First job at a LTC facility, too much responsibility?

[KellyRN2011]

I recently got my first nursing job at a LTC/SNF. When I interviewed, they said it was a one day a week position. I said fine, because I had no other offers, and I figured I may be able to get full-time eventually. When I went for orientation, it had been changed to one day a week and every other weekend. I was happy with that, as I need more hours.

On the first day, I was waiting for the nursing supervisor at the nurses station, and the staffing coordinator came up. She introduced me to everyone as the "weekend supervisor". I had not been told I was going to be a supervisor. Granted, the money is awesome for a new grad ($28/hr), so I'm trying to tough it out. However, I can't help but wonder what they were thinking, hiring a new grad as a supervisor.

I also feel that they don't really want to spend the time training me. I worked 5 days (8 hours shifts each) last week, and four of those days they spent training me to be supervisor. On the last day, they trained me as a floor nurse. It's almost as though the staffing coordinator only expected me to need one day of training. The supervisor had to tell her I would not be able to work on my own next week, and that I would need additional training.

They also tried to make me work 7 days in a row. I had told them on Thursday that I would need to find out what I was working next week, and the staffing coordinator commented "Oh, this is your weekend to work", after I had worked Monday-Friday full time. I told her I would not be able to work that weekend (my grandma had just died, and I explained that).

My first taste of floor nursing was also not what I expected. There is soooo much to do in a 8 hour period, and I just feel like a pill pusher. I do not feel that I can properly assess all of my patients. And if you get an admission, forget it. There's so much paperwork to do that it takes up pretty much all of your time.

Am I just a new nurse experiencing the realities of nursing, or do I have legitimate concerns about this place?

[autumn_october]

Yep, that seems about normal. Speak up if they try to schedule you for something you can't do, or if you need more orientation. I was also the weekend supervisor right out of school ... just make sure there's always someone on-call if you have a question.