Does Anyone feel the same way about these LTCs??

[gt4everpn]

hey! i'm an lpn been working for 7 months in ltc, my first nursing job. here are some facts about where i work, in the day there are 2 nurses(one charge nurse and one medication nurse) for 40 residents! usually the charge nurse did the 24 hour report and the dressings but now the dns is making the medication nurse do the dressings and 24 hour report leaving the charge nurse with nothing to do (not exaggerating!) besides meds to 40 people with probably 10-15 meds each plus dressing, documentation, fingersticks, peg feedings! alot of the medication nurses are complaining! i notice how alot of hospitals are now instituting things to lighten the load on staff nurses where as in ltc or atleast mine you get slammed when you make one mistake amongst this load of work. i know nursing is work but a work load like this does not promote proper nursing care, why arent ltcs more progressive like acute care facilities, its like being between a rock and a hard place, huh, i'm too new to nursing for this!

[eldragon]

The beer's rule is a suggestion for doctors to limit meds. that the elderly should have less than 9 meds daily, it is to prevent drug interactions, and that they can do very well with a limited amount of meds. it is a little more complicated than that but that is it in a nut shell.

I have a patient who is a DNR, and he takes 16 meds at 9 am. I just mentioned this to the LPN in charge of infection control and safety and everything (she has 40 years experience,) and she said "So? There's no limit to how many meds he can be given at once. If it bothers you, do half at the beginning of your med-pass and half at the end."

Well, I don't have that kind of time.

I am not getting my 9 ams done by myself during the one hour rule, as it is. But then again, tomorrow starts my 6th day on the job.

But it bothers me to be giving this poor man all these horse pills, when he's sick and has a hard time swallowing, but no swalling problems.

It takes time for him to swallow them, and about 3 glasses of water.

When you consider that 4 or 5 of the pills are vitamins, there is little point in giving them to him at 9 am.

But until I get some time in the place, I'm not going to start making any changes just yet.

After I get comfortable, you betcha I will.

Instead of cutting corners, we should be cutting the prescriptions.

[nurse555]

To the OP welcome to geriatrics. Not all places are like this. A lot depends upon your management team and their focus and views. Some of this might seem kind of excessive it happens a lot but remember who you truly work for and that is the residents because without them you'd have no one to care for. Meds passes are tough even for experienced people who do them often enough to sleepwalk through it. Don't be afraid to speak up because you are the patient's advocate. Believe me this is the only thing that gets me through my day and this is in my opinion the reason for a lot of turnover is the focus on the money and not on the resident.