Sue, I have to disagree with you here.Having been in the dungeons for almost 29 years, may have given me the opportunity to see more of this than you one year in LTC.On a daily basis nurses are asked to chart in a way that hides info from state, as evidenced by not using "flag" words, or outrightly being told to with hold certain statements from the nurses note altogether, or even worse being told to rewrite with false statements, certain legal documents including but not exclusive of nurses notes.
Chart parties, before state comes in( how do they always seem to know when they are coming?).Management KNOWS full well that staff cannot finish a med pass within the alloted times IF done by the book, and many other practices that are unsafe if not illegal.It happens on a DAILY basis,and we are told pretty frankly that we are to act as an agent for the employer and be complicit in these practices, or face the consequences of retaliatory discharge.
It's a no-win situation. I was lucky enough to work for a small nursing home where the DON was sympathetic to our plight. It is a game and we knew what to do when the state was there. I don't feel ashamed because silly ritualistic formalities did nothing to enhance patient care and in fact only took away from time with the patients. So, we all played the game when those buzzards walked through the door with their clip boards.
There are so many "evils" involved in nursing home care.
First - there is the disease process that takes away the persons ability to live independently and with dignity.......
next - the family who can't take care of the person - because of so many reasons that didn't and still don't exist in many other cultures where family takes care of their own..............
then the facilities that are, of course, for profit - and the often greedy owner in the background - looking at the bottom line..........
the nurses who hopefully go into the profession for the right reason - but sometimes eventually become frustrated from overwork and many other reasons. You are only one person, after all.
The CNA's who do the almost thankless job of bathing and toileting often ungrateful and sometimes downright mean patients - day in and day out - and do not get paid enough, and have little or no job security....
and finally - the patient again, who often doesn't seem to recognize how much they are putting the entire staff through. It's easy to see that they are hurting in many ways, but again - you can only do so much to help. You didn't put them there.
I would like to thank everyone for their comments. In all cases you have validated my concerns.
After receiving a warning for complaining, I immediately gave my written notice. I am outta there!
Every day I try to remember the excitement I felt when I passed my boards. Every day I try to remember the lectures from my nursing instructors how to do the six rights, protect patients safety, and validate my own work as I work.
I would like to think this experience has made me a better nurse, knowing that my concerns, based upon nursing within my scope and correctly has brought me to this point.
It is quite possible I am not made to be a LTC nurse. Perhaps my standards are too inflexible, and I refuse to put the patient less than number one. So be it, I will continue to make my contribution as the doors open and as I am led to.
Your comments, again, have been so important to me (and perhaps to other lurkers now or in the future). What a great way to support each other in our tasks......and ultimately our patients we serve.
This type of reporting comes with the very real possibility of retaliatory discharge, I speak of this because this has happened to me and I am now involved in litigation with my former employer a LTC corporation.I think it takes a very strong committed person to do this, it is a long process and most who sue are consequently blackballed from ever working as a nurse again. It has been worth it to me and not a day goes by that I regretted my decision. There are laws in many states that protect the whistle blower from retaliatory discharge and gives that person legal recourse to sue.
I've always figured that a person can always find another job or career, but the residents can't always change their circumstances or find a different caregiver if they're in a bad place, especially if they are bed bound. I did write an article on Allnurses about this.
if enough nurses speak up by not working at these places they will eventually have to cave in somehow!
i don't know about other places, but where i live, they're pumping out lpns left and right. i can't imagine that the nurses who quit won't be replaced, because right now lpns are begging for jobs. i just hang in there and do my best, hoping that i make a difference for the positive.
......It is quite possible I am not made to be a LTC nurse. Perhaps my standards are too inflexible, and I refuse to put the patient less than number one. So be it, I will continue to make my contribution as the doors open and as I am led to.
I would think that this means that you would be an excellent LTC nurse.
i don't know about other places, but where i live, they're pumping out lpns left and right. i can't imagine that the nurses who quit won't be replaced, because right now lpns are begging for jobs. i just hang in there and do my best, hoping that i make a difference for the positive.
i've always said the nursing schools around here are like a faucet and no one knows when to shut it off. they are churning out nurses faster than you can turn around. the local lpn program in the hick town where i went to school has recently started graduating two classes a year. the nursing homes don't care that lpns keep going through the turnstiles like crowds at a baseball game.
everybody and their brother is a nurse nowadays.
and guess where everyone goes when one of the local factories shuts down and moves overseas?
ryan's restaurant just shut down and 60 people lost their jobs. i'd be willing to bet where a bunch of them are going...
i've always said the nursing schools around here are like a faucet and no one knows when to shut it off. they are churning out nurses faster than you can turn around. the local lpn program in the hick town where i went to school has recently started graduating two classes a year. the nursing homes don't care that lpns keep going through the turnstiles like crowds at a baseball game.
everybody and their brother is a nurse nowadays.
and guess where everyone goes when one of the local factories shuts down and moves overseas?
ryan's restaurant just shut down and 60 people lost their jobs. i'd be willing to bet where a bunch of them are going...
that's the same thing they're doing here. two new LPN programs just started, with classes twice a year. many state programs to train laid off employees will pay for the classes (which, i might add, cost just as much as an rn program.....last i heard they were over $20,000) and then they have no place to work (if they pass boards, which is a whole 'nother story). we have one nursing home in town that has a unit staffed with only lpns....no cnas. great idea, but they pay cna wages. anyway, when we have new grads giving oj to a resident with a cs of 432 because she thought that's what she was supposed to do to bring it down (?!?) and trying to convince me that a tia and an mi are the same thing, i know we're not getting quality nurses. (yes, those things both happened...
if enough nurses speak up by not working at these places they will eventually have to cave in somehow!
Ahhh but that's where the "faucet of new nurses" comes into play. There's always going to be someone to replace those who complain...
A few months ago, I wrote my SBON in regards to the staffing at my facility. This past Christmas, they left one lone LPN to pass meds to 60 residents and the charge nurse to "help if she could" on 3-11 shift. The sad thing is, that management knew they'd need an LPN for at least 6 months, to cover the nurse who was going to be out on maternity leave. Long story short, the only thing the BON did is give me phone #'s of people to contact in Harrisburg, if I felt there were unsafe conditions happening.
Ahhh but that's where the "faucet of new nurses" comes into play. There's always going to be someone to replace those who complain...
A few months ago, I wrote my SBON in regards to the staffing at my facility. This past Christmas, they left one lone LPN to pass meds to 60 residents and the charge nurse to "help if she could" on 3-11 shift. The sad thing is, that management knew they'd need an LPN for at least 6 months, to cover the nurse who was going to be out on maternity leave. Long story short, the only thing the BON did is give me phone #'s of people to contact in Harrisburg, if I felt there were unsafe conditions happening.
Thanks for the support, dear BON!
The BONs only deal with licensing and regulation of professionals, nurses, etc. they dont regulate the facilities themselves,here are the state regulating and inspection entities for the nation.
The BONs only deal with licensing and regulation of professionals, nurses, etc. they dont regulate the facilities themselves,here are the state regulating and inspection entities for the nation.
RN BSN 2009
1,289 Posts
if enough nurses speak up by not working at these places they will eventually have to cave in somehow!