I am so tired after a LONG, HORRID day at work, I will try to keep this brief, but I am really needing some guidance!!
I am a new grad RN, and my first position (after a LOT of job hunting) is for RN charge/floor nurse in LTC.
Had a month of orientation, things went pretty well, and I really like our residents.
Irritations..... our supplies are a joke. Literally, I spend a good portion of the day tracking down briefs/wipes for the CNAs, desperately seeking wound care/treatment supplies, and you can forget about finding nebulizer/gtube equipment.
My 2 biggest problems.... CNA's who are rude/disrespectful and vanish like Houdini. The DON/ADON admit we have several problem CNA's, but whenever a problem is brought to their attention, the CNA's are "counseled" and returned the floor. Case and Point: A few days ago, I entered a patient room and heard a CNA being very aggressive with the patient she was tranfering. She actually said to him "if nobody was watching, I would slap you". Later, (same CNA), she heard me tell a resident "So&So is your CNA, she can assist you if you need help". She told me "Dont tell them my name!! If I do something wrong, I am gonna tell them my name is Trubie... Trubie trubie Trubie". ........ I reported her to the DON/ADON and she was called into their office to discuss it. Fast Forward to today- I hear a weekend supervisor tell another staff member that the whole issue was dismissed because it was "unfounded". We have another CNA who frequently leaves the floor without notifying the nurses and leaves the building for 90 minutes at a time!! We report this to the DON and we hear excuses about how bad his personal life is.
Big problem #2.... Nurses who dont do their jobs. After a few days off, I came back to work today and looked at the treatment book. Since the new Nov MARs, only 1 other shift had signed for any care. We have 12 hr shifts, so that is almost 4 days of AM/PM care that was not completed. I frequently find old bandages that have not been changed (that I signed/dated), and when I ask patients if other nurses give these treatments, they always tell me that I am the only one.
Please give me some advice because I just dont know what to do!!! I looked so hard to find a job and I thought I could be happy at this one, but the other staff is making me miserable. I feel like I am the only one doing my job and then I feel like a witch for reporting other staff who are slacking off. The CNA's have started to notice that I am reporting their absenses/behaviors, so now they seem resentful of me.
I want a professional, teamwork environment and right now I am knee deep in poor preformance, with no support from the managers.
The managers keep telling me what a great nurse I am, and they are so glad I am hard working and they want me to stay...... I just am feeling so unsupported right now in regards to dealing with other staff!!
What should I do?? I pride myself on being a team player, and I am willing to overlook occasional mistakes (because everybody has a bad day).... but lately all these mistakes is making MY days bad!!
