Can someone explain this mess to me?? sorry so long

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Specializes in LTC.

i am sooo aggravated right now...the past few months have taken a toll on me & i have felt myself being turned into an absolute monster, do you hear me...? im more agitated/snappy than ive ever been towards everybody(except my residents). i work 12 hr night shifts & the load im expected to carry is too much. ive tried complaining, rationalizing & sharing suggestions for improvement with the don without success. she wont hear me out. she wont hear any of us. only a few others on nights have tried to talk to her & they got shut down like i did. the don said "nothing is going to change, it will stay like it is!" i have 40 residents half of which are rehabs. they are split up so i do 2 halls...i cant be in 5 places at once. every one of them wants their hs meds at the same time, not possible. the hs pass has been taking me 5 hours to do. once its done i have to do my charts which takes about 3 or 4 hours to do(>16/night),txs, skin checks, chart checks (3-60/night),sending meds back (usually takes 3 totes to send them all back, not counting narcs), checking meds in, checking for expired meds,checking the cna's flow sheets, giving prns all night long & documenting on that, getting the uas that day shift constantly puts down on the lab books, filling out the lab sheets.....just to name a few of the things done on nights. i heard a day nurse say "nights is easy, they only have to do a few more papers and thats it"....omg...i wanted to explode! most of the day nurses are know it alls who like to argue & think they are always right about everything. the don specifically said that all meds should be timed for the day shift unless its q 8 , q 12 or q hs specifically....when we had them changed, the day nurses went & changed all of them back to where we give them.....tell me why you would give freakin vitamin c, oscal, and eye vite at hs?????????? they do the same with the txs...on day shift they get a nurse per hall,a med aide on assisted, a charge nurse, 3 rns are in the bldg, plus they get a cna 2 that does all of their txs....we get nothing. changeover is the worst...we have assigned mars/tars to do...6 each for each ft nurse...yet..only about 4 of us actually do oursi found over 50 holes on the tars for last month..the don said that if they werent done then us night nurses were responsible for doing theirs for them....whatever! i will not do this again...next time i will not check or sign anybody elses...they can make their own med errors or get behind like we do...i dont care anymore. its gotten so bad that i physically feel sick when i pull in the parking lot....i keep headaches that turn into damn near migraines by the time i leave, my stomach hurts and burns all the time when im there, i always feel like i forgot something in the midst of doing everyone elses work it seems, i have made myself a dr. appt to see about starting some anxiety meds before i have a massive eruption in there. i think this is all a result of failure on mgmts behalf, as they seem to live by the code of if they dont know about it they dont have to fix it.she keeps giving us more and more to unrealistically do, yet offers no help or explanation &wont allow anyone to come help on that hs pass...there is a day nurse who gives acs insulins and meds when we come in at 7....which throws the night nurse on that hall off....and hs insulins have to be held and so do narcs....i mentioned this to the don before & all i got was "shes just slow"....slow my a@@! this was a military nurse! shes slack & lazy..not slow...ive seen her be at the top of her game before, this is unacceptable...luckily i dont have the added stress of working behind her cuz id be filling out med errors left and right. am i wrong to believe that if you are getting paid to do your job, you should do it...and if your job is to direct and manage....should that not be done? why do issues go unaddressed? is it just easier to pretend the issues dont exist vs dealing with them and figuring out a solution that will work? another thing...all of us on nights dont have a clue anymore about whats supposed to be going on....we ask and dont get any answers.....just looks. if i was a don, and my nurses had ideas that might work...the least i could do is hear what they are and see about getting things fixed....we were talkig one night and said that we all need to have real orientation since she changes things so much and nothing is ever enforced or followed through with on her part....i hope to be out of this place in about 2 yrs...once i get some finances dealt with and get to where i can afford a slight pay cut. the stress is just enormous. none of us are on the same page about anything. we all know different things that shes told us or put up notes about. its mass confusion all around. what is one supposed to do when they dont have a choice but stay where they are? i dont have a way out of here yet. im slowly working towards it best i can, then when the day comes that i can leave, i plan to run out the front door. just seems like an awful lot of unnecessary mess.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

please learn to use paragraphs. This is very difficult to read.

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There are too many things that need to be fixed. Start looking for a job elsewhere.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I agree with BFR. You are going to become burnt out mighty quick with this stressful job. Update your resume!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Education.

Sounds like you need to find a new job ASAP. Or you can try switching with day shift for 2 weeks and see how they like it. Maybe some improvements will be made after they get a taste of your grovel.

You are obviuosly having physiological signs/symptoms of stress and they will not subside with medication. You NEED to change jobs. Things will not get better until you do. Best of luck!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

Rather than go to the DON yourself, why dont you all go together (nightshifters). I think you can get more done if you stick together and be firm.

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Specializes in MICU/SICU.

zookeeper, totally unecessary. If you have trouble reading it, DON'T.

To the OP, I wish you luck. It sounds like you are (rightfully) overwhelmed. I'd update my resume and start looking now, if you don't have contract obligations or something of that nature.

You mentioned that other nurses on NOCs have tried going to the DON...what about going together, in a group? Strength in numbers and all. Although, that could bite you in the rear....

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Why is the HS med pass taking 5 hours?

Are other things happening that interfere?

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Specializes in PACU, Med/Surg.
please learn to use paragraphs. This is very difficult to read.

Yes, the OP would do well to make the post a bit more friendly on the eyes, but you would do well to be a little more friendly, period. I think there have been more than enough "hall monitors" here lately to do without the added cattiness. If the manner of post bothers you (granted, it is hard to read), at least add something of value related to the thread so that your post isn't just taking up space and please do it without the negativity.

OP, I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but I understand your plight. Changing jobs may be worth the loss. I worked nights on a 38 bed med/surg floor where, though I loved the people I worked with (mostly, lol), it was completely impossible to safely manage 7 patients, with maybe 1 or 2 assistants. Usually half of my pt's were total care, others were on PCA's, undergoing bladder irrigation, had heparin and insulin drips, had GI bleeds, trying to escape, MD's didn't want to transfer critical pt's, etc. The paperwork load was unbearable-took at least 3 hours because of an antiquated charting system. MARs had to be copied 3 times-one for the chart, one for the docs, one for the med room (BY RNs with 1 copier! ) and each page signed-which means we often signed our names 200-300 times. UGH. MD's were nasty and were allowed to be. And I was SICK of trying to figure out shoddy handwriting and getting yelled at for it.

After 10 months of nursing experience, turnover was so high that I was often the senior nurse. I had to find another job, and I did. Although there will be problems wherever you go, I think the trick is to let as much as possible roll off your back, do your best, and remember where you came from and how hard you worked to be where you are.

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Specializes in LTC.

Hope you can last for two years, because anytime you are feeling sick and overwhelmed, you need to find another job ASAP!!!!! You can not put a price on your health and your DON obviously does not care. My last job was very stressful and I was there for a little less than a year.I left quick and in a hurry! Start looking now and you will eventually find something. Best wishes

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Go visit a few home health agencies. Not only would you be getting away from this hell hole, you would be getting stress relief, if you take a full time extended care case, or two part time cases. I wouldn't take time to think about it, grab your resume and work papers and go visiting soon.

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Hello, I am trying to post and i can not figure out how.Can U help me?

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