Hey y’all, welcome to this week’s edition of Weekend Reflections, where I talk about what went down at work, the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
High: This week marked a milestone—I had my first quarterly evaluation since starting this job! I’ve been at the hospital for eight months now, but the first quarter didn’t count since I was still in training. This was my first opportunity to receive concrete feedback on my performance, and I’m happy to say it went well. I’m meeting my metrics, especially in productivity, where I’ve consistently been one of the top three performers over the past few months.
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by my productivity numbers. On Saturdays and Sundays, I see around 15-20 patients daily, and that’s not even including Fridays, where I’m often covering or assisting other case managers. I’ve always been fine with quarterly evaluations, even in past jobs. They’re a great way to check in on how you’re doing, identify areas for improvement, and understand what management expects. Plus, if those expectations aren’t realistic, these meetings are the perfect time to voice concerns. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being open to constructive criticism can do wonders for both personal and professional growth.
Low: On the flip side, I had a challenging encounter with a patient this week. He called me all sorts of names, which, to be honest, didn’t really surprise me—it’s part of the job sometimes. But it caught me off guard because I was having a pretty good day up until that point. I’d seen most of my patients, charted everything, and was feeling productive. Then, towards the end of the day, I had this patient who decided to unleash a barrage of negativity. I remember thinking, “I just don’t have the bandwidth to engage in this hurtful dialogue today.” Not today, not any day.
I did my best to complete the assessment professionally, messaged my coworker to give her a heads-up since she’d be covering the next day, and charted the encounter. It wasn’t the best way to end the day, but I did what I could and moved on.