So I actually remember a time when I liked my job. I guess you could even say I loved my job! I would get up in the morning and look forward to coming to work. Don't get me wrong...I don't hate my job, but it's just not the same as it used to be. And that makes me sad.

A brief sypnosis would be that when I first started my job almost 5 years ago I was part of a different department and my job description was a bit different. It was a different time in terms of the whole organization as well. Things seemed to be more carefree, we had quality folks to work with and we were a happy little Shrine family.

Shriners has a little slogan that says "Having fun and helping kids." I am still helping kids but I am not so sure what happened to the having fun part. A few years back my old department was dissolved, the people I truly enjoyed working with were moved to another department and I was combined into an already existing department. Over the years I have come to appreciate my new cohort in their own way but it just isn't the same.

My department now feels like a bit of a dumping ground for everyone else in the hospital to get an issue off their desk and on to ours. More and more programs and responsibilities seem to be absorbed by us and it's becoming more and more unrealistic for us to keep up with those demands.

I think the biggest frustration for me is that we have had a LOT of personnel fluctuation over the past three years. It's like we can never get fully staffed and settle into a model of how we want things to work. Hence, the title of this blog entry. I try to be optimistic in thinking that we will eventually get settled but instead I am repeatedly learning that the only thing constant is change.

If anyone has suggestions on how to deal better with change I'd love for you to throw them my way. I've never dealt well with change and this latest round has me feeling that I may be the next personnel fluctuation they experience. Somebody help me put the fun back into helping kids!