[mama_bird]

I punched out an hour over the other day. There had been three interruptions before dinner (someone was bleeding, someone else coughed during suctioning and blew snot all over my arms, and someone else's machine would not cooperate). When I went up to feed in the dining room we were short some CNA's and I had to go between two tables and feed four people! I spent an hour up there, thus went to lunch late, took only twenty min., and started my 8pm med pass/treatments at 7 but the charge nurse had been on since 7am so it was me and the other nurse to man the desk, 60 patients, and the front door buzzer/alarm plus answer patient calls and do extra paperwork. By the time I finished meds/treatments it was 10:45 and it took me until 11:45 to write report, give report, type report into computer, put narcs away, count with the oncoming nurse, sign the treatment book and sign the sheets the desk nurse usually does, AND give info to my oncoming replacemtn who was from an agency and had only been there once and needed to know who was a crush, whose extra stuff was where, etc. I was exactly one hour over. It was the end of my third week.

I know that the Coordinator told me that it happens more often than not, and not to worry about getting in trouble for being late, because interruptions happen, but I used to work for places that made you punch out and keep working (of course, it wasn't a nursing home, but in home care they expected me to take total care of a paralyzed person in two hours and sign off and not get overtime). Also, I am new at this but I can't help feeling that the nurses who have been there for a long time are thinking "She needs to be faster." Well, I must be pretty frigging fast because I've lost 8 pounds in three weeks! I am getting better every night and these interruptions and the loss of a desk nurse were unexpected. I have a routine down now and was not behind at all the day before.

Is this common? Do I have to worry about getting written up? My total overtime for the week probably added up to a total of 2.5 hours, but still...

I love this job and I adore my patients. I do not mind the physical activity, but I don't want to live in fear of being pressured to always get done exactly on time. Sometimes I think the ones getting done early are either letting the aides put the creams on (not supposed to) or they are giving 8pm meds with the 4pms so they can skip those people!

HELP!!

[oramar]

No you are not slow, you are not a bad person or a bad nurse. The system sucks, the expectations are impossible. Being a nurse is a nightmare sometimes.

[phoebebrat]

I have worked in a LTC for one month now. I almost always leave on time, although I don't know how. I always wonder what I forgot. I work nights though and it seems that the day nurses have so much more to do. There is one day nurse, who has been there for many years, and the earliest I have ever seen her leave after her shift is after one hour over. She is usually there for another 2-4hrs over her shift, and NO I'm not kidding.
It sounds like you are doing fine! Give yourself a break.

Phoebe

[janhetherington]

I work in acute, not LTC, but it's the norm to be 2 hours overshift every time one works, even skipping meals. Occasionally administration will start a campaign against this, but it's futile. Too many regulations and rules, and most come from JCAHO so we can't do anything about it.

[evilolive]

I probably only get out on time (between 7:15-7:30) because I start my blood sugars and med pass at 4:45am!

[JB2007]

If management is not telling you that you have to clock out on time everyday, I would not worry about being late. If you can not get all of the work done during your shift, that is the way it is. I do not know how anyone can expect a nurse to get all of her duties completed on 30 + residents and do the paperwork in 8 hours.

I have tried every way that I can think of to get my work done during my shift and I have yet to find a way to get out on time everyday. I have been on my job a little over a year. By the way, I had 8 hours of OT on my last check(2 weeks), my boss would be very happy with 2.5 hours of OT.

[aloha551]

When I get home from work at the appointed time and not two hours past my shift my husband wants to know "You're home early. What happened? Did you get fired?" So goes nursing...comes with the territory. Can't expect a 9-5.