Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It's been an interesting few days at work. Changes are in the air. I'm withholding judgement on whether they're good or not. First, one of our therapists turned in her resignation. Her last day on the job will be Nov 13. I can't say I can blame her, she was offered a position in a children's facility that is much nearer her home (10-15 minute commute vs 40) and which will allow her to be closer to her 2 school age children. That, combined with another therapist expecting to be on maternity leave in early to mid January leaves us in quite a bit of a lurch. We had a meeting with our boss today and he told us that we have been approved to hire a PRN therapist for maternity coverage, but she is only available 2 days a week. There is a woman who was offered a position in another division who really wants to work with us (she is the one we had interviewed and selected prior to having her new position eliminated in budget cuts last year) and there is a good chance that they will let her move into the open position in a few months, when they have had a chance to find someone else (their division is already down 2 therapists, we will only be down 1). At least it is generally slower than usual during the holidays. But I have this fear that, working in psychiatry, we will actually see an increase this year since more people will be more financially stressed this year. We'll see what comes.

The bigger dilemma for me, personally, is that I have a decision to make in the next few months. Our boss informed us today that our departmental restructuring plan has been approved by the Board of Regents and by the powers that be in HR. This means that a new type of position has been created and they will be looking to fill them yet this year. This will be a clinical supervisor position- 75% patient care, 25% management/supervisory. My dilemma is: should I apply?

A few years ago I would have leapt at the opportunity to advance my career and get my toehold into the management circles. But now, I'm not sure I want to take on that responsibility and the stress that would go with it. Yes, it would mean more $$ but is it worth it? I worry about several things: Changing the relationships with my co-workers since if I got it I would be the one doing their performance reviews; moving into a middle management position in a time of budget cuts may be a risky thing to do since management positions have no protection under the union and I would likely lose all my seniority; and most of all, I worry about what it would do to my ability to live out my dreams here on this little piece of land, that it may mean longer hours, biting into my already precious time. I don't know....

In some ways I feel obligated to apply. V thinks it's a no-brainer and that I should apply. I'm worried about getting pressure from my co-workers to apply. These positions will be filled internally from within the division they are supervising. Our division is Behavioral Health and is comprised of we 5 occupational therapists and 6 recreation therapists. The position is only open to full time employees which cuts the pool down to, I think 5. One is a definite NO (she can hardly organize her way out of a paper bag and would be scary to have as a supervisor), there is one who I don't think would want it, one who is quite ambitious but has never struck me as someone I would want to be my manager, one is the OT I work with who is pregnant (due in January) who confided to me this afternoon that she is considering not coming back full time after the baby is born, and then- little old me. I had the impression that Ken (my boss) was staring at me when he was talking about those positions (maybe it's just my paranoia). I've got a lot of thinking to do. But at least I have some time. The positions were just approved by HR yesterday and all the pay-grade stuff sorted out. They still have to ask for applications and do the interview process.

Actually, if we could afford it financially, I would LOVE to only work part time and have more time to spend here at home. But that's not going to happen any time soon. Oh, and speaking of finances. The rumor in the mill is that there will be mandatory 10 day furloughs for everyone before July 1. You gotta love working for the state.....