First: I got a job!! Hello, Antigo.

Second: I wish I could just start a job. Nope.

Warning: #ventingsesh

Today marks 1 week since accepting an outpatient physical therapy position in Antigo, Wisconsin (starting in 5 days – yipes!). The past 7 days have been So. Incredibly. Vexing. I am convinced that I have shared my address, date of birth, social security number, and favorite color a minimum of 20 times, as well as having labs drawn/placed in 4 different locations spanning multiple states. There have been phone calls and passport scans and background checks and drug screens; most of these 3 times over. Here’s an insider look into a week in the life of a travel PT:

In the past 7 days, I have:

• Submitted my resume 4 times
• Provided proof of licensure 6 times
• Emailed 15+ documents
• Filled out 3 online applications of 10 pages or more
• Undergone a drug screen
• Completed 3 background checks (each of which ask for a list of previous background checks)
• Received two PPD tests and had one read
• Submitted proof of vaccination or history of illness 2 times
• Signed 20+ documents electronically and 4 physically, sent by snailmail
• Promised my first-born child to the circus (ok, not really, but they’d probably accept)

It is typical for an employer to require certain forms and documents prior to a new hire starting. Not abnormal for a healthcare worker to be asked to submit to a physical exam, or drug screen, or even titers and vaccinations. But when you are hired through an agency that partners with another staffing agency to find you employment at a another hospital location, you now have THREE to-do lists. On top of that, travel assignments are typically a last ditch effort by the employer to fill a need, so time is nearly always crunched.

Each time I think I’ve finished my to-do list of submissions, I get another email. This morning’s installment includes, “There’s an updated WI BID form they’d like for you to complete, the form that was originally sent to us is outdated.”
… …😤
The difference between these forms – besides some formatting – was a list of previous addresses, which I supplied previously on two separate occasions.

LET’S LEARN TO SHARE, DEAR PEOPLE.

I’m so discombobulated that I mixed up my dad’s birthdate, my own, and the current date. I was required to get a TB test planted in North Carolina (they sent me to an urgent care situated between a hotel and an Arby’s), then read in Milwaukee (they refused and sent me on a wild goose chase of the city to find someone to look at my arm and tell me it wasn’t swollen), then placed again in Grantsburg. And now they are asking me to have another physical exam, even though I submitted proof of one examining the SAME THINGS SIX MONTHS AGO. Hey, I haven’t lost an arm or had a stroke since November, promise. But I’m feeling closer to a stroke now than ever, thanks to you…

The amount of red tape I’ve encountered leaves me feeling like this:

Here’s hoping that, come Monday, I actually get to do therapist-y things. But in the meantime, let’s find a place to live (another story)…