Don't Tell Me Who To Vote For. And Don't Threaten Me Either (Video)

Imagine that you're sitting at your work desk listening to gospel music and a person with a little more authority than you comes and sits down next to you.

You've seen this person around the building throughout the years that you've worked there, but you really don't know a lot about them, and they don't know a lot about you. Usually, when you see each other, you exchange hellos or maybe a smile.

“How are you doing?” he asks.

“I'm good,” you reply.

“Why does everyone always say I'm good?”

You smile back at him. “Because I'm good.”

There’s silent for a moment.

“So, are you voting for Trump?” he asks.

You laugh. “I don't discuss politics,” you answer.

“Oh,” he says. “I'm not afraid to say no. No. I'm a Demo. Until I die.” He turns to you. “Don't forget where you come from.”

You smile, but on the inside, you're looking for a polite way to get up and walk away from this conversation.

This, my friend, happens every two years in America to black people who refuse to toe the line.

Is common knowledge that at least 10% of black people vote either Republican or Independent and there are some bold black ‘Demos’ who have it as their mission to hunt that 10% down and get them in check.

That’s why black people who don't toe the line choose not to discuss politics. They stay silent at church when the pastor brings up politics. They remain silent when they're around other family members when they bring up politics. And they stay silent at work when their co-workers bring up politics.

The only time that they're willing to discuss politics with others is when the other person (or people) are eager to have a conversation. No name calling. No put-downs. No shaming. Just agree to disagree if necessary.

Notice in the example above that the guy didn't ask, “Are you voting for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders?” He should have just assumed that the person was voting for Hillary or Bernie because they’re black right? But he didn’t. He asked if the person was voting for Trump and I believe it’s because Donald Trump has a lot of people running scared because he's appealing to a lot of different types of voters.

I remember during the 2012 elections all I saw on my Facebook feed was black folks telling other black folks that they needed to vote for Obama because if Romney became president, then America would become like the movie The Hunger Games for all black people.

But I don’t think scare tactics like that are going to fly this time around.

Maintaining the Log/ADT Book as a Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

Keeping and maintaining the ADT (Admission/Discharge/Transfer) book is one of the responsibilities of a Health Unit Coordinator. Properly documenting when a patient arrives or leaves the unit is very important in the patient experience.

It's also good as a backup for the times when the computers go down or if there is an incident and you need to evacuate the building.

Who Do You Call When Something Needs to Be Fixed? (Video)

Who do you call when the toilet is overflowing in a patient's room? Who do you call when the call light won't stop dinging? Who do you call when a cabinet door is hanging on for dear life?

These are all things that you'll need to know as a Health Unit Coordinator.

How to Be "Damn Near Perfect" as a Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

Do you want to be damn near perfect....like me?

I recently had my evaluation done and was told that as a Health Unit Coordinator I was 'damn near perfect'.

I answered, “I know.”

I take my job seriously because we are all supposed to be there to care for our patients – who are also our neighbors.

That's my goal and it should be yours also.

Learning to Ask for Help as a Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

The quickest way to fail as a Health Unit Coordinator is to not ask for help. You can work for a company for 20 years and still not know everything. That’s the reason why you must learn to ask for help.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say a doctor gives a nurse a verbal order for an x-ray procedure. The nurse comes to you and asks you to help her put the order in. You both spend five minutes trying to put the correct order in, but neither one of you can find it.

So, what should you do? 

The answer is to call the Radiology department and ask them how to order that specific test.

Now see that wasn’t hard now, was it.

When Should You Go to Human Resources as a Health Unit Coordinator? (Video)

                                           Photo by Tim Gouw from Pexels

Conflict is bound to happen when you have multiple people from different background all coming together in a stressful environment. But when issues become problems you may have to take it all the way to the top.

So, when do you go to Human Resources? When you have used your chain of command and have spoken with your immediate supervisor, manager, or director and the problems have not been addressed or ceased.

Put it in writing. You cannot go down to HR all mad and emotional. You must type up everything that has been going on from start to finish. You need to include names and dates of the incidents when you spoke to your immediate supervisor and the outcome of that discussion and the name of dates of any further incidents.

Directors do not like being asked to explain why there is conflict amongst employees that they are not handling. And HR departments do not like receiving letters from unhappy employees that include the words “harassment” “bullying” or “retaliation”.

How to Stop Sitting for so Long as a Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

Sitting for a long time is a part of the job of being a Health Unit Coordinator. There are some things that you can do to personally keep your body moving.

Leave the floor. I’ll usually go to the cafeteria daily, to not only grab something to eat but to also to just move my legs. I usually walk down the stairs from the 3rd floor to the basement, and then to the other side of the building. 

Get up and go gossip. I don’t sit on the company’s telephone and gossip with other coworkers. I’ll get up and go where they are and catch up on what’s going on in their life and at work.

Just move. There are times where I will grab my Bluetooth, cell phone, and head outside and walk around the building (or walk to the parking garage) and just listen to music or a podcast. The fresh air and a quick sprint are all that is needed to get the blood pumping. 

Dating a Co Worker as a Health Unit Coordinator (Video)

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

I dated a coworker once. We kept it private even though I think that he wanted it out in the open so that other guys would know that I was off of the market. We were constantly told that we made a cute couple. We would laugh at them because they didn't know our secret.

We kept it discreet because we didn't want to become the talk of the hospital. We didn't want people trying to break us up by spreading lies. 

So, keep it cute and put it on mute.