#phlebotimized

[commander-diomika]

Just took a complaint from a PT about a phlebotomist playing prayers in her collection room. This complaining lady was SO cranky and idk the ethnicity of the phlebotomist but I'm guessing the complainer was just being racist, and I was worried about this poor collector getting in trouble for nothing.

Anyway it's not my job to deal with complaints, just to hand them into the appropriate manager. I call the manager, she's not available, I take the complainers details as she's ranting "oh it's just not appropriate for her to be playing prayers, I'm going to go somewhere else blah blah blah."

Manager calls back to Switchboard, it gets transfered over to me and as it does I hear my old manager saying "Look, I really don't know how to handle this one because I don't think she did anything wrong-"

Legends only. Anyway get fucked complaining lady, I hope the manager very politely fobs you off.

[funnelcloudd]

It’s the 24th annual MUSIC AWARD with LIL’ WEETIES_XXL, KORNUKOPIAAAAAAA, JESSICA ANN BUNION, country superstars BEER CAN CHICKEN, and ELTON JOHN

Hosted by PHLEBOTIMOUS the blood sucking underground denizen

[commander-diomika]

I need to quit my fucking jooooob, every time my thumb and forearm pain starts to clear up I have a busy string of days at the blood factory and it gets all fucked again.

Pretty sure I'm going to go back to uni next year, debating going back to full time swork for six months before that.

I can make more money whoring than at pathology work. I stepped back from full time sex work because it wasnt sustainable, but I could do a six month stint knowing there's an end date to it.

[commander-diomika]

At a work meeting this week they said they're introducing a 'Recognition' program for us phlebotomists and I was like ooh maybe they'll give us movie vouchers or something.

No, instead they're gonna give us little badges/pins if we get over a certain number of customer compliments. Bronze/silver/gold for 10/30/50 or something like that. Mind you these compliments have to reach our manager somehow to be counted. I've been here 20 months and I've had TWO compliments reach my manager.

People just don't Google review their pathology collectors. It's just not a thing. So not only is the prize useless frippery it's basically impossible to get unless I start actively pushing /harassing patients to leave me a review/feedback, which would be annoying for them and time consuming for me.

What a joke.

[commander-diomika]

Just did bloods for one of the doctors at my clinic; she used to be my doctor about 7 years ago when I was going through some of the WORST addiction/depression/undiagnosed ASD messy "shell of a human" years of my life, and I wanted to tell her... I don't know. Say thanks. Tell her I'm doing much better now. I haven't really spoken to her in the couple of years I've been working at this clinic because going from seeing someone at their worst to being coworkers is a bit of a weird jump.

I just mentioned that she used to be my doctor, she said she remembered, we mutually acknowledged the weirdness and then talked about the weather. I don't know. I wanted to say more but I didn't want to dump on her now that she's not my doctor, yanno?

[commander-diomika]

Had a real "kids these days" moments at work the other day.

A 20 year old came in, needed an ECG. There's an out of pocket costs for ECG. Since my work is too tight to give every collection room an EFTPOS machine, options for paying are either I can send you a text, and you can manually put your card deets in (no apple pay or PayPal, just a browser) or fill in a consent form and we'll mail you a paper bill.

This poor girl didn't have her card on her "can I pay on apple pay?“ and when I explained that we could just send her a paper bill she was SHOOK. She was like "I'll never notice it or pay it, I just won't, and then I'll get in trouble." she was extremely bemused by even the CONCEPT of a paper bill. It was nearly the end of the day, I wanted to get the time consuming ECG done, I asked her several times to just sign the consent form to to avail.

She ended up going to call her mother to ask for HER credit card, and then coz it was the end of the day and other ppl came thru I ended up not having time to see her.

[commander-diomika]

I know nobody likes being told how to do their job and here's my specific gripe; patients who walk in and immediately say "you have to use a butterfly for me because my veins are difficult."

First off, butterfly collection is used in a specific set of circumstances. I haven't looked at either your referral or veins yet. I don't know how many tubes I'll need or how your veins are today, because they change all the time. (hydration, weather temp, activity levels, general health.)

Secondly, the butterfly isn't any kinder or easier. The gauge of needle sticking you is the same. Your experience won't be markedly different regardless of what other collectors have told you. (sometimes they lie to nervous patients and say they're using this fancy thing and it will hurt less. I WISH other collectors wouldn't do that because it's not fucking true.)

Thirdly, some collectors HATE using butterfly and are WORSE at it because the action is slightly different and requires a little more dicking around to get it to work. Because it's slower some collectors basically never use it, so you're essentially walking in and saying "I'd like you to do the thing worse because I've decided I know better than you." (not me I'm great at butterfly but that's coz I was forced to use it for six months due to wrist pain.)

I don't mind a heads up of "hey my veins are tricky and we've had trouble before," but like, let me LOOK first before you walk in and put me on the back foot of having to explain that butterfly might not always be the best choice.

[commander-diomika]

So I had a goood vent about this to my partner and I realised.

I'm so fucking cut up about this because circus is the place in my life where I was progressing, where I was achieving things, where I had an inspiring mentor who was invested in my progress and cared about /supported me. All things I am decidedly NOT getting out of my job atm.

I've been meaning to go back and study for like, at least 6 months now. But instead of pulling the trigger on that (because it's scary) I've been pouring my energy into circus because it's fulfilling a deep need of mine to progress and improve myself. But as my partner lovingly pointed out, it's a side quest. Unfortunately we live in a capitalist hell scape and I need to work, and I need to think about longevity (I'm in my thirties, I'm never going to become a pro circus performer) and it would benefit me to feed my need to grow whilst also learning a skill I can get paid to do... Instead of wearing myself down doing a job thats a low paying grind, where no one is teaching me, I'm not learning any new skills, and I'm not quite making enough money to live (and also hurting my wrist because phlebotomy requires a lot of grip and dexterity / repetitive strain).

Circus will still be there (hopefully) with some more time and rehab, but what I really need to do is stop side questing and get on with the plot, ie, go study counselling which I've been putting off for ages.

Or, as both my partner and QPP said, "feeling sad? quit your job about it."

I want to scream and cry.

Took six months off circus to rehab an inflamed thumb tendon. Was pain free and doing conditioning for two months before I came back.

Managed 7 weeks of classes before it flared up again. Was working really hard to try and relearn all my old skills but also trying to look after my dud wrist.

Didn't go to class tonight and will probably have to take the rest of the term off, if I can go back at all. feeling bitter and angry about it, tried to soothe myself with a little gym sesh to at least do cardio and core.

As I finished up, got an email from my coach being like "hey we missed you tonight, but I've gone ahead and booked you into the assessment to move up a level for next term coz I reckon you've got it." SCREAM

Life goes on huh.

[commander-diomika]

You ever take someones blood so good that they give your their number after? Coz I did today.

[commander-diomika]

Had a frustrating conversation with a patient yesterday at work; I see a lot of queer and trans patients at the clinic I work at, and inconsistencies over names and gender markers are pretty common. Having punched this person's details into the string search, two almost matching patient ID's pop up; one with the gender marker F and one with the marker U (unknown). So I ask this person which gender marker they would prefer since I like giving patients autonomy in this stuff. (Unfortunately Unknown is our only non binary option). They say that they would usually pick unknown because they're non binary but for pathology they want to keep it as F "because it's important you know I'm female."

I point out that it's actually not really relevant and patient becomes insistent, no, the lab needs to know they're female. I again say it doesn't matter and if they want the U marker I'm happy to use that one. They say no, the lab needs to know. "Pathology is the only thing i would use female for," they've had low iron in the past and so their results have to under F so it's clear they have periods and that's related to their low iron.

They were becoming quite agitated at this point so I acquiesced and simply used the "F" patient ID. What I WANTED to do was point out that the F on their patient ID actually tells the lab NOTHING related to periods or iron levels. Plenty of people with uteruses don't have periods because of age, medical conditions or simply contraception. Plenty of people with the F marker are trans women. Any hormonal information that is relevant to you being AFAB is immediately thrown out by people taking hormones, or again, any range of medical and intersex conditions.

The people doing the pathology don't have, and don't need, any information whatsoever about your AGAB. All they do is perform tests, and report the results to your doctor, you know, the person who has the full picture of your medical situation, including whether or not you have periods and how that might impact your iron level? But this person was SO insistent that their AGAB was information that the pathology company needed, and it just made me sad that even though this person has obviously started on some gender stuff for themselves, they're still operating from this cissexist framework, and it wasn't the time or place for me to try and break that framework down.

[commander-diomika]

Plain blood tastes, well. It's salty. It tastes a lot like the ocean. I've never understood people saying it taste metallic. To me it tastes salty, warm in the way that warm water has a different flavour to cold, and with a depth of meaty/umami/savory flavour.

The stuff in the EDTA anticoag tube tasted much the same, flavour profile not really impacted by the additive.

The citrate tube with a ml or so of additive in it definitely impacted the flavour. Tangy, bitter chemical undertones. Like blood mixed with the flavour of licking a switch cartridge.

Bored at work and about to do something stupid

[commander-diomika]

Had an older gay man as a patient the other day, and in chatting it came up that he'd just celebrated his 40 year anniversary with his partner, I asked what the secret to a long relationship was and he said

"I think... He's very patient with me, all the time. Plus he's got a big one, so that helps."

Asdghabdjff I love queeny old gay men so much.

[commander-diomika]

Starting a new job is WILD because at the same time you're reading and signing and repeating back all these company policies you're also working with an Actual Human who immediately shows you the way that things actually work, even when it runs directly counter to the "policies" you've just read and signed off on in triplicate.

[commander-diomika]

First day of my new job! Extremely nervous! Blargh!

[commander-diomika]

Fingers crossed for me that I can get thru organising my work uniform today, get the "male" uniform without fuss or question, and that I don't lose my mind at them for still having gendered fucking uniforms in this year of our Lord 2021.