Is this common ?

as an rn, i had 1 lpn and 9 cna's to 60 residents. the lpn and i divided the residents for tx, meds and charting and orders and so on , but i was ultimately responsible for everything the lpn did. i was forced to resign when one of the residents developed a stage four decubitus ulcer on her ankle because she was not being turned and repositioned and the buck's traction she was in was not properly cared for. i was the sacrifical nurse in that case. i was blamed. the huge load was way overwhelming.

will i go back to long term care? most likely not.

oh my goodness!! two nurses to 60 people, are there not state laws banning nurse to patient ratios like this?? this is why people flock in droves away from ltc, they give you a ton of work to do and if anything goes wrong you become the sacrificial lamb!!

if it ever does ltc is in trouble. there will never be enough nurses to cover that. however, if by the slim margin it does happen that is just job security for the lvn's and we can stop talking about this move to phase of the lvn/pn or even better make the bsn entry level... now that i am done with my pms episode ...i digress

I worked at LTC before..The only way nurses survive there is to take short cuts...One nurse with so many patients, they cannot do all of the work..

if it ever does ltc is in trouble. there will never be enough nurses to cover that. however, if by the slim margin it does happen that is just job security for the lvn's and we can stop talking about this move to phase of the lvn/pn or even better make the bsn entry level... now that i am done with my pms episode ...i digress

not necessarily: look what mandated ratios in acute care did in ca; it brought many nurses to california and back to the bedside. mandated ratios could have the same effect in ltc.

oh my goodness!! two nurses to 60 people, are there not state laws banning nurse to patient ratios like this?? this is why people flock in droves away from ltc, they give you a ton of work to do and if anything goes wrong you become the sacrificial lamb!!

2 nurses to 60 pts in ltc isn't bad....that's about the norm on 7-3 shift. now, when one of the nurses calls off...that's when the fun begins!! our don says she'd get in trouble if she passed meds...something to do with the don not supposed to be doing that? oh well, who needs a potty break anyway??

our don says she'd get in trouble if she passed meds...something to do with the don not supposed to be doing that? oh well, who needs a potty break anyway??

Yes, I have to make time for a potty break no matter what. Sometimes there is no time to EAT or DRINK :stone and I find myself getting faint after 8 hrs + running around, no food or water b/c NO TIME!!

Did you hear about the big accident on the highway? When they were pulling people out of the cars they could spot the nurses.

They were the ones with the empty stomachs, the full bladders, and the chewed asses.

:rotfl:

our don says she'd get in trouble if she passed meds...something to do with the don not supposed to be doing that? [/size]

i've never heard of that, but i know that none of the dons in my facility have ever worked the floor!

In North Carolina there is a regulation that the Director of Nursing may not work as charge nurse if there are more than 60 skilled beds. We have 60 skilled and 72 assisted living residents and I have passed meds on a few occasions as the DON. I started there as a charge nurse, so I was aware of the routine, but it's not an ideal situation once you get out of practice. The last time I did it those poor residents were really wanting their regular charge nurse back! We have 20 skilled residents assigned to each charge nurse on each shift with the same duties as described in the first post. We also have an RN supervisor (7a-7p) who assists the charge nurses and relieves them for breaks if needed. On our skilled/rehab unit we have 10 residents per nurse and our memory unit is 10 skilled plus 10 assisted living per nurse. We all know how fortunate we are to work in this place!