Legalities of family orienting an RN

[MNHanspook]

Hello,

I am an RN with a background in medically stable low tech clients. I recently got a new job doing shift work in home health. I was honest about my background being low acuity low tech, and was promised that all needed training would be provided. The office orientation was great on vents and traches etc..... and I expected to have the same level of in home orientation so that I could safely transition into this type of care.

I have clients with no nurses in the home to orient me as I shift into caring for high tech dependent clients and medically fragile peds clients. For example...the parent is expected to sign off everything on orienting me to caring for a medically fragile child with the equipment and assessment skills needed for that.....gosh, how can I know if a layperson is training me correctly to properly nurse this child? That is a moral question and a legal question. How can I sign that I can work a vent because a Mom says so?

My Case Manager is new to the company also and I don't blame her, and will talk to her. The norm in this company is for parents to do the training lacking another nurse.

That is scary for a nurse who is not experienced with medically fragile clients.

Thanks for any input. It would be helpful to hear as I am new to this company and this area of nursing and it is stressful to feel like the company expects us to wing it alone so to speak without an RN training a new RN. I will talk more with my company but truly need some feedback from other nurses as I figure out how to best go forward. I can learn machines...I am a private pilot...but the assessment skills etc. that go with shifting into more medical type care and everything that goes with that are not skills learned on Youtube.

Thanks! Hanspook