Okay, I am a new grad looking for advice. Since it is tough for a new grad to get a job at a hospital,I accepted a job at a LTC facility as an RN and it has turned out to be a nightmare. I am ready to quit after two weeks from hell.
When I interviewed they told be I would get four weeks of training and I would shadow a nurse for two weeks and she would shadow me for the remaining two. Well, they lied about everything. I received no training at all I was put on the floor on days with a nurse and 32 residents and she would tell me to go pass all the meds and just stop her if I had questions. Every time I would look for her I couldn't find her and if I had questions she was just plain rude. I was lucky that pharmacology was a strong point for me and had basic knowledge of most of the meds. There was a 9 am, 11 am 1 and 2 med pass so it went on all day long and I would double and triple check all of the meds I gave. I couldn't believe I managed to get through it because it was horrible. I went home in tears thinking I did something wrong and would lose my license. The nurses are mean and they told me they had no training and that's how it was for them and it will happen to me too. Out of the five days on the day shift the narcotics count was short three days for Ativan. That was a little too coincidental for me especially when the other nurse I counted with changed the numbers. I worked nights the second week and that was worse with 44 residents it just went on all night with two big med passes and the accucheks and it seemed like everyone needed insulin. Then I walked into a non verbal resident's room to flush her g-tube and she had an order for oral care. There was a horrible smell that I assumed was c-diff but the other nurses told me its just from poor oral care. I couldn't believe that smell was from poor oral care since I saw her four days earlier and there was no odor. I listened to her bowels thinking that she could have an obstruction and her bowels were silent. I told the LPN that was in charge of the shift of my thoughts and she told me no that the odor is from poor oral care and I need to take care of it. I would bet money on it that she had a bowel obstruction. That was the first time I never heard bowel sounds on a patient.
I also found out that this facility has violations and IDPH is coming out to check on in January. There are so many things that I would like to report to IDPH, the poor infection control, there was a resident in isolation that they all would use the same gown when they would walk in the room if they used it at all. The nurses borrow meds from other residents. There were no resident identifiers for pass meds I would be told to give meds to the guy in the middle bed in room 201. The cnas sleep on the night shift. I had a hospice patient that needed to be turned every two hours they told me to do it. I never saw the hospice patient turned by anyone but me in the time I was there. If the resident argues they say just don't give the meds if they say no. The facility requires the nurses to buy their own BP, O2 and T equipment. All the nurses use different digital equipment that is inaccurate. I found that to be true on several residents one guy had BP of 212/112 and when I took it manually it was 156/72. I think the nurses make up the vitals when they chart. It is common to have to stay 2 hours or more when shift is over just to chart. I passed digoxin and I knew to take the apical pulse while the other nurses are taking it off of the digital equipment. How accurate is that? I was never given any policies or procedures to sign off on that I understand them. I was just thrown into the fire.
I am afraid to lose my license working at a place like this. All I want is to be mentored by a good nurse and there are none that work at this facility . As a new grad beggars cant be choosers and I never quit a job before I got another one but this place really scares me and I am going to quit. Would it be kept confidential to call IDPH to report this facility? Sorry this is so long.... I feel like I am being punished...I hope there are better opportunities than this.
