I am a new grad RN working on a subacute/rehab unit at a LTC facility. Received 2 weeks worth of orientation and have some questions.
I average 18 pts. on the 7-3 shift. I was surprised that the CNA doesn't do vital signs in the am, was told that they are not "certified" (huh?) so it's my responsibility as the RN to get vs. Now, we all know that the majority of the senior population is on some type of cardiac or antihypertensive med, so that means I have to stop at each pts. door, wheel in the machine and take their complete vs, then give meds. First med pass is 8am and the seniors take a lot of meds! This process takes up a chunk of the morning. Oh yes, it's also the RN's responsibility to do blood glucose checks. Between the 8am, 9am, 11am, 12pm and 2pm med passes, I also have wound treatments, charting, follow-ups, etc. to do. At my clinical rotations in the hospital, the CNA or PCA always did vs and bg's. Is this job reasonable or am I just being a newbie? Don't know if I should start looking around for another job after getting some experience. Even my preceptor told me that she's lucky if she takes 10 minutes for lunch and gets to go the bathroom once a day. Thanks for your input!
