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Rumor Mill separates fact from fiction  Nursing Hours Rumor: I am attending the CON master's program and have cut my hours back to 32 - 36. I have just been informed that because of this I have accumulated my years of nursing at a lesser rate than a 1.0 FTE. Basically, I am a nurse who has worked for six years and am only being considered a nurse of five years. Is this truly the way that the Authority is considering nurse's years of work? If so, then has Human Resources informed all nurses? I have been here for two years and have just been informed. There are some floors that mandate a nurse to work a 3 - 12 hour shift and the nurses have no control over the amount of hours they work. With the nursing shortage on the horizon does the Authority want to really treat their nurses this way? This not only affects your PTO, but also, your retirement and your pay per hour rate. I have since been interviewing at other facilities and they are considering me a nurse of six years. I like it at MUH but feel that I am being cheated of my years of experience. Truth: Clinical Services administration and Medical Center Human Resources report that less than full time experience is prorated for determination of total years and months service in order to arrive at equitable pay rates. The intent is to determine pay rates in a fair and consistent manner. This does not adversely affect retirement service. The methods to determine pay rates are readily available. Anyone who has questions concerning the methods used to determine service should contact the respective MUHA clinical services director or Susan Carullo. Clinical Services and Human Resources also report that a great deal of effort has been devoted to the development and implementation of a retention program.  Meducare Trailer Park Rumor: I heard that MUSC is paying more than $2,000 per month for those two doublewide trailers at the helicopter pad. I understand that they were placed there after Meducare's building was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo as temporary facilities. I also heard that the City of Charleston has demanded several times that the trailers be removed due to a city ordinance banning mobile homes downtown. There is also rumor of a monthly fine for violating this ordinance that has been charged for nearly all of the 11 years that the trailers have been there. The ground ambulance team has also been told by MUSC that the building that they occupy (17 Erhardt Street) will soon be torn down. Why  has MUSC been renting those trailers for so long without rebuilding suitable facilities for Meducare? If that monthly figure is correct, MUSC has paid $264,000 in rent for those  trailers in the last 11 years! What is going to happen to Meducare when their building is  torn down and the trailers are removed? Truth: The university and medical center have suffered from a shortage of space for many functions for the last 10 years. Meducare was one of those functions. No suitable space was available within a reasonable proximity of the helipad until the Bank Building space was identified. Indeed, rent has been paid for the trailers for a number of years and it would have been preferable to remove them to avoid the rent charges. However, space has now been identified in the Bank Building, and the project to provide this alternate space is in the final stage of design. There have been no fines levied against MUSC for the trailer at the helipad site, and there are no plans to demolish 17 Ehrhardt Street. Thank you for allowing us to clarify this rumor.  Non-tenured faculty Rumor: Recently I heard from a junior faculty member (non-tenured) who has been given notice of separation of one year duration. He/she mentioned that his/her departmental chair refused to sign on his/her NIH grant submission. The faculty member was very sad because the chair literally negated any chance of this person's obtaining a grant that would have helped in the professional advancement of this faculty member in another institution. How would you direct this faculty member and the chair?  Truth: In general, when a faculty member and his or her chair reach a disagreement that cannot be resolved by them, the matter should be referred for the consideration of the appropriate dean. If the dean is unable to resolve the situation, then it should be addressed to the provost as the chief academic officer of the university. Most disagreements can be resolved using this chain of reporting relationship. Study records Rumor: I've heard that the Georgia Heart Study summaries and documents are going to be destroyed and not moved with the Records Center move. Are these really going to be destroyed? They offer such a resource for research and comparison with Frampton, Charleston Heart Study results. Truth: This is not true. The Department of Biometry and Epidemiology maintains the Evans County Heart Study files. Daniel T. Lackland, Ph.D., in that department is the chief contact and can answer any specific questions you may have.  Shepherd Center Rehab Rumor: I heard that people from Shepherd Center are going to be interviewed about starting a rehab unit here in Charleston in conjunction with MUSC. Truth: The Rumor Mill has checked all known sources and is not able to locate a basis for this rumor at present. If you have additional information, it would be appreciated. Thank you. Parking Rumor: I heard that the parking cost is going up to $65/month on July 1. Is that true? Truth: Several years ago the University Board of Trustees approved a multi-year schedule for annual parking fee increases as there had been no such increases for many, many years. Given the fact of recent state budget deficits and their effect on pay  increases to state employees, the President’s Council recently reviewed the already approved FY ’03 Parking Fees and made several selected reductions as indicated at the following link http://www.musc.edu/rumor/parking.html. Reproduced from http://www.musc.edu/rumor/.