Floor without a Supervisor or Manager!!!!

It is commen in LTC for nurses to have a very short orientation and then put out on thier own. It is sad, but commen. Go by the rules, you know what is right and what is wrong, when in doubt, call that nurse on the other floor for a second opinion or advise. Look around your work place for a nurse who you respect and feels like someone who knows what they are doing. Start a conversation with her and let her know how unsure you are on your own. Ask her if you can call on her if you need advise. Most of us who have done this for a while will be more than glad to help if we think the questions are appropiate. But be warned, many will not if they feel you just want someone to do the work for you. If this does not work, then go to the D.O.N. and tell them you need a mentor, some one to call when you feel unsure. We have tried this in some places and found it worked well. It is just someone you can call to verify policies or practices at your facility or guide you in the right direction. Good luck

In the realm of American LTCFs, you are automatically a charge nurse, regardless of how much experience you have. In other words, the floor on which you've been working is being supervised by the charge nurse (which happens to be you).

I too, work on a floor with no supervision. There is a supervisor in the building, but she can be hard to track down at times. When I do get her, I'll ask my question which is ususally answered with "what do YOU think you should do?'. At first, it bothered me. But, now I'm grateful because she's teaching me how to make my own decisions and have confidence in them. If I'm way off base she'll gently nudge me in right direction, but mostly she allows me to make the call. There are times when she's not there and I don't have anyone to ask. The nurses on the other 2 units aren't very helpful. (I'm not sure if I'd want their help anyway, 1 coded a DNR hospice patient for Pete's sake, among other things). But, if there was a big emergency and I was simply at a loss, I wouldn't hesitate to call the on-call person, even up to the administrator if need be. They expect a call or two on their "on-call" night anyway. Might as well.