Just had an interview for DD Nurse and need help PLEASE!

[Samira.RN]

Hello Nurses,

i am pretty new on this site and i have got alot so far. I want to thank all of you with your great questions.

I am a new grad who is been looking for job for a while now, and i had an interview for DD nurse. This is a health care facility for DD patient which has total of 18 residents in 3 different facility. there will be only one nurse in the whole system. and the nurse's job is to train the staff to do meds and procedure necessary for pts when i am not there. which means that would go all under my license. being a new grad and new to DD nursing i am not sure what to do they only offer me 18 hrs a week with a long orientation which i am happy about. i know that i defenetly need to get my own insurance to protect my license but have no idea how much would that cost. plus they need me 24/7 on call since i am the only nurse, and they didnt mention any extra pay for that. even though i am confident of myself but still dont know if this will be the right start for me, on the other hand finding job for a new grad is really challenging at this time but i dont want to put my license at risk since i worked so hard for it. i appreciate any advice.

thanks

Samira.RN

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

I disagree with teaching the staff to do meds and procedures when you are not there. You are basically going to be teaching the staff to do everything an RN does, without having to go to nursing school. This dumbing down of our profession has to stop, and we are allowing it to happen. And they want you to be on beck and call 24/7, without any mention of additional pay. So they get an RN 24/7 but only pay her for 18 hours a week! A win/win situation for them! And if you get called in, what is your reimbursement?

Know your nurse practice act. Depending on the state, some things cannot be delegated by an RN to unlicensed personnel.

And med mal insurance is cheap, at about $100 a year.

[headinsandRN]

.....there will be only one nurse in the whole system. and the nurse's job is to train the staff to do meds and procedure necessary for pts when i am not there. which means that would go all under my license.....

Samira.RN

This would be a pausing point for me.

Due to information you have entailed in your post, I am having a hard time finding the positive attributes about the postion beyond the fact that you would have a job.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

I'd keep looking. This is a trap if I ever saw one.

[skittlebear]

I would not do this! Asking for trouble...and you wouldn't be happy in the long run. Your license would most definitely be at risk. Sorry I couldn't post more, I am extremely tired after working 16hrs 3 days in a row, but I felt that I needed to add another reply to your post...."Just say No"

[Larrythenurse]

Yikes, sounds like a tricky position for a new grad. I would check your Practice Act to see if this training is covered. Here in Oregon we have formal process for delegation and nurses need to be aware of it.

I agree with the comment that having Unlicensed Assistive Personal doing an increasing amount of nurse work jeopardizes the patients, not to mention our professional integrity. However the reality is there are some practices UAPs can safely do, and healthcare is moving toward a more task intensive approach.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

I agree with the other posters, sounds like a fly-by-night operation. Not only would I check with your state BON but I would report them if their practices are not sanctioned.

[Sherry Aufdenkamp]

I have been an RN at an ICF-MR for 4 years. I was totally new to the "Delegated Nursing" prior to starting there. I love the job but being a delegated nurse has MUCH responsibility. This practice of delegation will unfortunately continue because companies do not want to pay nurses for what direct care staff can work. I would really get info from someone at the "state level" with this. All states are different but I work in Ohio and you cannot even be a delegating nurse unless you have been a nurse for 18 months. You could contact either State Board from Nursing or DD since they work hand in hand with all of the regulations. Hope this helps...

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

Only 18 hrs/week? WTH! When I was in LPN school, I worked at a DD Residential Facility and was trained to give meds. This training took 40 hours of instruction and a written exam. Everything was blister packed and I would initial and date on the card. Not allowed to give insulin or narcs--the RN had to come to the home to administer these. Our RN worked 40 hrs/week and covered 3 homes (6-8 residents/home). That doesn't sound like a reall good deal to me. Just saying.

[Samira.RN]

Thanks so much to all for your respond. I didn't accept the job since I thought the same. training staff to do nurse's duty didnt sound right to me and i didn't want to jeopardize my license. thanks again for your great advice!