[Foo Fighter]

I am getting frustrated and not feeling confident in my work. We are sending Covid samples to a lab to be tested and they keep changing procedures without telling us or they change it so fast it's hard to keep things straight. My boss got frustrated with me when I struggled to get it and he made me cry. He later said he wasnt happy because I have ****ed it up. I have never been mad at him until this point. One coworker said it changed three times in one day. We are not getting updates or if we are not in a timely manner. Also the first procedures we had were very confusing. We hadn't been getting a lot ( i stupidly figured read the SOP when you get one and it will make sense). Even the other day I watched a coworker and there was a change that either everyone ignored or it simply wasnt caught. It was an order entry number that had been changed. This is important. If neither of us caught it, the sample would have been rejected. I called my boss over to confirm it and wrote it up on the procedure. He later retyped it. Im getting sick of this. I get this is unorthodox but its frustrating and at this point. I called my mom and she said " just ask when you come in." Mom it got changed without my knowledge at least four times. The other day it was changed and they didnt say so why bother asking? Im sick of this. I dont know who is in charge but it has to stop. I dont even want to go in tomorrow cause who knows what else changed? Maybe night is day and no one bothered to tell! Im sorry but this isnt helping and the advice I got wasnt that great. I just want to bang my head on a wall.

[winter4me]

This is an overwhelming situation, and it does not sound as though your boss is handling it very well but don't let that make you think you ***up because there is something lacking in your abilities or knowledge. To be honest, (and I could be wrong not knowing your situation) I think your coworkers could be your best support at this difficult time. I was always one to check policy and procedure first and when in doubt but I have found that as technology has grown, there really is a lag (weirdly it seems) in getting the right information to people doing the work (I'm an RN, recently 'retired' but I really do know what you are talking about)---the P&P became something that was ever-changing and it was not always possible to rely on information received, and this was without a pandemic that causes personal issues that can impact work (I was on the front lines as hiv/aids emerged and that was an education in how fear impacts professional behaviors)
Does your lab have a quality assurance committee or other resources you could reach out to to address the poor communication and resulting frustration? If others feel as you do, a letter of concern to management may be helpful. Also, if you plan to stay, document document document (keep a small notepad and jot down each event so that you have real data to present that shows the problem---it may also help you see patterns/where things are falling down). Remember nothing is certain but change, and this is a time of so many moving, changing pieces. ((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))