Staffing issues-

Nurses Safety

Published

:angryfire i work in a 7 floor assisted living-one floor is a dementia unit and the rest independent to "nursing home residents " who shouldn;t be admitted there

I work double shifts fri and sat (3p to 7a ).Today i just got a memo from healthcare coordinator that effective today i will have to pass meds on 3 floors and one medicine aide to pass on two floors during weekends but my problem is weekday we have two lpns plus her an lpn too plus two medicine aides on the day shift and all the managers present -weekend we have lots of family visiting asking lots of questions no manager in sight so i'm the charge nurse/manager/treatment nurse/be on standby for any emergencies-we have many skin tears and falls during the weekend for some reason etc(short staffing )Give meds at 4p,5p,6p and 8p and some at 10p 'not just 10 people' and when a medicine aide calls off i have the whole building to pass meds to total of about 123 residents.

(i think the reason is she found my notebook which i forgot at work on which i note date time and instances that i've brought to her attention of issues at work-including passing meds on time ).Last entry was saturday when one of the medicine aides called off and she was doing a double shift called my boss said she will pass the meds on the 3 floors 4p to 6p then i'll do the 8p meds problem she left at 5.20 p and had only passed meds on 4 & 5 and none on three-this proves she can't handle what she's telling me to do.We are 4 new grads but the rest havent even complained and one other lpn 7 years experience who says it very unfair and would not do what she(coordinator) wants us to do

Some of this residents literally hide and can you imagine chasing after people on different floors-probably in activities and it's hell

I would love to resign but i havent found another job and got bills to pay ,this is my first job so future employers will probably think i will be resigning but it's not worth it to lose my licence over and they dont pay shift differential-I only work two days (double shifts ) and off sun to thur but come friday i'm still exhausted :angryfire and i have talked to her everytime i' reported to work regarding this issue nothing has been done talked to the assisted living coordinator but nothing !

Now i'm supposed to sign the memo that i will do what she wants but i don't feel its right -if i write her a letter she'll start frustrating me like the other lpn who resigned and couldnt work for a month because of feeling mentally/physically burnt out. Please advise me !Anybody in this kind of " Sh....t"

Question "Can medicine aides do dressings and finger sticks" I'm supposed to delegate this work to them but i'm not sure of the state laws- i'm in Maryland

That's a long rant !!!icon8.gif Feels good though

That's awful. I wouldn't do it. You need to get out of that job. Fast.

The most I have to pass to is about 60, and that's too much. I'm just hanging on until I get in my 28 years, as I have too much invested to lose. But If you haven't been there very long, you should leave that place. They will work you to death and not think a second thought about killing you in the process.

When you look for another job...tell the truth. Tell them what was happening and you felt it was way too much to be safe.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Good luck. I can't relate being a med-surg hospital nurse. Hope it works out. :)

:o Sounds like a total disaster area to me. I use to work on an Alzheimer's unit. I can sure understand the frustration of trying to find the people in order to even give the meds. :angryfire I can only imagine the horror of having different floors of assisted living persons. Yes you will miss the money but it sounds like you should run not walk away from this facility. Good luck.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

All these horror story threads about LTC make me wonder: is there such a thing as a good LTC facility? Lord this is so scary.

Get out of that job.

The above are all correct. LTC and ALF will work their staff to death. When u finally can't take it anymore, ur the "one with an attitude". Run don't walk.

All these horror story threads about LTC make me wonder: is there such a thing as a good LTC facility? Lord this is so scary.

Yah...there are some. Its just that our society doesn't really care about their old ones. The LTC industry is so regulated yet staffing is not yet a real priority. What frustrates me is that in the news and print you see so many nurses and activists lobbying for staffing regualtions for hospitals, but there is little intrest in LTC facilities mostly because of the medicare and medicaid sytems.

Getting back to the OP....don't put yourself in that position. Get out. I can barely pass meds to my 26 residents and get treatments and some charting done.

Find another job, fast! :chair:

+ Add a Comment