help what would u do?

[Big Smurf2007]

i have right at 18 mths exp ( since 10-2006: 10months med/surg/ortho/dump floor- 8 ltc) and need some advice. i have been at the job for 8 months and to start with my ist day was put on floor and "trained" by this nurse----who is now a lpn super. i have a total of 36 res on this "pie hall" and i am the 12 hr nur with a 8-4 back hall nur. anyway........i have had several med probs since 2 months after starting here..... gall blad probs----surgery----more probs-----hypothyroid------ anyway.... loosing bene now.... the thing is that the 8-4 takes her 15 am break, her 1hr ( supp to be 30 min) lunch then her 15-30 min after lunch smoke...... then by 3p she does her 4s..... then takes about 3 more 15 min smoke breaks leaving me all her 5-530-6ps when i myself have 4-430-5-530-6p meds to do. this has been going on since i been there and nothing changes ..... had already put in notice but retracted it. don says " ( b/c sickness) if i didnt think u had any potential u would have been gone" i am so sick of this place and my license put on line b/c others cant date and label insulins etc....... and i ahd been out for 7/more days... i went in sick the other morning and threw up getting to place, on one hall and then on my hall and finally with tears in eyes stated to charge i am not working sick.... i dont know if i still have job but what to do if i dont............sorry this is sooo long.. hope i posted right......................

[ShannonRN2010, BSN, RN]

Well my facility changed med times because of staffing issues. Basically each hall has one big med pass, each off set so that if the other hall is down a nurse, you can still pass pills on both wings and be in compliance with the law. Its really nice to get your med pass done, then free up 5 hours to do actual resident care or good charting, orders or whatever needs to be done!

The OP said that she was upset because the 8-4 person was taking too many breaks (which maybe you should just sit her down and talk to her about) AND because she wasn't passing 5/5:30/6pm pills. My point is, if the one hour before/after law is in place there, she can't be asking the 8-4 nurse to pass 6pm pills and be out of compliance herself.

If its such a problem that she is so busy at that time and pills are not getting passed in the allotted time frame, then she needs to address the DON about changing some med times so that she remains in compliance herself.

[Big Smurf2007]

ok well.....not fired....still there......feeling well..... we have the 1 hr before/after rule here. my point is that if she is going to ride the clock until 5 or 6 she can do her meds. i dont expect her to do insulins/others med ith time being more than 1hr before/after. my point was that she smokes her time away and then throws her meds on me to do. got word back she is being watched now.....cant see that happening...