Any Registered Nurses that are state surveyors???

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Hello, I am wondering if there are any RN's out there, that work for the state as a surveyor and if you like your job? Can you tell me a little about your job? I have 20 yrs. of nursing experience as a LPN and RN mainly in LTC. Two years ago I began working with the state in our local VA nursing home, and looking to eventually change pathways, within the state. The state retirement benefits are GREAT!!! Thanks in advance.

I agree with CathRN. You would need to have very, very reliable childcare--you never know when a survey is going to go longer than planned. You will also have to start a few surveys at odd hours, such as weekends or 10 p.m.

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I am so happy to know you are a LTC surveyor! I have questions for you:) Do you ever fine for not enough staff for a facility? I also wonder if you question how one nurse can care for (all) the patients safely in the limited time frame of one hour before and one hr after? Im not trying to attack you but I am amazed how many nurses complain on these sites and others yet no one seems to put a reasonable limit to nurse patient ratio. Eyes seem to close to the problem. I love nursing but find it is next to impossible to follow safety quidlines and please your facility at the same time. Who can help?

I to am interested in what kind of solutions they have for these problems.

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What sort of clinical skills or acute care experience do you need to have in order to work as a surveyor?

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What sort of clinical skills or acute care experience do you need to have in order to work as a surveyor?

In my experience, the basic expectation is that you have some significant amount of experience (at least a few years) in the clinical area in which you would be surveying (e.g., LTC experience in order to be a LTC surveyor, acute care hospital experience to be an acute hospital surveyor, some kind of mental health experience to be a group home surveyor, etc.) I was hired to survey acute care psychiatric units/hospitals in my state, and inpatient psychiatric experience was a requirement for our team.

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It IS frustrating. If your state does not have mandated resident:staff ratios, you have to look at whether the staff can adequately care for each resident's needs. Sounds fuzzy. And it is. I am learning how to dig for information regarding staffing as a possible cause for falls and other accidents.

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It IS frustrating. If your state does not have mandated resident:staff ratios, you have to look at whether the staff can adequately care for each resident's needs. Sounds fuzzy. And it is. I am learning how to dig for information regarding staffing as a possible cause for falls and other accidents.

One of the things we always looked at was whether the facility was following its own policy regarding staffing. Facilities are required to have a policy and procedure for determining how many and what levels of staff are needed on a particular shift, and we would review that policy, review the staffing, and make sure they had (at least!) followed their own policy. If they were understaffed according to their own policy and something bad happened that presumably could have been prevented, or at least ameliorated, if the staffing had been in accordance with the policy, that's a pretty clear situation -- we could (would) cite them for that. There are also the rules/regs about "providing a safe environment," which can be a path to citing for inadequate staffing. It is frustrating and a grey area, though.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

This is a field that I would be interested in, in a few years, after my youngest is a teenager. How far do you travel? Do you stay within a certain mileage or travel all over the state?

Is there anything one can do in the meantime to learn more about the job, rules or regs? I have been a RN for over 20 years in acute care.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
This is a field that I would be interested in, in a few years, after my youngest is a teenager. How far do you travel? Do you stay within a certain mileage or travel all over the state?

Is there anything one can do in the meantime to learn more about the job, rules or regs? I have been a RN for over 20 years in acute care.

In smaller states, surveyors can be required to travel to any location within the state. If you are interested, check your state government website and get a job description. The site will also tell you if they are actively hiring. I was a surveyor for about five minutes back in early 2014 (I washed out of the training program) and I can tell you that it is a VERY detailed job requiring the memorization of rules and regulations and intensive scrutiny of providers during the survey. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Just learning the QIS process (quality indicator survey) is a job all by itself. Wishing you luck if you decide to pursue it.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
In smaller states, surveyors can be required to travel to any location within the state. If you are interested, check your state government website and get a job description. The site will also tell you if they are actively hiring. I was a surveyor for about five minutes back in early 2014 (I washed out of the training program) and I can tell you that it is a VERY detailed job requiring the memorization of rules and regulations and intensive scrutiny of providers during the survey. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Just learning the QIS process (quality indicator survey) is a job all by itself. Wishing you luck if you decide to pursue it.

This is why I asked if there was something I could start learning now, such as the QIS and to follow. I know I have the qualifications (degree, experience) but wanted an inside of scoop of what was needed.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

If you want to get started early, you might consider getting a copy of the CFRs (Code of Federal Regulations). I'm not sure how to go about it because I didn't get mine until my first week of work, but I would imagine you could order one through CMS. The QIS system has to be learned on the job, however, because it's all computerized and highly secure.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

I'll do some digging, thanks

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Is there anyway you can send me links to the manuels. I am in the process of applying for a position in Houston Texas.

THank you in advance.

Madisson

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