I'm a LPN, and I'm conflicted about whether to leave the LTCF I work at, even though I'm still on "orientation." I loved working in LTC as a CNA, but ever since I've been on orientation as a LPN, I hate it!
Although I'm still supposed to be on orientation, I've been on the med cart by myself a few times without warning, as there is usually a call out. I was told that I should be able to "figure things out" myself, as I'm a LPN (though a recent grad!). The other times, the LPN I was supposed to be with would take breaks away from the facility, leaving me panicked. I still don't have a clue about 90 percent of the paperwork/forms that I'm supposed to fill out as a LPN, because it has never been explained to me; I've been thrown on the cart to "improve my speed." My requests to learn more paperwork have been ignored. I feel overwhelmed and stresed out.
In addition, I've been told about some of the "interesting" habits that I've read about on this site, which I'm told is nursing-home gospel, such as:
combining meds from different times into one pass ("you won't get done, otherwise")
borrowing meds ("everybody does it; you can get in trouble if you don't give the med")
no supervisor, except on dayshift ("there are hardly any emergencies on 3-11 or 11-7")
signing that a med was given, when it wasn't even available, and couldn't be borrowed ("you can't write 'not available'")
I know there's more to list, but based on my experience, I seriously long for the days when I was a CNA. I wanted to be a nurse, but after this, I need to get away to another place where I have a better breaking-in period. I don't think I can last another day at this place, and I'm scared for my license, to be honest. I want to quit, but some of my friends think I should just tolerate the madness because I make more money. I can always work as a CNA until something better comes along, but I am still struggling with what to do. Any ideas, thoughts, or other horror stories would be appreciated. I apologize for the length.