I was reported by the social worker.........

[Vonique]

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!!!

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

"However, being the sort who never lets something as inconsequential as a ridiculous rule get in the way of running my floor as I see fit, I flat-out ignored this dictum and kept my drinks at the nurses' station and on my cart, all with appropriate covers to prevent spillage. I also allowed the CNAs and med aide to keep theirs within easy reach, and ignored the pointed looks from the SW whenever she spotted a contraband drink container.

Now, if it had been the unit manager who'd issued the ban, I'd have fought it, but I would've followed it"

Viva...you sound like a petulant child which detracts from what I think the point of your post was. The SW had no business dictating, but the nurse MANAGER certainly does. We, and in that 'we' I am including DPH, BOH, Joint Commission, and the managers do not allow drinks on the med cart...ever.

[ShannonRN2010, BSN, RN]

This will be an unpopular opinion, but assuming that you have been in LTC nursing, you know why NOT to leave a pt. alone to take meds...I had a pt. choke to death on me once and that has never left me.

NOT that the social worker should have went to your manager, but rather came to you and mentioned it.

[Birdbr]

I'm sorry that you took this really offensively. The social worker could have talked to you, but I'm not sure of your relationship with the social worker and they may have felt that your supervisor would be better off educating you. The social workers role is to advocate for the resident and they do know a lot.

I'm saddened by the responses on this post as instead of helping the nurse deal with a mistake and helping educate the nurse, you all ended up discrediting and resorted to name-calling a social worker who was doing their job. I think it would serve many on this issue to actually research what social workers do. Social Work roles are very broad and we are very skilled and can work in multiple disciplines.

In the future, try helping people instead of discrediting.

Thanks to all that looked at the entire situation and understood that the social worker was likely trying to advocate for the resident and educate the staff rather than callously attack a nurse.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I'm sorry that you took this really offensively. The social worker could have talked to you, but I'm not sure of your relationship with the social worker and they may have felt that your supervisor would be better off educating you. The social workers role is to advocate for the resident and they do know a lot.

I'm saddened by the responses on this post as instead of helping the nurse deal with a mistake and helping educate the nurse, you all ended up discrediting and resorted to name-calling a social worker who was doing their job. I think it would serve many on this issue to actually research what social workers do. Social Work roles are very broad and we are very skilled and can work in multiple disciplines.

In the future, try helping people instead of discrediting.

Thanks to all that looked at the entire situation and understood that the social worker was likely trying to advocate for the resident and educate the staff rather than callously attack a nurse.

You revived a seven year old thread to spank the nurse and defend the social worker. Shaking head. That social worker was callously attacking a nurse. Had it been about advocating for the resident and educating the staff, she could have actually talked to the nurse.

[ComeTogether, LPN]

I would not be happy if that happened to me. If I need to return to my cart at the door for a moment while my patient swallows their freaking multi-vitamin, I'm going to do it. There isn't time to follow every rule to the T and still take good care of the patients.

[Amber142]

I'm a LTC social worker, I was reading this because it seems nurses (in all states) do not understand the role of social workers. We are to supervise clinical staff to assess abuse and neglect and unfortunately you might be in a facility where the social worker is not actually a BSW or MSW and they could be a Joe Shmoe off the street acting as a social worker. Turning your back briefly is not something I would be concerned with. But, I will say, we are not given a set of rules by a facility in how we operate. We are trained with standards of a a national organization and accreditation program and most LTC facilities do not train us. We know our job from our education. facilities don't even know where to begin. We are hired to come in and basically police staff and ensure legalities and human rights are abided. The DON does not know what equivalates to absue and neglect most of the time. You have made several comments about her doing your job, but you have picked apart the social work profession not understanding what we do. On top of babysitting the facility staff we have to care plan all 150 residents (not just one hall) we do several of these a day most of the time we can't get them done, we do mental health assessments, we do referrals for mental health, we coordinate discharge, we have to fill out lots of papers to ensure the facility gets paid and you see your check. We also have to document our care plan meeting and assessments, if we don't do our assessments (which nurses find annoying) you don't get paid! If we don't report abuse and neglect we get charged with Felonies. So, our little comments to supervisors are to protect the facility, you and our self. I would just take that as a warning and not do it again. I think nurses fail to recognize that the state runs directly to us when they come in. I can't understand why you all think they are our friend. If they come in and we aren't doing our job, they handle us in court. You get introuble by DONs internally. We get Introuble by APS and we get assigned the State Plan to make changes and we have to ensure those things get done. If we don't, the facility can be closed on our dime. That's a significant amount of pressure.