Did I make the right decision

[tothepointeLVN]

Yesterday during my shift I received a call from my agency that my pt's mother had decided to give 2 of my days to the weekend nurse. I at that time requested another case. I made the decision not to return to this case. I have been on this case since January and never had any complaints. However I was off on sick leave for 3 weeks a couple of months ago in which the weekend nurse filled in. Since then well even before then I've felt like the other nurse was trying to sabotage me. Also she was trying to get the mother to switch the case to another agency. I told the agency this.

So did I make the right decision to not continue with this case. Do you think the agency will give me another case or will they consider that I "quit"?

I think I have enough experience that I can find work elsewhere. I start RN school in two weeks anyways so might have had to change my jobs anyways

[Blackcat99]

Thanks ArwenEvenstar. Yikes!!!! I'm sorry to hear that it is usually the good dependable nurse who gets forced off a case.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Well my agency surprised me and called and offered me another case. I wasn't sure if I had accidentally resigned or not. Am still going to look for something else though esp in a month or two when I officially have a year on my license.

[smartnurse1982]

I really recommend having a different client for the days of the week. Never get stuck with one client. My agency let's me go to client Z on Monday,client B on Tuesday and so forth. That way,if someone is in the hospital all I have to worry about is losing one days pay,not 5. The downside of that is you never really get to know the client.

[caliotter3]

Smartnurse is smart. My client has been in the hospital twice now, parents like to take patient there frequently. Almost a month twice now in less than three months, with no fill-in work, until I got angry and started talking about reapplying for unemployment. So two days of work. For some strange reason, two days of work doesn't pay the rent. I need a new agency.

[Blackcat99]

Congratulations tothepointeLVN on getting a new case. I wonder if your old case will call you back when your client keeps missing the bus. Smartnurse I had never thought of having a different client for each day of the week. It does sound like a great idea. Caliotter3- I am so sorry to hear that your client has been in and out of the hospital. I sure hope you can find another agency that can help you out with getting more work hours.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Yes having multiple clients does sound like a good idea though in practice it might not be feasible at least at my current agency. I can see how it would at a bigger agency.

My last case liked to take her child to the ER on a regular basis. I was always accompany her to the ER though since the pt was never ever admitted and we always returned home by the end of my shift. Though funnily enough this was curtailed greatly once she no longer got taxi vouchers. She either had to schedule access paratransit or use the bus. Unfortunately this also meant the pt was missed regular appointments as well. I'm kind of glad I'm off that case now as I could feel the professional boundary's starting to blur a little

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Ugh I cant' stand the case they gave me. I think I seriously need to look for a job in another setting. I was run ragged all night doing all kinds of tasks the pt's mother asked me to do. All the day shift tasks plus bed bath and its an adult patient not a pediatric case. I know if I turn this case down I wont get another from my agency but then I wasn't expecting one either. Do you think 10 months experience is enough to find something else. My agency specializes in new grads which is why I started there.

I haven't slept since yesterday and am seriously considering just not showing up for my noc shift.

[caliotter3]

Well, you should have been at work an hour ago, I just got home from PM shift. No call, no show is not a good idea, even when you are dealing with a rinky dink employer. And you know you can't count on getting work with anyone else. They all seem to talk a big sounding talk, but they fall short on the business end of the deal.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Yeah not my best moment thats for sure. I get delusional when I don't sleep

I think I'm burnt out on private duty. I'm tired of having to work for the parents. I'm tired of being asked to perform my nursing task incorrectly to please them while their looking and then doing it the right way when they're not. I often feel with PD that the moms think they know more than the nurses. I need to learn to say no. I have a problem where if they call me and ask me to work I say yes and then immediately regret it.

Well right now I'm just going to concentrate on school and then finding a position that works around my school not me trying to make my body do crazy things like work 11-7 sleep until 12 got to school and then go to work.

I guess residually I'm worried that private duty is turning me into a bad nurse.

[caliotter3]

Agree with you 100%. Even though I've decided to not waste my energy trying to educate those who won't be educated, I find that I still suffer from the residual effects of stupidly going along with their wishes. It is no longer a satisfying game to do it the right way when they aren't around, only to be undermined when they tell you what to do to your face and insist they are correct. I do not want to work in a different setting at this time, otherwise I would have been gone a long time ago. The worst part of it for me is that the clinical supervisors at the agency refuse to do the minimum and will not back their nurses up. So what is the use? I document and document because I know what will happen when lawsuit time comes. You are smart not to take on night shift with school coming up. If it were one of those "watch the baby sleep" cases, sure. But doing a ton of things at night, including what doesn't get done on day shift, does not make sense.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

Also one thing about the case that makes me uneasy is the mother actually doesn't speak any english. I understand enough spanish to cope but can't effectively communicate back. Getting instructions through a 10 yo translator doesn't sit well with me. Of course I wish I had realized this at 3pm when they called to ask me if I was going to take the case on. My husband didn't get home until 10:30 which complicated matters since I use him as a sounding board. Also when I first met the mother I thought it was going to be one of those cases where they would leave you alone to do your job.

I'm going to go down to the career center at my school and see if they can help me. Maybe I should try and get a student extern position.

Right now the way I figured is that I'm in exactly the same position I was before they asked me to do this case. Expect I've already put my resume out there and have gotten a few responses. I can afford to be out of work for a little so I need to choose the best situation for me not just take some work because its offered and lets face it the pay with my current agency isn't all that much anyways

[Blackcat99]

TothepointeLVN. I am so sorry to hear about your awful experiences with your new case. That sounds crazy you having to do all of the day shift work including a bed bath on night shift!!!! I really liked your statement "I'm tired of being asked to perform my nursing task incorrectly to please them when they are looking and then doing it the right way when they're not." That is so very true!!!! I sure wish we were allowed to use our own nursing judgement instead of always having to do everything "Mom's way." Mom said it's OK for the child to lie flat in bed when receiving the tube feeding!!!!:mad: No, it's not OK. I wish you the best of luck in finding a job that will work out well with your school schedule.