I am mostly acute care experienced but working through agency and there are a lot of LTC shifts coming my way.
I have worked at facilities that staff from 15:1 to 40:1.
This weekend I worked at a 40:1.
First time at this facility.
Unbelievable. There is no way a nurse can safely and legally give all meds to all patients!!
I had to ask for help and had another nurse take part of my team.
The oncoming (staff) nurse gave me one of her tips.
She signs the narc sheets at beginning of shift! All of them!
Signs she took out the medication, the time, the remaining number!
Unbelievable.
In California and maybe elsewhere facilities are getting tighter and increasing number of patients
on each team. So in my mind, I now understand , there are many nurses that need a job so badly they
are willing- and DO- things like above. Just to cope. Just to manage. Because we all need to work.
(Well almost all of us here)
So illegal practice and compromising patient safety are probably more common than is ever spoken.
Hence I call it the dirty little secrets of LTC nursing.
How many of you do the above? Or skip routine meds like vitamins or minerals and just sign the mar?
Chart something you did not do? What are all the dirty little secrets kept by LTC nurses?
Is this the way of the world now? Why aren't nurses coming together and demanding legislature to change
these unsafe ratios? Because until we do it will never get better and will only, as it is now, become much worse.
