I was employed at a ''family run'', ''for profit'' nursing home, for eight years. During those eight years I faced many challenges.
Now by family run, I refer to the fact that family decided whether or not their abusive loved one could receive medication, they even determined what slings/lifts we, cna's/psw's were to use.
I repeatedly got into ''trouble'' for refusing to two person lift residents,that clearly needed to be a mechanical lift. The family was in denial of the deterioration of mother/wife, convinced that she could still ''bear weight'
I refused to tilt a wheelchair up in the air for a morbidly obese resident,to sit, so that she could get her butt all the way back (the chair was far too small, yet her family refused to buy a new one)
The mantra was..''it is their home, they can do what they want'', which included urinating down furnace vents, defecating in chairs, walkers, floors
I was ordered to use broken slings, unsafe equipment
Many times I was injured by abusive residents, I filled out incident reports, and nothing got done..I was told that I didn't know how to do my job. Other girls were getting punched, etc, but they didnt report it, for fear of losing their jobs. Is there something that I am missing here?
Things came to a head when I reported to admin what a resident said to me and I was subsequently called ''a liar'' ..among other damaging insults, which included ''you haven't fit in for a long time', ''no one likes you'', ''you have no friends'
I quit
I needed to get this out. I have held it in for too long, on the upswing I have an upcoming interview for home health...
This is not supposed to be the norm. It is quite a sick situation. Glad you got out of there, but I would report this "family run home" to the state Elder Affairs.
I was checking about reporting to the Ombudsman, but that it out of their ''jurisdiction''..
However, I did find out that the Ministry is there now, doing a two week investigation. I assume that everyone will be on their best behaviour, until they leave again
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I've read so many threads similar to yours, where nurses are abused to the max. And I'm astounded at how long people will stay in such soul-sucking situations. What fortitude and dedication! I really think there is such a thing as "Battered Nurse Syndrome". I also think every nursing school curriculum should include courses like "Labour Laws for Nurses" and "The Assertive Nurse". It's the 21st century and nurses are still putting up with so much crap!
You will find a much better job and this whole thing will seem like a bad dream. Good luck.
What a volatile environment! I couldn't imagine being able to work in a place like that for long - it sounds like one day away from a serious injury/issue! I wish you all the best of luck finding somewhere where they appreciate their staff and actually give their patients the support they need. Sometimes what they need is someone to be up front and tell them this isn't safe or this just isn't working, we need to find a better way to do this.
I've read so many threads similar to yours, where nurses are abused to the max. And I'm astounded at how long people will stay in such soul-sucking situations. What fortitude and dedication! I really think there is such a thing as "Battered Nurse Syndrome". I also think every nursing school curriculum should include courses like "Labour Laws for Nurses" and "The Assertive Nurse". It's the 21st century and nurses are still putting up with so much crap!
You will find a much better job and this whole thing will seem like a bad dream. Good luck.
Thank you TricaJ
I completely agree with you. I like how you describe it as a soul sucking situation, because that is exactly what is was, and am sure, still is.
Living in fear, of going to work, as a caregiver, only to be hurt over and over, was no longer an option for me.
I left being told that I am a ''bad nurse''..perhaps I was, but when I was hired, I was a good nurse..and I feel that I still am..I just felt like a puppet..with management pulling my strings..
It was a volatile environment, msygrnbw, one that I felt very uncomfortable in. I did suffer serious injury, cracked ribs, years back, not understanding, or being told that I have rights, I continued to work.
My goal is to go back into the care giving field, just not on the nursing home level.
Perhaps home care, would be a better fit for me
Numerous times I have brought up unsafe working conditions, for naught..
I gave up the fight, and in doing so, I found myself again...
Thank you for posting to me..the support that I have received from you and other members of this site has been so beneficial to me..clearly, not all nurses eat their young..
The fact that you were told "no one else would hire you" and that you were a "bad nurse" pegs that place as abusive just by itself, without even having to consider all the appallingly unsafe practices you describe. I find it disturbing that a superior would say such things to you.
I know that in today's economy, we sometimes have to take whatever job is available...but no one should have to put up with such a toxic work environment. I am glad to hear you're out of there, and I wish you all the best in finding a place that's safe and that will appreciate your skills and experience.
Thank you so much, Clementia. Your words mean alot to me.
I was also told that no one likes me, that I don't fit in and haven't for a long time..and that I have no friends.
As a nurse, I feel destroyed.
I can never work in this type of environment again
I am thinking of going back to the retail sector, where I was before I went back to school to ''better myself", while still taking night courses, at the local college, in self interest as well as pharamacology.
Janis Joplin
30 Posts
I was checking about reporting to the Ombudsman, but that it out of their ''jurisdiction''..
However, I did find out that the Ministry is there now, doing a two week investigation. I assume that everyone will be on their best behaviour, until they leave again