Just Weary. So weary

[Youda]

I have a resident who sometimes walks around kinda shuffling her feet, head down. This is a lady who is usually outgoing, always optimistic and smiling and giving encouragement to everyone, even the staff. When she is walking around like that, I've asked her 'What's wrong?" She says, "I'm just weary. So weary."

And that is how I feel this morning. After another weekend of short-staffing (what else is new?) and admin who don't bother themselves with our desperation beyond, "Just do it!" . . .

OK. In LTC, everywhere really, shortages are a fact of life. But, do I have to deal with nurses who abuse the residents, too? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I already reported it and kicked it up the ladder, only to get a tongue-lashing this morning from a nurse who thinks it's his god-given right to threaten and abuse the residents. Why aren't I angry? Because sometimes I'm just weary, so weary.

Thanks for listening.

[live4today, RN]

((((((((YOUDA))))))))) :kiss

Life sucks when you are just about to enjoy it! I feel you today! :chuckle Chin up now....don't let the monkeys of life win! Have a Cheerio kind of a day NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS...because believe it or not.....somewhere else on Planet Earth is a MAJOR fire a burnin'......lives are being lost, children are being molested, kidnapped, raped......., men and women are losing jobs that they really need to keep them from becoming homeless; someone is losing a baby they've long awaited for as I write this, some battered wife is forgiving her lousy husband one more time as she lets him help her clean up her bruises so as to hide them from public view........and so on and so on and so on.

You say "What's that got to do with your day?" Nothing....ABSOLUTELY NOTHING......except.........I'd rather be "Weary...so weary" than in situations like I discribed. Count your blessings, one by one...we are too blessed to be so stressed! :kiss

[micro, RN]

"Weary so weary"........

may you and the resident you mention not feel so weary for too long.....

may all the health care workers who think that it is all right to insult and downright verbally+ abuse those in their care.......either change their ways or change careers............

"weary, so weary"

[Tookie]

Sigh

I understand where your coming from - somedays there just dosent seem to be any light at the end of any tunnels You just get so tired of trying to do the right thing for the residents and for the staff who also try so hard to do it right.

SIGH

[night owl]

Then there's always that one person you'd love to shove your foot so far up their....I don't understand how they even got the job to tell you the truth. Obviously they BS'd their way through the interview and are now there for the money only...How sad and it seems the more you complain the wearier you become. I find in my case that having the resident themselves go directly to the NM or HN and complain about a certain someone gets the ball rolling much quicker. The problem is addressed right away, either the same day or the next. But when staff c/o the same person, the NM/HN will always say, "You must document it to me in a memo" which seems to never get addressed. So whenever a resident complains to me about a certain someone, I always tell them, "Report it to the HN, because they don't want to hear it from me, but they sure will fix the problem real fast if YOU do the complaining directly to them." It always works.

And Renee, to sit back and watch the abuse knowing nothing is going to get done when you report it, is just as, if not worse than, the act itself. Very stressful to say the least. Management emphasizes "Get the paperwork done", "Do the best you can with what you have", "You'll manage, you always have!" But when it comes to issues such as abuse, somehow it's swept under the rug. It's like they just don't want to deal with it when you report it. BUT when the resident reports it, it's a new ballgame. It's the residents that can't report it and are the most vulnerable that are left to deal with it. All I can say is for those residents, just keep documenting, reporting it, and documenting some more. At least your end is covered, and keep all copies.

[Tookie]

Finding staff just to work the shifts - to replace people who ring in at the last minute - and we dont use agency staff - we did havethem for a while but they could not find staff either .

Tonight - l feel very frustrated - you orientate and support staff to understand the facility and the philosophy- you only need the one person to spoil it for so many - as my DON says 10% of the staff take up 80 % of the time.

Big Sigh

Tookie

[night owl]

That is so, so true Tookie! Keep the faith and your chin up and try not to let it get to you... it's tough, I know...Sometimes you feel like you're going around in circles, but remember, we're here to give you support and understanding. Too bad our facilities refuse to understand and support their employees the way we do here. We'd have one h*ll of a facility, wouldn't we???