Hello nurses,
I wanted to get something off my chest. Since I will probably take a non-nursing home job for the future, I wanted to talk about why. I also wanted to warn new nurses about some facilities, and how easy it is to lose your license if you are not careful. I haven't lost mine, I actually have a clean record. But I had to quit my job to save it.
I have worked in the same facility for many years, after being an agency nurse with alot of experience - I decided to be "on staff" in a small nursing facility in Ohio. At first I worked "PRN", but when I felt more comfortable I asked for and received a full time position.
For over five years I worked HARD. I didn't mind the hard work, being an agency nurse was never easy. I grew attached to many of my residents and received many compliments from their families.
Recently, the nursing home hired several new grads and a few older LPNs were dismissed for various reasons, or had hours cut. A friend gave me warning, and I became hypervigilant. When the facility began remodeling to create a new post acute unit, I asked to change my hours to night shift to avoid the confusion and the construction dust. (My unit was the one being remodeled).
I was working night shift for over a month, when suddenly they cut the staff on long term care to staff the new unit. The reason was the post acute unit brought more profit to the company. They refused to hire another nurse (they had already fired one on night shift, an LPN with years of experience). I found myself - already not adjusting yet to the change in hours - suddenly overwhelmed with the work that had recently been handled by two nurses.
When I asked why, I was told the administrator wanted it that way and that was how it was, etc.
I did my best to adjust, but not well. I found myself running to pass medications, even beginning the am med pass way out of compliance with state regs just to keep my job. Every one of my residents received morning meds, just as if it were day shift. Day shift was actually OVER staffed often because the state surveyors were expected, but that will only last until it's over.
One night, a nurse never showed for work. The RN supervisor found herself working the other hall on our floor, doing the work of two LPNs when she wasn't used to work of one. She had a resident fall out of bed, and asked me to come in and help her with putting him back in. I did so, but I brought the BP cuff and neuro check paper work with me. She became uspet, and said that we "really didn't have to do that", although it was an unwitnessed fall. I was frightened of her, since she had been instrumental in the dismissal of my LPN coworker on nights. I told her to do what she felt was right, and helped her place him in bed. I told her that I would be doing the fall assessment and neuro checks on all my falls, and advised her to do the same. I actually started her assessment, taking his blood pressure and beginning the neuro assessments for her.
And then of course, a resident of mine fell out of bed because the CNA had left the wing to socialize at the desk.
So...I began doing a fall assessment and neuro checks on my own resident.
This angered the RN so much she harrassed me non stop the rest of the shift. I was going crazy trying to finish the workload and do my assessments, and had to tolerate her without losing my cool!
She came to me several times and told me that the other nurses NEVER did fall assessments, because it was "creating more work for themselves". I told her I would be doing mine each time, saying I only did what I felt was the right thing to do for my residents and my license. In the AM, since she herself had been overwhelmed by the patient load, she told me she didn't do her neuro checks. She did fill out the fall report at the last minute.
The next shift it was more of the same. The same CNA, another resident. I began completing my assessments and braced myself for the onslaught. It of course came, she became agitated. She told me that a resident on the floor who can get themselves up is not considered a fall assessment protocol. I advised her it wasn't true, and told her he could NOT get up by himself, and did not have a fall mat beside the bed to break the fall.
Needless to say, the rest of my shift was a nightmare. I felt like I would pass out and it was hard to breathe, but I did my work and then went home to write to the DON and give my two weeks notice. Of course, after I turned in my two weeks notice the staffing on our floor changed. Instead of hiring however, they had the young new nurse on the post acute unit take a long term care wing and work both because she "knew how to handle it". ???
My last shift, another LPN told me they usually "hide" things from that particular RN. I remembered one night when a new LPN found an open area on a resident and asked me to help with a pressure sore report. The RN took it from me, told me it wasn't a new area and threw it away. A week later the resident had a raging bed sore with tunneling and a treatment to be done. I was told that state surveyors look at pressure sores, so I assumed it was to make things look like we had enough staff and residents weren't getting them.
I simply want out of long term care.
I hope that most of you are having better experiences, but am aware that with budget cuts nursing homes will become unworkable. I am hoping that more advocates will promote home care as a more humane option than placing the elderly and sick in warehouses that will neglect them. I would possibly consider a non-profit job, but am looking for non nursing jobs and home care positions.
Thank you for letting me talk about this!
maelstrom143
398 Posts
Congratulations on your new job and orientation. Best of luck to you in your new job and thank goodness you have a new job. Hopefully, this new place will be more responsive to the needs of the staff and patients in their care.:)