What is your work setting?

I'm in a 120 bed facility and share an office with the MDS coordinator who is my boss ( and mentor ) The QA nurse used to share it but now she's a unit manager. We keep the door closed and cherish our peace and quiet. It is too easy to lose my train of thought doing RAP notes. Care plans I can do OK with interruptions....We have a nice window too, looking out at the bird feeder ....And I sit right next to the air conditioner so I am a happy camper for the most part. ( except for being on call every third weekend. Oh well....)

I spent most of my 10 years in a closet.. no kidding! It was smaller than most resident bathrooms, but it was quiet and peaceful and allowed me to concentrate well with few disruptions. I recently went back to work at this facility as the ADON. In my absence, they had rearranged offices and the ADON was now in that same closet! One of my conditions for re-employment was a different office - I was NOT spending anymore time squished in small concrete walls. Thankfully, they wanted me back bad enough to agree to this.

I too will be having a change. I have been alone, in this small office, with a huge window that I can open for a breath of fresh air. I so enjoy not having to turn the light on, and the view from my window is at times what keeps me sane. The powers that be, have decided to put my into a huge room with the other MDS nurse ( I do PPS and Contracts, she does Annuals and Quartelys). IT will be very open, very noisy, and ohhhh willl I miss my own space. The other nurse is very loud, has to address everyone, and is a smoker.. I am not.
THis isnt going to be very good for me, I do the money makers and have a condsultant come in once a month to review all my work right down to every dollar sign. Why isn't it that when decisions like this are mad, we the ones involved are not invovled. I feel like a pee-on here.

Good luck with your move, maybe ear plugs will help.

Hi Deb, Our QA nurse was a distraction. She would barge in every 1/2 hour or so to vent about "how retarded everyone is" (except her, of course ) When she moved out to be unit manager it was heaven! . We have settled in and are very content. Hope things work out for you.....

I have my own office. It would be spacious if not for the table and 6 chairs around it for the care plan meetings. And we (Administrator, DON, 2 Unit Managers, and me (MDS/CP Coord), and sometimes the QA director when she is in or building, sit at that table for lunch every day. The Activity Director's office is adjacent to mine, with a door that leads into one of the dining rooms, and when I first got this job (4 years ago) the CNAs wore out the carpet on the floor going through these 2 offices to get into the dining room. It was very distracting. There is a large hallway through the lobby that they should have been taking. (They were used to travelling through and chatting with the previous Activity Director.) I sent word around that every CNA that walked through these offices would be written up--And they stopped. My office is also across from the therapy room, so there is a lot of yelling back and forth about residents, minutes, etc (our way of communicating--too lazy to get up and go to each other, or pick up the phone. And the beauty shop is next door (and only on Tuesdays, thank goodness). The smell of perms, hair dryers going, and demented residents yelling out. I hate my door being closed, but Tuesdays it is closed. I got to decorate the office the way I wanted it (from facility funds), and I've added my own personal items to personalize it (a variety: gargoyles, fairies, buddha, monkeys, maracas, sombreros, cowboy hats, large potted plants, chinese decor: something for everyone. Everyone wants my office (except the Administrator - she has a beautiful office) because it's quiet (most of the time) and comfy; they just don't want the job that goes with it .

Hi TrixieKat and welcome to allmds (NO, allnurses.com ). Sounds like you have a great work space! My boss has a sign on our door to "Knock First". So that can be distracting, but she keeps a huge bowl of candy, gum and chocolate so people aren't shy! It keeps a good working relationship, ya know?

I was told today (by the DON) that every time I leave my office I have to lock the door because I have personal resident information on my computer. My response: So does all the other computers in the facility - duh! Asked why I just couldn't lock the computer. Her response: Just do what I say. So I did. It was lunch time, I go out of my office to get a chart, and I lock the door. As in my previous reply my office is where administration eats lunch. When I get back to my office there's the DON trying to "break into" my office using her name badge (instead of a credit cared), so she can eat lunch.

I have a small office that I share with my assistant, during the day. It is also the supervisiors office (for the 3-11 and 11-7 suprv.) and has the emergency boxes and lab printer in there. I don't like sharing it with the suprvs. b/c things are moved/missing etc. and I can't stand that. The time clock is also outside my door. It can get hot, there are no windows. But, for some reason, I do like it. I am still pretty new in this position. I was a unit manager for the past 8 yrs. and I am liking the change. The unit managers don't have offices, they just work at the nurses stations. I don't miss that. The nurses stations are too busy all day. I usually only have noise at change of shifts.