HELP!

[daniellemarie]

The facility I am working at is expecting State to come soon. No one has had the time to tell me what to expect. Any feedback would be great!

[CoffeemateCNA]

Cross your t's and dot your i's.

It would take a long time describe everything they did, so I'll stick with how it affects CNAs.

You'll see quite a few people walking around with clipboards. These people are making notes about anything and everything.

They will expect you to have your name tag on. They will also expect you to have a gait belt on, preferably within sight. When they come, we put our gait belts over our scrubs around our waist so that there is no confusion.

They will ask you questions about residents, like:

How often does this resident get up?

Is he/she bedbound?

How many hours per day does she spend doing activities?

Is he/she incontinent?

If you know, then tell them. Don't offer any more information than what they are asking for (this probably won't be a problem, though! :)). If you don't know, tell them something like "I'm not sure but I can go find out that information and then I'll get back to you." If you say you are going to get back with them, make sure you do it.

They may quiz you over emergency procedures. For instance, what would you do if you there were a fire in the building? Tornado watch? Tornado warning? Make sure you know your acronyms like RACE (Rescue-Activate-Confine-Evacuate) and PASS (Pull-Aim-Squeeze-Sweep).

You may be requested to perform a skill for the inspectors (never seen them ask for anything except peri care every time). Say OK, but that you will go get a partner first. The partner is to help ease your nerves and help out with the procedure. Get your partner and do the skill for the inspectors. They will be looking to see if you do things by the book (i.e. talk to resident throughout procedure; wipe front to back; use different rags for front and back; wash hands and change gloves after peri care but before putting on the new brief, etc.).

Oh, and they have also asked us to thicken a drink while we were in the dining room.

They are always keeping an eye out for people doing things the "correct" way. So no gloves can be in the trash cans (must be taken to dumpster once a glove enters). No briefs left in the trash cans. Everything must be bagged before leaving room. You get the picture.

State survey is a stressful time. Just do everything the way you were taught in class and you will do great. However, expect the tension in your workplace during this week (or more) to be high. They usually spend about a week in each department (nursing, medical records, dietary, maintenance,etc.).

I ate a lot of candy during the last inspection.

The surveyors are intimidating, but they are not mean people. They are simply trying to make sure that the residents are receiving the best care possible.

Good luck!!