In charge with NO trianing?

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I work MRDD LTC and lately things have gotten pretty rough. A few months back we had 3 LPN's quit and there were only 4 of us to start with. We had been short an RN on my shift for quite some time (about 6 months) at that time. In May they finally hired one LPN for the 7-3 shift. They had to extend her training time b/c she was making so many med errors and was not able to do anything but meds! We operate with 2 carts each with an average of 34 people on each. About 3 weeks ago they finally moved her to the other cart to train on it and things seemed to be going better. She still is not doing any of the other "LPN duties" I have had to take up the slack on that plus the work of the LPN we are short. When our (3-11) LPN left I had decided Iwas going back to school and changed my days off to cover the days that our one RN was not there. Obviously this left me as the only nurse in the building but I was prepared for that. When I am the only nurse, I still have to pass meds, assessments, call Dr., make rounds, chart, ect.; even though the 7-3 LPN doesn't have to do all that if she is the only nurse I have come to accept my place. Anyway to my point finally; a girl that I have known for several years just graduated from the same LPN program I went through and is going to take the other position on 3-11 (thank God!). I am currently beginning a very needed eight day vacation and she is to start her new position Sat. I was under the impression that the nurse on call (above mentioned 7-3 LPN) was going to be working in my absence and that "my" nurse would be trained by a med tech. (Not my idea of the best plan, but wait it gets better!) I got a panicked message on my cell phone today from the girl who is supposed to be starting her TRAINING this week and she said that she got a call from our "boss" that she will not be training on the cart as expected she will be "THE" nurse! Apparently they are not giving her any training they are just going to throw her in there to do the job! She has been employed @ our facility for several years and does know everyone but she hasn't even taken boards yet! Is it me or is this a BAD plan? I am hoping that she got her information confused and they were just trying to tell her that she will not be trained by a CMT but will follow aonther nurse this week instead but with the way things are going I'm not sure! Now I have this tremendous feeling of GUILT for even being on vacation! I plan to call my supervisor tomorrow (a very understanding RN) and see if she is aware of any of this or what is going on and hopefully it is just a big misunderstanding. I am so afraid they will "run her off" before she even gets started! Thanks for reading, I know this was long!

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I would call the RN and clarify. Several facilities have pulled this on me- Quite a few times I've shown up for orientation on a new job in LTC only to find out that I'm on my own from day one. This practice of throwing new nurses to the wolves is very common in nursing. Last time it happened to me, I quit at the end of my second shift.

However, don't feel guilty about going on your vacation, you deserve a break. It's not your responsibility if admin can't get its' act together.

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However, don't feel guilty about going on your vacation, you deserve a break. It's not your responsibility if admin can't get its' act together.

I totally agree with you. Go on vacation. It's management's responsibility to staff correctly, not yours.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Wait just a second. How can she work as "the nurse" if she has not passed boards? A graduate nurse must be supervised by a nurse who has passed the boards (I think). Tell her not to do it. She may be jeapordizing her license before she has even gotten it. It is up to the facility to fix this, and not you. You have earned your respite. Please, please caution your firend not do this. It is a recipe for diaster, and she will be the one that is hung out to dry. I wish you the best and hope this is resolved without harm to your friend or the patients.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I just got off the phone with my supervisor and she said that is the plan, for her to be by herself! She said she tried to talk to the "med room supervisor" about it but no one would listen! The last time she stood up for someone in a sitution similar she was logged for it so she feels like it is out of her hands to say anything! Their reasoning is that the person who is on call works 7-3 and if she had to work 3-11 as well she would be working doubles all week. So, instead of that they will put someone in there with not a bit of training (to this facilities policies/procedures anyway). Having worked with her before I am fairly certain that she can handle it but I just can't understand their mindset in even asking her to! I have tried to call her and tell her to at least go talk to them and let them know that she is not comfortable with this and "remind" them that she is not in fact licenced yet. I left a message on her machine and can only hope that she will get it and call me back before the end of the day. I just can't believe thier ignorance on this, and I can't believe they would want that liability. What else can I do? I am afraid if I get involved that I will get the same treatment my supervisor did for "questioning the boss" (who by the way has NO medical training or knowledge herself!)

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Please tell her not to do it. She could be risking everything. It is not legal for a nurse who has not passed boards to work independantly. She has too much to lose!

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Please tell her not to do it. She could be risking everything. It is not legal for a nurse who has not passed boards to work independantly. She has too much to lose!

This was my understanding also....in my state a GN/GPN can NOT work solo, they must be under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse. Your friend should make a call to the BON now, before risking everything she's worked so hard for! Good luck and please keep us updated!

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In my state, Iowa, a licensed nurse must supervise on site a new grad. It is my understanding that is a universal rule for all states.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Update: They made her work by herself anyway. I tried to contact her and was unable to reach her, I tried to contact the director of the nursing school we both attended and was unable to reach her. I have talked to my friend every day since. When she called me Saturday I told her my feelings on the situation and that I felt she should at least tell the "boss" that she was not comfortable with the situation. She told me the other day that she did that and basically they told her that they don't care if she is comfortable or not. As I said she has called me at least once every day for something (which is FINE with me, I told her to call with ANY questions) She is off the next two days and I have to go back to work on Friday anyway so she will "officially" start training on Saturday. I figure if she made it through this week, she can handle anything.

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Specializes in Psych.
Update: They made her work by herself anyway. I tried to contact her and was unable to reach her, I tried to contact the director of the nursing school we both attended and was unable to reach her. I have talked to my friend every day since. When she called me Saturday I told her my feelings on the situation and that I felt she should at least tell the "boss" that she was not comfortable with the situation. She told me the other day that she did that and basically they told her that they don't care if she is comfortable or not. As I said she has called me at least once every day for something (which is FINE with me, I told her to call with ANY questions) She is off the next two days and I have to go back to work on Friday anyway so she will "officially" start training on Saturday. I figure if she made it through this week, she can handle anything.

Your local bon and public health board need to be notified IMMEDI

ATELY! The people making these decisions need to be set straight ASAP! How dare they!

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Update: They made her work by herself anyway. I tried to contact her and was unable to reach her, I tried to contact the director of the nursing school we both attended and was unable to reach her. I have talked to my friend every day since. When she called me Saturday I told her my feelings on the situation and that I felt she should at least tell the "boss" that she was not comfortable with the situation. She told me the other day that she did that and basically they told her that they don't care if she is comfortable or not. As I said she has called me at least once every day for something (which is FINE with me, I told her to call with ANY questions) She is off the next two days and I have to go back to work on Friday anyway so she will "officially" start training on Saturday. I figure if she made it through this week, she can handle anything.

Has your administration ever had a big fat fine from a state inspection for the lack of properly licensed staff? They better get their ducks in a row.I work in a LTC facility in Northern Michigan. Everyday they post a form for all to see~ how many Licensed staff need to be on each shift including how many nurses and how many cena's.You and your friend are putting yourselves at risk for error. I hope your friend doesn't loose the chance to get her license.In Michigan the graduate nurses are not allowed to do hands on care until they pass their boards. I wish you well. It sounds like you need new management at your facility.~~~Good Luck!

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I'd use some of my vacation time to look for a new job. This place is unsafe! You have to ask yourself why those other nurses ran for the hills. (Maybe you should ask them.)

Don't bother feeling guilty. The managers of facilities like this are only able to get away with such blatant violations of law and common sense because they can exploit the kind-hearted and the desperate. You can bet the owners aren't losing sleep over the welfare of their charges or their employees.

I can't emphasize this enough. GET OUT before something terrible happens. Residents die in this kind of setting, and who do you think will go before the firing squad? The owners and board members might get slapped with fines and have to deal with some bad press, but it's the front line nurses, the ones who are working their behinds off to keep the place afloat who will take the hardest hits.

Once you get yourself out of there, you might want to let the local media (who love to blow the whistle on a good scandal) know about the crud that's been going on. You have to wonder what the families would say if they knew that their loved ones' safety was being so badly compromised. And I guarantee you that if they're cutting corners on things like nursing care, anyone who investigates will find other examples. Oh, and a call to the state might not be a bad idea either.

Don't waste ten seconds feeling conflicted. The only way things are going to get better is if someone shines a light into the darkness. You deserve better and so do your co-workers. Even more urgent are the needs of the residents who have nowhere else to go. Please protect the deserving and expose the authority figures who are making a profit by cheating others.

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