My unit coordinator came to me yesterday to tell me that the social worker complained to her that she saw one of the residents taking his medication without me present. What she didn't know is that I was right outside the room and just about to go check on him when she walked out. There's a whole big story why I left the meds with him momentarily and I won't go into that now but I know that it was the wrong thing to do and I guess she was probably right to report me.
However, it does gall me that every single day I run my you know what off like crazy to pass meds to 30+ residents, do a dozen fingersticks with insulin injections before breakfast and lunch, vital signs and treatments, the endless charting, taking off orders, filling out no less than 10 forms when a resident falls followed by a million phone calls, chase the aides around, talking to relatives, and all the other thousands of tasks required of a med and treatment nurse. In fact, we are not even called med and treatment nurses here. We are referred to as "charge nurses," even though we each take a hall and the "unit coordinator" actually functions more as the charge nurse. (However, when she doesn't want to take responsibility for something she will say, "Well, you are the charge nurse down that end.")
Anyway, I guess it irritates me that here is this social worker who has no idea what my job is, and evidently she has taken it upon herself to decide what is appropriate and inappropriate. And the reason I'm irritated is that, believe it or not, this was the first time I had turned my back on a resident after having given him the meds, and wouldn't you know that I would have the misfortune of having this twirp watching me MY VERY FIRST TIME. You would have thought maybe she would have given me a chance and then if she saw me do it again (as though that is her business!) then she may have gone to my coordinator. In fact, even my unit coordinator felt it was inappropriate that this social worker didn't come to me first rather than going directly to her.
Okay, I know it's a big no no to leave meds and it is not my habit but honestly with all the tasks and demands they ask of us, do they REALLY expect us not to take a shortcut now and again? At this particular nursing home, I am convinced the higher ups really don't care whether we actually do the work or not, they just want to make sure we charted that we did it and there is at least an appearance that we are following the rules. I'm sick of it. I've only been there three months and I'm really sick of it!
Anyway, it's a fine thing when a social worker gets to monitor what nurses do. Isn't it nice she gets to sit in her office and no one sees her work!!!
