the original poster.... I did say "self-respecting" but no, I have not and thankfully so. Wow. Are these (MC and the like) the same employers that many of the forum posters refer to when they mention assembly line medicine? I think it was even you who posted about social media affecting one's work evaluation and the effects of "moving the meat" in corporations like this. Don't take this the wrong way, but are the job/field benefits so great or job market just so poor that self-respecting providers choose to work for corporations like this? I'm not above working in a small workspace but a storage closet? Good grief. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cideous Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Sed said: I did say "self-respecting" but no, I have not and thankfully so. Wow. Are these (MC and the like) the same employers that many of the forum posters refer to when they mention assembly line medicine? I think it was even you who posted about social media affecting one's work evaluation and the effects of "moving the meat" in corporations like this. Don't take this the wrong way, but are the job/field benefits so great or job market just so poor that self-respecting providers choose to work for corporations like this? I'm not above working in a small workspace but a storage closet? Good grief. It's actually a good question. 1. The job market especially in large cities is not great and places like MinuteClinic hire new grads, pay low, but the brain power involved is exceedingly low. Some people want that. 2. Jobs like this can help transition from one job to another. They are easy to get into and easy to get out of. Last I heard at MC you only had to give two weeks notice lol. 3. The medicine is spoon fed to you. It's almost impossible to get in trouble at a place like that unless you ignore their protocols. 4. You work alone. All day long. Which has its own appeal. IMO the downsides far outweighs the good, but you can't argue with the numbers. They are the #1 employer of AP's in the country. Edited August 22, 2019 by Cideous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted August 22, 2019 Administrator Share Posted August 22, 2019 And 5., this is what you get when you have new-grad, 20-something's who have no idea how to negotiate: "I'm supposed to work here?" "It's all we have" "..." I can think of about six different ways to approach this problem short of walking out, with varying levels of assertiveness. For example: show up early, camp out in the clinic manager's office, and use her computer to finish yesterday's charts. Then, when she shows up, apologize, take the 5-15 minutes needed to finish that one chart before logging off and letting her have her desk back. Offer that she can log in at your station while you're wrapping up. Rotate this each morning through all of the various more important people in the clinic, but not more than a couple of times per person, until everyone is aware that you're stuck in a storage closet. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SedRate Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 4 hours ago, Cideous said: It's actually a good question. 1. The job market especially in large cities is not great and places like MinuteClinic hire new grads, pay low, but the brain power involved is exceedingly low. Some people want that. 2. Jobs like this can help transition from one job to another. They are easy to get into and easy to get out of. Last I heard at MC you only had to give two weeks notice lol. 3. The medicine is spoon fed to you. It's almost impossible to get in trouble at a place like that unless you ignore their protocols. 4. You work alone. All day long. Which has its own appeal. IMO the downsides far outweighs the good, but you can't argue with the numbers. They are the #1 employer of AP's in the country. Thank you for breaking this down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) Come to my clinic in DFW and you can have my cubby hole cabinet, my chair, workspace, and where I've worn the paint off the wall from leaning back in my chair reading my iPad. Plenty of circulation here. You can lean back in the chair and holler at anyone in the office that you need. You even get a phone (rarely used) with your own personal extension! Edited August 23, 2019 by GetMeOuttaThisMess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara2020 Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Thanks everyone for your comments! I am very well paid with fantastic benefits. The reason me and my colleague are very bitter about this move is that, we lost our office to our director who had our current office (the closet) before but she was by herself in that office and was working only 2-3 days a week. But she wanted to have a better office with window which we had before and therefore she forced us to this room so she can have the office with window. None of the departments have a director who is essentially an admin in the medical site. Her excuse is that she has to watch MAs so they don't chit chat (micromanaging). Plus, they asked us to move in a day, they pretty much sent a admin person and said you have to move out today (my colleague, who is an NP) been in that room for 11 years). We are generating money for the department and this was miss treatment from their part. I really don't think that they had anyone from safety department check this office it better closet and that is the reason I am wondering if we can pursue this. Like I said I don't have Union representative so if I push too much they can ask me to leave, my NP colleague however is part of Union. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Lightspeed said: As and NP, I’m outraged that they would treat an NP like that. Is there any way they could possibly get the NP back into the main office with the director at least? Sure, the NP would be sharing an office, but at least the conditions would be more humane And maybe move all the MAs into the closet with the PA, right?? Edited August 23, 2019 by Boatswain2PA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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