Feeling Overwhelmed with 50:1 ratio

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Specializes in Primary Care, LTC, Private Duty.

I need advice on how to get through this particular situation SAFELY until I can move on. I guess what I'm looking for is tips and tricks to make it through the night. I am at a facility where the overnight ratio is an insane 50:1. I was assured that this was doable because the resident population was stable, we'd have 3-4 aides on, and that the residents sleep most of the night. Of course the residents don't sleep (though the aides do and nothing is done about it), and on top of it we have multiple G-Tubes with overnight medications/feedings, blood sugars, and other typical skilled activities on top of an incredibly heavy AM med pass. We always have at least 2-3 residents on neuro checks due to them being bed jumpers. The population is not stable: we have several declining and several actively on hospice. On top of that, we have the standard 24-hour chart checks, glucometer calibrations, fridge checks, etc.

Also, because we are understaffed, nurses and aides alike, I am also having a difficult time motivating (for lack of a better word) the two (so much for 3-4!) aides who are on their sixth or seventh double in as many days. I get it and feel badly for them---I was an aide and put in my fair share of doubles and OT---but it's nigh impossible for me to complete my own duties on a timely and safe basis, let alone trying to keep after them that, yes, they need to check on that bed alarm resident that keeps going off because this may very well be the time that the resident isn't just sitting on the edge of the bed and is actually on the floor! And, yes, they need to do two sets of rounds because those first rounds go a long way toward making sure the residents are kept safe and calm throughout the night---not to mention it makes it easier for the aides on second rounds when they're even more tired than earlier in the shift.

It has just been incredibly stressful: my depression and anxiety, which had been well-controlled, is at an all-time high. I made it through nursing school without any need for therapy and medication and now I'm on multiple medications and twice-a-week therapy just to try to maintain some sanity. Unfortunately, I have a history of job-hopping due to health issues, dissatisfaction with ratios in the past---though never as high as this, insubordinate aides, poor orientation, and lack of supplies, so I feel the need to at least stick it out as a per diem for a while.

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