My Letter to DSHS Department of Training

I have been getting so antsy to get approved as an instructor for the 70 hour CORE Training, that I decided to write a short email to the training department about my applications that have been turned in. It's not at all a popular opinion, but I believe my solution would really speed this process up.

Hi Paul!

I’m sorry if this is cluttering your inbox, but I would like to share my opinion with you (oh dear, I hear my mother in my head saying something not nice about everyone having opinions).

I really think that you guys should charge application fees. My view is not going to be a popular one, but I would pay you guys money if it meant you guys could get more staff and get my applications through faster. My application to be approved as an instructor for the already-approved CarePro curriculum was emailed 5-6 weeks ago and I haven’t heard a thing. I just submitted my continuing education stuff and I know that’s going to take even longer to get through.

 So here is my rationale:

1)      Everything else through the state has an application fee. My nursing license, facility licenses, facility beds, HCC will have 2 application fees, my car tabs, my registration, my kids birth certificates, death certificates. Everything else has fees and I get responses from those departments so much faster (I love you guys and believe your department is the sole place of sanity in the state, but you know it’s wrong when the DMV is faster than you ;-).

2)      If I (and others) had to pay a fee each time we submitted an application, we’d be more thorough about making sure those applications meet minimum criteria that you are looking for. I don’t want to pay a fee to have the application rejected. I’m sure you guys are tired of being the bad guys and rejecting applications left & right when they don’t meet criteria. I know that is the theme because every return email I get has something to do with being sure to meet minimum criteria including your new nifty automatic reply.

3)      I am a Community Based Trainer, which means that I will be charging students a fee to go through my programs. In the end, it isn’t costing me anything because I will be able to recoop these fees through the natural order of maintaining a small business. My ability to financially sustain my tiny little company is waiting on these applications to be approved. Maybe you don’t charge Facility-based Trainers, but only Community Based, but I think it’s fair that we pay the processing costs so that we can earn income, ya know. Maybe facility based trainers get an option for a paid fast-track or a free low priority.

OK. I’ll let you get back to reviewing applications and not reading the whining of RNs (we are an admittedly whiny group).

Thanks for all you do.

Mack

What do you think could be done to help out a very overwhelmed department in Olympia?