Well, today was my fourth day in my new LTC, still on orientation. My day went something like this.
1. 3 nurses for 54 residents. Okay. Find out one of those nurses called in. Okay. Are myself and my preceptor (the third one this week) supposed to take two carts and work together, or am I supposed to take one cart and she take the other cart? Myself, my preceptor, and the other nurse would actually make three nurses. How do we do this. NO ONE has a clue. Did I mention that EVERYONE in this joint practically, is either brand spanking new there, or been there about three months?
2. Finally, myself and my preceptor decide... or more or less I DECIDE, since my preceptor is asking ME what I want to do... I decide to take the cart and the hall that I'm less familiar with, since I thought that I was supposed to take this hall ANYWAY, since the nurse that usually has it called in, and if we did only have two nurses and I was off orientation, I WOULD have that hall along with the hall that I was used to. Confused yet?
See, if there are three nurses, one nurse has north hall, one nurse has PART of south hall, and one nurse has the OTHER part of south hall, and west hall. I've had that "middle" part all week. When there are only two nurses on day shift, one nurse takes the entire south hall, one nurse takes north and west hall. Since I'm still on orientation, I thought my preceptor and I were supposed to take both north and west hall and work together. So, I decided to take north hall and I thought my preceptor was going to give the meds on west hall.
3. Alright, so I'm giving meds on north hall thinking "this is easy, this is a short hall, I'll be done in no time".
Then the call lights started going off. Pretty soon it was like Christmas down that hall. Three, then four lights. There were four aides for 54 residents. The aides have to pass meal trays, change everyone who needs changing, dress everyone who needs dressing. Needless to say, lights are going off left and right and I'm trying to pass meds, answer some of the call lights... one lady had to go to the bathroom, then she wanted me to get her dressed...
And this one aide kept asking me "Are you DONE giving meds to so and so yet? SHE needs to get up, THIS person needs to get up... etc.. I need YOU to help me!"
In addition to all of this, I'm expected to help pass meal trays. So basically, I'm supposed to pass meds, answer call lights, help pass meal trays.. help pick UP meal trays, because they get left in the room.
I am doing my BEST to help this one little aide, but I've had enough of her attitude... she looks at me in the middle of all of this and is like "I'M going to take a break now... we need to get SO AND SO up when I get BACK, she's already complained to STATE". Oh, did I mention state was in the building?? They've been there ALL WEEK. All, of my wonderful orientation week in this wonderful facility.
When this aide comes back, long story short, she and I have choice words. After that, I pretty much started crying... not out and out bawling, but that soft, crying that you do to yourself. We both apologized to each other later; I understand how hard they have it, I really do. I just didn't appreciate how she was talking to me. Other staff members have complained about her as well. Apparently she put in her two weeks anyway... but I digress...
SOOO, she apparently went and talked to the unit manager about me, and the unit manager came and talked to me, but that ended up going nowhere. Then, she came up to me later and was like "Stop what you're doing, Mr. Resident Council President is in the dining room hollering about not getting his meds yet, and State has been interviewing him, and please go give him his meds now". Not that I blame the guy.
THEN later the Unit Manager comes up to me, AGAIN, and was like "So, why did you take the cart of the residents that you weren't used to?"
HUH???? So apparently, my PRECEPTOR was supposed to take her OWN cart, and do her OWN treatments... and I was supposed to do mine. Why have me on orientation??? Further more, why didn't anyone this morning have a CLUE what to do??????
The rest of the day went SLIGHTLY smoother... only slightly.
Is this typical?? I am not used to this!!!!!!!!! I told my manager to put me back on night shift, where I was supposed to go in the first place, but it doesn't sound much better. One nurse for 54 residents, and probably two aides. If you're lucky. I'm not sure how many aides they have on night shift, to be honest, but I'm willing to bet it's two, at the most.
I feel bad for ANY nurse who ever has this sort of thing, be their first impression of nursing. I kick myself so hard, that I've GIVEN UP jobs better than this one, but I also actually feel fortunate that I KNOW it isn't this bad everywhere.
