I'm director of nursing for a company (in Developmental disability division), and I love what I do, however I have no assistant, and I supervise 20 nurses, and over see the complete medical care and well being of over 300 individuals.
I'm on call 24/7, and it seems to me that I have an open job description that never ends. Every other day a new task gets added to my job description.
This is my first experience in this position so I have not to complain (and quiet honestly, I'm afraid to complain), but I can't help but feel that I am being taken advantage of. I don't quiet know what to do (Im definitely not quitting).
I just wish I had more understanding of what the limitations are, so I can focus on doing my job effectively.
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Wow, thank you for sharing your experience with me. Your right the pay is horrible for the amount of work that I do.
It is a risky job, in regards to having the unlicensed staff give medication under the nurses license.
I do have a BSN, but I didn't enjoy psych. I enjoy the management/leadership role. I thought that I needed 2 years experience based on what I read when I did job searches, but thanks for the new information.
I will take everyone advice into consideration and do what I must do, because I truly don't see the longevity of this job for me.
I personally loved psych nursing but quit after being seriously hurt by a patient. My husband was against my going back because he said he and our son needed me whole and happy. I am currently back in a clinical setting as a floor nurse and just knowing my phone will not be ringing all night has made a huge difference in my health.
Specializes in Developmental disability, Psychiatry.
Sain, I gather you're in some aspect of home health? My husband is in that area, and the turnover among middle/upper management is ridiculous. I'd be willing to bet that if you spruced up your resume to include your 7 months of DON experience and posted it on Monster or Careerbuilder, you'd be getting calls tomorrow.
Yes. I work in a residential type of environment- I have an office and all, but i'm hardly ever in it.
The turn over for management is crazy, and it leads to a lot of frustration for the nurses, because of lack of continuity.
My husband and I were discussing moving out to Georgia next year, so may that will be my new start.
Specializes in Developmental disability, Psychiatry.
Update:
I'm doing much better at work now- Work load is the same but I'm finding ways to effectively manage it.
I found creative ways to include the nurses that I supervise in the projects that I have to do.
I'm also doing a lot of team building with the nurses, which they are appreciating.
I have successfully implemented some new innovative strategies to help decrease the work load, and that includes contracting a EHR company ( We didn't have EHR before I got there). This EHR system generates chart, graphs and data. Which I use to have to do manually. The system is newly implemented, so its going to take some time (But its getting there).
I have even recruited per diem nurses to help me organize my files, and generate reports, and do Site visits. ( Its a temporary fix- But it gave me some breathing space).
I have successfully increased Full time nurses and decrease part time nurses- Which has drastically improve the quality of care and services that nurses are providing ( Which in turns decreases the calls that I receive off hours).
Its not perfect yet, no sign of a raise or an assistant anytime soon. But i'm hanging in there, I will even take a vacation in July- First time in a year.
I'm definitely working on getting all the experience that I can, and then.....
Any DNS job description includes: " any and all other responsibilities as directed by your Administrator", which leaves it open for ANY additional duties. We are at the mercy of Consultants who are only interested in Reports and how to cover themselves. However, when it all comes down to it,we as DNS's are responsible for all nursing related issues in our Building.Most work endless hours r/t ability to improve/implement nursing services & balance the paperwork required.We are also implementing "culture change" for our workforce,but until the culture changes at the corporate level, this will continue to be a problem for all of us.
hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I
4 Articles; 5,212 Posts
I personally loved psych nursing but quit after being seriously hurt by a patient. My husband was against my going back because he said he and our son needed me whole and happy. I am currently back in a clinical setting as a floor nurse and just knowing my phone will not be ringing all night has made a huge difference in my health.
Hppy