Well I resigned my job as DON of a 112 bed LTC today. I have been an RN for 11 yrs; all of that experience has been in acute care. I started this job in February. I liked it at first but the first week I worked over 60 hours. Some days were good but most were bad with never enough staff, incompetent staff or staff that just didn't do their jobs. And then there were the families that were never happy or the doctors that hated being bothered by the nursing homes, so they were ugly acting. Always on call, long hours, short nights, son ignored for hours on end while I was at work, all the stupid questions........etc. There was the nurse that reconstituted a med with distilled water she boiled in the microwave. Of course that was reportable to the state. State investigated and tagged us because I hadn't reported her to the state nursing board (was told not to by my consulting RN who had a case of amnesia when confronted about it). Oh did I mention that I had been there 2 weeks when all this occurred?? The icing on the cake however is the new administrator. Fresh out of administrator school. He knows everything there is to know about everything, just ask him and he will tell you all about it. Had a reportable 2 weeks ago and rather than concern himself with the paperwork that he would need to deal with if he was on call, he chose to rearrange the furniture in his office. Gave the family a copy of the incident report even!! Today he admitted a resident with a diagnosis of psychosis on anti-psychotics and NO PASSR!! Then wanted me to clean up the mess and deal with his screw-up!! I finally said ENOUGH!! Told him that he would be the ruination of the nursing home and to shove his job up his orifice!! I know the staff and most family members liked me and respected me. I know there are quite a few of them that thought I did something right. Call-ins decreased drastically and the turnover rate is nearly nonexistent in nursing. Only one employee has quit this month and that is because the hospital dangled more money and a scholarship in her face. We only have 2 residents with wounds in the house and neither one of them developed inhouse. Infection rate isn't bad, falls were cut in half from May to June and no major weight losses. We had room for improvement as far as patient care was concerned but there is always room for improvement when you're dealing with humans. We were actually staffed pretty well about 80% of the time and the residents were pretty well cared for......they were happy at the very least. So what do you think, did I bail too soon?? I was not happy there and I couldn't see it ever getting any better. I feel sadness and regret but I also feel relief. I am wondering though if maybe I didn't give it enough time (6 months). Any thoughts or feelings would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for letting me vent at least!!
I have found being a DON to be compatible with family life!
I envy you!! I wanted to succeed at this job more than anything in the world. Honestly I feel like a failure because I couldn't handle the pressure.
I really do feel fortunate. I really think it has to do with resources, financial and staff. I am sure you experienced tremendous amounts of pressure and I don't blame you for getting out! You will be very valuable wherever you go, but I hope you find somewhere where you are appreciated!:)
donmomofnine
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