Hmm, so much to think on ...
Good morning, good morning! Guess what?? I earned a free “V morning!” That means we got up before him and finished a paper, so we get FREE time with V’s blessing to mess around here with MPD blog. YAYYYYYYYY! Shoot, shoot wish we had some marshmallows to throw around or something! Hmm, maybe breakfast? Yah, let’s do that! Officially, it is now 4:52 am and we’re going to get cereal! Hmm, maybe scale? We forgot that earlier. Well, maybe but with further trepidation, because we’ve been drinking coffee. I’m pretty sure that’s going to make us heavy
Yeeks, that was so not a good idea. It said we gained 4 pounds over night. Damn…
Eh, flukey weight … we’re still having our cereal! We didn’t have breakfast and lunch yesterday, but ate a heavy dinner. We had the left over noodles AND tomato sandwiches. Still 4 pounds?? Ok, ok nevermind that … we’re going to march forward into our day. Well, not really march, cuz its only February. Hmm, wandering here…
Well, anyway … we DID finish a paper … and it turns out we’d already written comments, but wrote one more before we figured it out. I was in such a good mood; because we talked to our teacher for the first time yesterday and figured out we weren’t in trouble with late assignments after all. She said something about “finding out” that she had to be a little more lenient with late assignments, especially because of doctor’s note. No reason to add THAT kind of pressure on students that we can’t turn in anything late. What would be the purpose of late, if you couldn’t use it?!! I don’t want to get over involved with it that I’m not trying to catch-up. Just one a day … we can do this … four more days . What be REALLY good though is if I did two papers on Saturday, that would allow me some time on Sunday to work on the final paper.
The teacher said when asked that we don’t have to turn in an outline for our final paper like was due during chapter 5 of last semester. She says she understands because there are some other students repeating the course. She says that they’ve redone that part, so it isn’t necessary, but if I want to turn one in that’s ok, she said she’d look at it. I like that idea a lot … two papers Saturday and final paper Sunday. It’s one of those long 30 page things that could get the better of me as it did last semester. I might as well plan ahead this time. Hehehe shoot, who wouldn’t want to be a student!??
Yesterday was ummmm … well, we’re remembering first that our sweetie pie came over. But, it was just for a quick visit. He was an hour later than expected, so had told us to eat ahead of him. He had left some meat here the other night, so cooked up another couple of dinners for the freezer and he had something to eat. My poor baby was going to a card game and he said he needed to be there at 7 pm sharp! Sometimes I think he goes to work, just to practice getting to the fun stuff on time . We’ll talk to him this morning, but we already know he is going to complain about being tired as if that might not occur to him the night before. Guys are kinda funny this way But, stands to reason if he wins at least $5, he will have thought it a good cause. Go figure!
Hmm, now the work stuff … what do we remember?
First thing? Shoot, not doing such a good job remembering. I do remember the part of Sister handing us over another CARF book. She has in the past done this book herself. It is a survey guide to help you answer the standards questions. Usually, we do the standards and this year we have a checklist as well. So, I figured in general, why not do the questions, at least that way we keep things all standardized and maybe it would help me with the other stuff. Pretty sure CARF doesn’t do this kind of stuff to us, just to pain us! Shoot, that reminds me … we still have to put our money down for the meeting in Ohio come June. Plenty of time right? Just got to remember. We got a paycheck yesterday, but that’s the check that covers the rent. Can’t be outspending that one.
A good thing was that we figured that we better use pencil on the questions. That turned out to be a REAL good idea. We’re the type that gets half way through a thought, and then change our mind. The questions that we answered yesterday helped us put a whole perspective on this set of standards. There were like three major questions, but they broke down to about 12-15 questions. Pretty much wanted to know where we got input from clients, staff, and others, how we analyzed it, and how we used that to be planning. This information could include anything business wise, but they suggested things like program development, strategy, finances, resources and the like. One thing for sure … if I ever went into a different company, I’d have a better idea than most about how things work together. This is the year we want to become a full CARF expert. We want to figure out the small details. I’d think by the next CARF three years from now, I’ll have my masters, maybe more experience, because Sister would have hired the third Q giving me different responsibilities, and I will be very confident in my CARF and report writing abilities, and possibly accept the job of being an inspector. Part of that comes in too with my weight and ability to move around. I refuse to sit in airplane where I have to ask for an extender seat belt! Booooo HISSS HISSS…
I finished the work by 2:30, which was pretty amazing, because of all the office stuff going around yesterday. One way or another it was placed on Sister’s desk, which might have something to do why I’m being treated so nice the last couple of weeks. I’m now back to being important. Well, that and the other Q is having Sister problems now. It’s pretty well known in the agency that there’s always a good guy and a bad. It’s just that I’ve been the bad guy for so long, I sorta feel sorry for the other Q. Words out that she got written up too, but Sr. was so put off by her not valuing this criticism that she had the other Q write herself up! Shoot, that’s just not right! I told that to our friend last night though and he said he’s used that technique before. I say stand up all the little people in the world and rebel against such thinking!
I saw part of the letter the other Q was writing. There’s no doubt she was still angry … she had gotten pretty legalistic in her terminology and was still denying that she’d done wrong in not having whole case files of Qnotes not done when the inspector was here. Again, we must say for the records, we just got luckier than her. Our notes were further progressed. At least due to the structuring we’ve done … everything is down on paper and backed up. Another fault of the other Q was that because she didn’t have things down on paper, the assistant that we each get for one day, cannot finish an entire Qnote of the other Q. where in my case she can. Today, I’m going to take the Q. to meet a couple of the DSPs in meetings where we go over more thoroughly the needs of understanding the client’s goals more clearly. I want a three system back up behind every client’s goals. We’re counting on the DSP to let us know what can be done, the assistant for getting it recorded properly, and myself for making sure everything works together with some purpose. YAYYYY Team! There’s going to come a point in time where things are more caught up and we can play more with future ideals.
One of the things that I was working on yesterday was in being able to mess a bit with a type of survey that I’d been trained to do sometime last year. It is called, “Support Intensity Scale.” I didn’t get it approved last time because Sister was yelling at me, “Nothing New!!!” Right now I’m in her better graces, but if I were to get the package it would be at an addition $138 for test booklets for 50 people. And then, she would complain about who was going to do all the testing. It would have to be done by me and with the assistance of the DSPs. What this test though would do for us is give us a basis for the performance analysis report, which is like the outcome assessment of what it is our company does and why it is an important service to the community. The survey breaks down in segments all the clients needs whether it be medical, psychological, daily assistance, remedial, etc. It asks us to gauge how much service is needed and what kind of time it would take, and it is scored against a norm. It would more clearly help us to design programming needs, which is the basis for the performance analysis I am going to need doing. I would then have to have more input into the goals and programming. I think this is something that someday Sister is going to need for me to do. We don’t have conformity with the goals and the programming is being short-cutted, so in need of reevaluation because there is now more steadied work at the center. That is the stuff that gets done in our workshop. The other Q came up with a test from one of her meetings that would be useful here, and we’d started to test it out with one of the DSPs this week. It is more clearly defined in work, community and socialization goals. Sister doesn’t always see the purpose in testing, but without it making specific outcomes is difficult. The state and about everyone else is demanding we work “by numbers.”
A big concern is if the assistant is going to stay on past her graduation in June, and whether or not Sister would hire her full time. Sister needs to be convinced that I can put together an entire agency plan. I think she has in mind at this point that we split 3 ways the caseload of 50 clients. I instead want to have the client caseload split evenly between the other two Q’s, but I would take on the higher role of setting goals for all the clients for specific learning needs. There is room at the center for a developmental instructor. Thing is that I would need that position to be higher than a Q. Q’s would still be responsible for the annual meeting and Qnotes, and such … most likely parental involvement too. But, while the DI would communicate to the Q in gaining input into the goals, would be the one develop the plan. The center should be able to take itself up a couple of notches as to its usability in the community. I am still not opposed to the idea of selling our practices to other facilities. Would need a whole encompassing plan. Yup, yup this is the year we’re going to need pulling together all CARF concepts as one big whole. I need to improve the program itself so that it is more articulate as to services rendered. We have to get to the point where clients’ graduate and new people are brought in to GET to a certain point, not just longstanding care. Hmm, if all else fails, I could do things more old school and incorporate into the business plan that we get to the points I’m not thinking of vaguely in my mind.
Pshwoo … I guess I’ve worn out my time. But, it might be worthy of my time this morning while at work to be putting together more an outline of this that I have in mind. Always we feel so vague. This is why people have to write paper after paper. We need to claim our points of interest.
Have a good one!
posted by Ann Marie @ 2/16/2006 06:24:00 AM
Comments: 6
