Any advice for a new ADON?

[kelbel]

I interviewed for a job last week as an ADON of a fairly small LTC facility that consists of 48 beds with an additional 16 low acuity psych beds. The psych pts are able to leave on their own, continent,etc. They are there to receive meds and short of that, they are pretty self run. I have no DON experience but I felt very comfortable when I walked into this facility. Everyone had a job to do and was doing it. The DON was very calm and collected and didn't seem rushed or anything to lead me to believe I should run for the hills. They are looking to fill this position as 3 days on MDS and 2 days floor. She will also be doing MDS 3 days a week which sounds reasonable to me. The pts all looked well cared for, the facility has been defic. free the last several visits, and the DON stated that she has 18 years until retirement and she fully expects to retire there because the stress level is so low. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED! They offered the salary I requested, my hours are flexible and she told me that she doesn't expect me to work more than 45 hours a week and that is on an extremely bad week. She said she has never worked more than 45-50 hours the entire time she has been there. We will rotate call and I will take every third week. She said she hasn't been called in over 2 months and that is a rar occasion when it happens. She also said since she only lives 5 minutes from the facility that she will handle things if she can because I live about 35 minutes and it would be easier for her to get to. It is small and individually owned, no big corps politics, which she told me, since I don't have the experience to know, was a huge plus. She overstaffs when she does scheduling. 5 CNA's staffed with the assumption that 1 person will go home if noone calls in. If there is a call in, they still have 4, but really only need 3. Same with nurses. Does this sound too good to be true? I was very impressed and just feel like there is a big ball gonna drop when I walk in the door! Am I missing something or am I just bracing myself from my past experiences? Also every third weekend on and NO holidays for either of us. She said she doesn't have a problem with call ins from her staff on holidays because it is a very unpleasant fallout of working every weekend for the next month if it happens, plus workning an extra holiday to make it up.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Where is this place and do they need more nurses?

I suppose there are really good places like this out there and you were lucky to have found it.

[autumleaves]

Where is this place and do they need more nurses?

I suppose there are really good places like this out there and you were lucky to have found it.

LOL:lol2:

[kelbel]

I live in the burbs outside St Louis. This facility is in towards the city-which I love!! And I think it may have helped because it is tucked away in an older part of town, and it is not very big as I said. People probably assumed it was in a bad part of town or that the pay was substandard. I am glad to hear some positive feedback! That is so inspiring because I am a girl that truly believes in instinct and I walked in feeling really relaxed and impressed. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks for the replies!

[nghtfltguy, BSN, RN]

well??... how did it go??... i wanna know!!

lol

sounds like i wanna work there too!!

got any staff RN gigs?

[kelbel]

Well, this particular job ended up having alot of "little changes" to the description before I actually started working. I never started because there seemed to be some confusion between the adminstrator and the DON as to what the role/responsibilities would be met by me. I did however start a job at a retirement community quite a bit closer to my house and for more money. I really enjoy this position and am learning alot. The work is long and tedious but in a different way than floor nursing. Mentally I am spent when I get home, but I function well enough to spend time with my family and make dinner, etc... The down side is that there is no set dinner time because I might not be home until 7:30. My hubby has been great in helping out and it is working so far. I love the residents and continue to learn every day. We are staffed even though at the present we use alot of agency. They are a BIG help, but one of my first goals is to fully staff to ensure coninuity of care for our residents. I am quite surprised by the lack of wanting to work. I guess as a floor nurse I never paid much attention and made sure that my stuff was done. Now that I get to formally hear all of the complaints and attitude I have to assume this went on the whole time where I used to work. I guess I was just oblivious to it. I am shocked at people feeling entitled to collect a check just for being there! I know nothing I am disappointed about is unique to this facility and every place will have these issues. My DON and administrator are WONDERFUL and don't expect me to know everything and are willing to teach me which is nice. I have never worked where they tell you every day how much they appreciate you being there! And YES YES YES we are hiring all positions and all shifts so if you can show up, are capable of doing your job, and care about quality and the people you are there for, PM me and we will talk further. I can really see myself here a long time!