Shafted
by C. Abalos — Age 28 — New York, NY
I work in the Intensive Care Unit of a pediatric hospital, one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country. I work in the research division of this ICU. I was reviewing the mortality statistics with one of the attending physicians when he informed me that they don’t do very well with their asthma patients. So if your child comes into our hospital with a severe heart condition, don’t worry; but if your kid has asthma, he or she has a better chance of dying in our care.
My last job supported me in my attendance of conferences and research competitions. I even won a research award at a convention for a great presentation I did. When I applied for my current job they told me three things: 1) This was an exciting new research program and they saw unlimited possibilities for me and my talent. 2) It was a fun bunch of people to work with. 3) They expected they would be able to give me a raise if I did well. It’s been a year now and they’ve never given me anything more to do than data entry. A number of the people avoid each other because they don’t “mesh” well (as my supervisor puts it) and I only got a cost of living raise despite my consistently high reviews from my bosses and the physicians. Meanwhile, the secretary (who started working here 2 months after I did and has less experience and education than I do) makes ten thousand more dollars than I do.
I’ve brought the salary issue up with the superiors, but they insist that I’m wrong about how much the secretary makes. It is true that such numbers are supposed to be confidential, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve seen the numbers. The secretary showed me. I’m not learning anything here but I’m not getting any response to the resumes I’ve put out. I don’t blame employers for bypassing me. My resume looked much
better before I took this job.
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