New RN grad here and landed what I thought was going to be a great first job to gain some experience and make me marketable to the local hospitals. I found a job in a skilled nursing facility.
Long story short: Ive had four days of training and am supposed to be on my own now. I am responsible for 16-21 patients, admissions, med passes, orders from physicians, pharmacy, labs, charting, treatments / dressings. They are 12 hours shifts.
Today I got a from my supervisor who said I didn't get a tx done on my shift and it was unacceptable. Ive worked about two hours overtime each night this week and still couldn't get done with everything. I was under the impression that we "passed along" what we didn't get done and specifically heard in a nurses meeting that there is no reason we need to be staying more than 30 minutes past report.
My supervisor today (on the phone) told me that if I had to stay until midnight (five hours late) to get it done then thats what I needed to do. All of this occurred while I had another nurse "training me"...which meant, she did the admissions, physicians orders, and labs while I passed meds, did tx, and charted. I asked for more training and she directed me to call someone else to see about it but she wasnt sure. A CNA told me that every nurse only stays a month or two because its too much for one to handle alone.
Im not a crier but I have cried all morning. I was hoping this would be a challenging and positive experience and it doesnt feel that way right now. I'm so angry, exhausted and dont know what is expected of me. I don't want her to think I'm not doing a good job but this really seems impossible.
Hugs. I recently walked out on a SNF job where I had 36 patients with the same expectations (thankfully a but more training- 3 weeks). I was crying a few times per shift, I didn't feel safe practicing, and I was staying 3-5 hours OT to get everything done. I took the job to keep up my skills, but it's SO far off from what I want to do (L&D), and feeling like I was going against everything that made me get into nursing made it really hard to stick with it. Ultimately, it came down to protecting my license. I didn't feel like passing meds 8 hours late and rarely having time for a single assessment, let alone handling when someone has a BP >200 at the same time someone else falls (real story- DURING SURVEY, no less). That was my last shift.
PROTECT YOURSELF. You've worked too hard to become a RN to risk it all over a job you hate.
ETA: I have two other nursing jobs, so I am able to pay my bills without the SNF job, and it won't even appear on my resume. If you're able to make it work, give it a go, but protect yourself above all else. Good luck!
I am so sorry you're going through this. I have been where you are, and looking back on it now I say to you QUIT. They are horrible to work for and will only cause yourself heartache and headaches. It isn't worth the money. ((hugs))
I feel for you! This is a LTC or a sub acute place? One thing I tell myself when I get overwhelmed is "one thing at a time, then the next thing, until everything is done." Obviously when you know you have a large daunting task, it becomes quite overwhelming. You're only person, you can only move so fast. :)
RunBabyRN
3,677 Posts
Hugs. I recently walked out on a SNF job where I had 36 patients with the same expectations (thankfully a but more training- 3 weeks). I was crying a few times per shift, I didn't feel safe practicing, and I was staying 3-5 hours OT to get everything done. I took the job to keep up my skills, but it's SO far off from what I want to do (L&D), and feeling like I was going against everything that made me get into nursing made it really hard to stick with it. Ultimately, it came down to protecting my license. I didn't feel like passing meds 8 hours late and rarely having time for a single assessment, let alone handling when someone has a BP >200 at the same time someone else falls (real story- DURING SURVEY, no less). That was my last shift.
PROTECT YOURSELF. You've worked too hard to become a RN to risk it all over a job you hate.
ETA: I have two other nursing jobs, so I am able to pay my bills without the SNF job, and it won't even appear on my resume. If you're able to make it work, give it a go, but protect yourself above all else. Good luck!