Is it like this in your facility?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I have been and LPN for 18 years but have only worked in Long Term Care for about 3 months. In that time the facility I work at has fired 5 nurses. The Administrator and the DON had only been there about 1 month when I started. The first nurse was fired just a few day after I started for falsefying records, supposedly siging off treatments and not doing them. The second was about a month ago with the reason she couldn't retain info well enough:banghead:which was true. The third was basically a no show no call which results in immediate termination. The ADON went on maternity leave a week after I started. When she returned after 6-7 weeks, the DON resigned the next day giving a 2 week notice but cleaning out her office the same day and not returning. :no:The last 2 were within the last week. One nurse had worked there for several years and was a very good nurse but her nephew who she has custody of was involved in a car accident and she left work without giving report to another nurse. The office knew she was gone but there was a patient on hourly o2 checks and the other nurse didn't know it and the daughter found her off her o2 and called the state. The fifth was a 11-7 nurse they said was sleeping on the job. I know these are all valid reasons if true, but what ever happened to warnings, suspensions, etc. We were already short nurses and now everybody including the residents:( are suffereing becuase of all this. Is it like that everywhere?:down:

Specializes in psych,maternity, ltc, clinic.

Wow, Lexibear! That DON sounds like a person with serious control issues. Watch your back! I'd definitely be looking for another job. :banghead:

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

This is partly why I quit my last job of 2 years. I was hired to work evenings or an occasional night shift. They knew about my disability (bipolar) and that I can't work days due to grogginess from my meds then this brand new GN is hired as DON...how they were able to do that without an RN license is beyond me. Anyway, this new DON calls me up one day and says RN's can only work day shifts; that they can't afford to pay me RN wages for my shift when an LPN could cover it instead. I went through chain of command...but our administrator quit and when the new one came (he was only there 2 weeks and wouldn't even give me his last name on the phone) he backed up this new DON.

Well, needless to say, I became incensed and called upon the ADA who referred me to the EEOC. They are investigating my complaint as we speak and I'm waiting to hear if I have a win-able case against them, since it was in writing that I was to stay on evenings or nights and not days. I feel they discriminated against me due to my disability. Since I was forced to quit, they've had 2 more administrators and last I heard, the new DON that I had to deal with has given her notice.

At first, I thought I'd just try to get my job back, but by the time we'd take a case to court, all the people involved will be gone. I have a new job now getting ready to start and am excited, but it still irritates me because it took me 2 months to find a job at all. I would like for them to reimburse me my wages for those 2 months I went job-less (and believe you me, I tried to find another job...updated my resume and took it everywhere and put in on the 'Net etc.) just no one in my area was hiring.

The last 2 years that I worked at that particular facility, I saw about 7 different DON's and 5 different administrators. Isn't that awful? They offered me the DON job twice but that is not for me. I personally don't feel I have enough management type experience to make me a good DON.

Anyway, so yes, I know what working in that type of environment is like, unfortunately.

Blessings, Michelle

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Specializes in acute care and geriatric.

You didn't collect unemployment?

Wouldn't go back to that miserable place if you paid me and I pity the patients there!!!

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Specializes in acute care and geriatric.
I have noticed in LTC that you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you are so busy during the shift and you don't get treatments done and you don't sign the TAR you get in trouble for leaving holes but if you sign it even though you didn't do it you get in trouble. What do you?

NEVER SIGN SOMETHING YOU DIDN"T DO!!!!! I cant repeat that enough. If you didn't manage to finish your treatments ( a no-no in my books but I assume you have a good reason) You must pass it on to the next shift and have them sign for you!!!

Sounds like you need help in time management and prioritizing if all the nurses manage to finish the work and not you. If all the nurses are in the same boat - go together to your DON and discuss this, Treatments are VERY important!!! Left undone- you will just have more work to do!!

Sorry if I sound harsh- I'm sure you're doing the best you can- but I repeat- NEVER SIGN WHAT YOU HAVENT DONE

Good Luck

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Specializes in medicine and psychiatry.

Luvtosmile,

Sounds like we are between a rock and a hardplace. You have expressed it well:yeah: This whole scenerio is very toxic. Also very detrimental to the patient. This is why I don'nt work in LTC. I work in an acute care hospital setting currently. It is only slightly less ridiculous.

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