Early Morning Shift

Every once in a while I am asked to trade shifts with coworkers. So this morning I pushed myself out of bed a few hours earlier, drove down a freeway with light traffic and made it to work in record time! 7:00 am for me is when I roll over in bed. Suddenly I found myself at work trying to wake up.

Our doors open around eight to the public, but the real internal work was at hand - preparing the paperwork for the staff. Basically my job description changed from doctor to copy boy. How humbling was this.

The steady rythmn of the copy machine was kind of soothing, though the next job wasn't - colating. Try preparing thirty charts with about thirty pages inside of it. The work was tedius and if this was my daily job I would shoot myself. How does the earlier staff cope with this? Each day I take for granted that the charts are ready, in perfect condition, and even our discharge papers are in abundant supply. This morning I painstakingly prepared the forms that simply were always there for me, appreciating the efforts of the unsung heros that suffered the collating, hole punching, stapling, and refilling toner cartriges as an everyday routine.

I hate toner! Why does it always spill on my pants! These smudges will never come off! But my comrades never complain, they seem to wear these shrap metal stains with honor.

Last week I asked a coworker if she dreamed about feeding the scanner, now that we are transitioning into electronic record keeping. She replied "Yes", with a sadness to her soul. No wonder she is grumpy all the time. Wait - - She was grumpy before she even had that job.

The morning crew has to audit the charts from the day before. If a code number is omitted, or a signature left without a title next to it, these folks are on it like white on rice, leaving nasty notes in your box for you to complete your errors! I think the auditors get there frustration out in this process. After years of preparing the paperwork it could breed anymosity. Perhaps that is the reason why so many postal workers go "postal".

With a new appreciation for the office staff, I once again face the flow of people eager to get their medication fix, just in time for the weekend. Today I am a lot wiser, appreciative, and injured - I hate papercuts!!