[Michigan RN]

When I worked nights I absolutely hated that the day shift RNs expected everything to be all nice for them, then when I came in I was to accept that they left many unfinished things for me...

I am sick of the days vs. nights crap. Nursing is a 24 hour a day job. If something doesn't get done on your shift, you need to pass it on to the next shift and pray it gets done.

Sorry, just came from a facility where night shift nurses were treated like dirt and called lazy all the time, by staff RNs and management.

[catlynLPN]

Originally Posted by ChanceORiley27

Wow - I thought I had it bad... Holy crap.

I think that there will always be shift dissent - to a certain degree -because we're all overworked and most humans need someone to blame at least once in a while.

I work nights and sometimes the day shift drives me nuts. Quite frankly my shift passes 3/4 of the meds, does 3/4 of the tx's, and all the extra crap - testing accu check machines and the like - and yet they complain because THEY'RE busy. In all honesty - EVERYBODY is busy. Hell - at least I don't have management breathing down my neck.

However, I think you need to find a new job. LTC jobs are one in million and usually pay about the same. We might always be short staffed and short supplied but at least you could find a place where other shifts do carry at least SOME of their weight. Heck - I'd drop dead in shock if someone asked me to order my own supplies.

I work in Indianapolis, IN. I'm very curious where you're located that you have to order supplies.

As for aides leaving people in gowns and not sorting trash from linen. Write them up. If after three or so write ups they still haven't been fired. Ask the DON what the hold up is - that sort of behavior is not okay.

Sidenote - my rule of thumb is to quit if your so miserable you think about work constantly at home. Once my fiancee start commenting on how I complain about work constantly - it's time to go.

Responding to your above post.
I did not know they were mixing the laundry and trash. Apparently the laundry workers complained, and I don't blame them. They must have reported it to the interim administrator.
So if he wants that laundry dug thru and searched for trash, he can make the CNAs do it, that put it in there in the first place.
But I had no knowledge they were doing that, so I could not write them up for it.
And they aren't going to fire anybody.....they're too short handed.
They have RNs and LPNs now, coming in and filling in as CNAs.
They aren't going to fire anybody, no matter how worthless they are.

But I can write them up for putting people to bed in their clothing. That is just pure laziness.
However, I don't think it would do any good. I've seen the same thing before. I've written people up, and they're still there.

[Skeetersmom119]

I can relate to that ! How about a nurse that comes on and completely rearranges your med cart, that you have 5 days a week ? I came on to do med pass this morning, and had a fit. Meds were not separated, just crammed together (her reasoning was "so the nurses wont have to bend") O PLLEEEEZE..Now I have to separate my inhalers from eyedrops, etc, before the pharmacy audit which could come this Tuesday or next. This is not a rookie nurse either. I am the senior citizen (50) of the unit, have been LPN for almost a year, these are nurses that have been in the profession a while. This was horrible ! I told her that if we were audited today, we would be cited for all of the spiriva capsules dumped in the same section with the nitro paste..

[BearyPrivate]

I work noc shift and I find that the other shifts leave a great deal to be done as well. But, like numerous others have said: things need written up. You can start c med errors, then work on evening shift for not following up c pharmacy. Our facility works on the notion that it is a 24 hr day, not just 8hrs.

[BearyPrivate]

Originally Posted by Kati2005

When I worked nights I absolutely hated that the day shift RNs expected everything to be all nice for them, then when I came in I was to accept that they left many unfinished things for me...

I am sick of the days vs. nights crap. Nursing is a 24 hour a day job. If something doesn't get done on your shift, you need to pass it on to the next shift and pray it gets done.

Sorry, just came from a facility where night shift nurses were treated like dirt and called lazy all the time, by staff RNs and management.

I hear ya. It's getting UA's that gets under my skin. The evening shift at our facility has 4 LPN's they pass meds for their own hall and they think they have sooooooo much to do, so they leave me, the only noc nurse 4 UA's to get. And, to start 2 IV's. It's rediculous. My DON tells me to stop whining!!!!! It doesn't do any good to complain.

[eldragon]

I was told by a graveyard shift nurse, that I should come on nights, because "there are about 6 hours with nothing to do."

That's ridiculous, because first : they make $2 more an hour than I do, and can do the same clerical stuff I end up doing, like making copies of forms and fixing files that are messed up, and they can order supplies the same as I do.

The fax machine works 24 hours a day, too. And during those six hours of nothing to do, he could switch the med cart around with dayshift meds, no?


Because I do not have 6 seconds of nothing nothing during my day-shift, and I still try to have everything ready for the next shift. It's called common courtesy.

Literally from the second I walk in the door to the second I clock out at the end of my shift, I am running.

I like being busy, but not running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

[nightmare]

We do a lot of admin work on nights.We also stock up and clean drug trolleys,make up care plans for incoming residents,do drug auditing and ordering.There's always something to do if you look for it!!

[Blackcat99]

Originally Posted by eldragon

But other facilities are not like this, right?

Please tell me they aren't all like this.

Is the trick to just ignore what other shifts do?

This is the reason I left LTC. It seemed to me that all of the facilities I worked at were all the same.

[squeakykitty]

Originally Posted by eldragon

..........(I should, of course, be charting instead.......with all that free time I have after pushing 300 pills and everything.) I swear....we had another impromtu meeting today about charting and how the poor owner, (who owns the local hospital and 4 LTC centers, ) is losing money by having so much help.

Right, so I guess he's in it for the charitable aspect.
.........

He's probably worried that he won't be able to keep up with his Rolex watch payments and Mercedes car payments.

[eldragon]

Originally Posted by Blackcat99

This is the reason I left LTC. It seemed to me that all of the facilities I worked at were all the same.

This is sad to hear.

My life has changed so much since I took this job. My husband took a swing shift so that our daughter won't be home all day long in the summer, by herself (she's 11,) and that means we (my husband and I) never see each other. I leave for work at 6:20 A.M, and get home at 4 pm, he leaves for work at 1 pm and gets home at 1 am. (He works tens - and is 40 miles from work.)

Everyday I wonder if it's worth it for the few extra bucks I am getting paid.

Yesterday I was very busy all morning, and then we had a death. Too bad, because we also had 3 more admits to deal with!

So who even knows what today will be like. I was busy before the 3 admits - but until we are full (28 bodies) on our hall, we take patients. I am the one and only medication nurse on that hall - whether there are 18 patients or 28. If I'm busy with 18, how can I get done at all with 28?

(This is SNF, and the orders change everday. The patients, mostly, are in PT or speech during the day, and many times I have to go look for them. Every patient takes 8-20 medications at 9 am, and most include eye drops, inhalers, etc. And, many of the patients have dysphagia, and require meds to be crushed, and take time swallowing them.)