Considering LTC in the future

iceprincess492 · Nov 12, 2011

i'd like to be don for the experience.....and the bonuses. apparently the don and administrator and admissions liason get hefty bonuses twice a year, they always cut hours before the end of the year. i don't see them taking a cut in pay, they always take from the bottom when they should start by taking from the top. but, that is jmho. i have been a staff nurse for 6 years and i would like to learn a different side of the business. i know my coworkers, i know the residents, and would like to see the business side. and they must not make enough of a profit if they can't even order enough supplies for us to do our jobs. i work my butt off, get my charting done, clock in, out, take my lunches, have no un-approved overtime, keep my work station clean and organized.....and do some of my aide's work, too, that is not my responsibility. so, in other words, my high quality work isn't good enough for high quality pay??
and, yes, i don't plan on staying in ltc after i get my bsn if i can't be don. i have a specific specialty that i would like to do, as a career. like all "new" nurses, ltc is just a stepping stone for me. if no one in my facility values my opinion and doesn't feel they need to take my concerns to heart then i will find some place else who values my skills more....cuz, obviously, my skills aren't good enough.

all i can respond to this post is please please please don't ever become a don - quite honestly the residents and the staff in any facility deserve better. they don't deserve someone who looks at the don position as a "stepping stone" to get experience and bonuses. they deserve someone who actually care about the staff, the residents and the facility that they work in. i think that you need to take a look around you and realize that there are many new nurses who do not view ltc as a stepping stone. there are many new/old nurses who love ltc and give their whole hearts to their residents. my suggestion to you now is to go in to work and turn your notice in because the residents in your care deserve someone who care about them and don't look at them as a place to make some money til something better comes up!!

SE_BSN_RN, BSN · Nov 12, 2011

all i can respond to this post is please please please don't ever become a don - quite honestly the residents and the staff in any facility deserve better. they don't deserve someone who looks at the don position as a "stepping stone" to get experience and bonuses. they deserve someone who actually care about the staff, the residents and the facility that they work in. i think that you need to take a look around you and realize that there are many new nurses who do not view ltc as a stepping stone. there are many new/old nurses who love ltc and give their whole hearts to their residents. my suggestion to you now is to go in to work and turn your notice in because the residents in your care deserve someone who care about them and don't look at them as a place to make some money til something better comes up!!

nice. even don's can't answer a simple question....that seems to be a trend. i didn't ask for that suggestion. you have no idea where i work and what i see. how i see management treat staff and see residents as dollar signs. how one of my residents has 2 pairs of pants but one pair has a huge hole in the butt. trust me, you have to walk a mile in my shoes and then maybe you will see where i am coming from. i do care about the residents and staff and my facility. that's why i have stayed for so long. so what can i do now to make it better with a don that yells and screams and belittles staff in public? call the compliance hotline? yeah, that really works. regional has already been in on numerous occasions on complaints. so, telling me not to be a don isn't addressing my original issue. i may find something later on down the road but right now where i am is basically where i will be for, idk, who knows how long. because, its not my attitude that is the issue. and i assure you, i am not there because of the money. the bonuses that the don and administrator get are for them, not to improve patient care or improve the facility, or to hire more staff to improve care. morale sucks, people complain, we work short staffed, our concerns aren't addressed. there is wayyyyy more to this than what i am writing here. even on the public records of state surveys its recorded that suggestions need to be addressed. so what does that tell you? that i am the one with a bad attitude? not quite. i am not the one in a management position. i am, as i repeat for a 3rd time, a staff nurse that doesn't know jack and whose concerns are ignored. all you people are telling me is not to become a don. thanks for your input, its greatly appreciated.

iceprincess492 · Nov 12, 2011

nice. even don's can't answer a simple question....that seems to be a trend. i didn't ask for that suggestion. you have no idea where i work and what i see. how i see management treat staff and see residents as dollar signs. how one of my residents has 2 pairs of pants but one pair has a huge hole in the butt. trust me, you have to walk a mile in my shoes and then maybe you will see where i am coming from. i do care about the residents and staff and my facility. that's why i have stayed for so long. so what can i do now to make it better with a don that yells and screams and belittles staff in public? call the compliance hotline? yeah, that really works. regional has already been in on numerous occasions on complaints. so, telling me not to be a don isn't addressing my original issue. i may find something later on down the road but right now where i am is basically where i will be for, idk, who knows how long. because, its not my attitude that is the issue. and i assure you, i am not there because of the money. the bonuses that the don and administrator get are for them, not to improve patient care or improve the facility, or to hire more staff to improve care. morale sucks, people complain, we work short staffed, our concerns aren't addressed. there is wayyyyy more to this than what i am writing here. even on the public records of state surveys its recorded that suggestions need to be addressed. so what does that tell you? that i am the one with a bad attitude? not quite. i am not the one in a management position. i am, as i repeat for a 3rd time, a staff nurse that doesn't know jack and whose concerns are ignored. all you people are telling me is not to become a don. thanks for your input, its greatly appreciated.

maybe you could stop pointing out to everyone that you don't know jack for a start. i certainly don't want someone taking care of me that doesn't know jack....as far as what you can do to make things better - improve your attitude and provide the best care you can to your residents and go home at the end of your shift knowing that you did the best you could for them. you say "walk a mile in my shoes" you should take your own advice and realize that you probably don't realize what your managers go through on a daily basis either.....

i still stand by my earlier statement...anyone that feels about management as you do should not have that as a career goal.

SE_BSN_RN, BSN · Nov 12, 2011

maybe you could stop pointing out to everyone that you don't know jack for a start. i certainly don't want someone taking care of me that doesn't know jack....as far as what you can do to make things better - improve your attitude and provide the best care you can to your residents and go home at the end of your shift knowing that you did the best you could for them. you say "walk a mile in my shoes" you should take your own advice and realize that you probably don't realize what your managers go through on a daily basis either.....
i still stand by my earlier statement...anyone that feels about management as you do should not have that as a career goal.

i have worked in management, just not as don or adon, obviously. i don't have a bad attitude. i am trying to say its my management where i work that has the bad attitude. i know what our adon goes though because i listen to her talk about how degrading and rude our don is. she is almost due to have a baby and had to work 2-10 and then an overnight shift because no one from management was willing to come in and help. i listen to our sdc talk about how she listens to the don rant and rave about how no one does anything right, if she had her way our facility would only have rn's, our charting isn't good enough, this, that, the other. but, i don't see the don improving anything, i see it get worse. i am watching our facility go from good, to ok, to yikes (and worse) in a year. it's gotten so bad that i am scared to death to say anything for fear of retaliation. let me give you this picture: you know when you go and have a baby, the mesh panties and pads they give a postpartum mom? are those appropriate for incontinent seniors? because that is what our facility uses. why? to save money. briefs are expensive. the family complaints about this aren't even addressed, so the families go and buy the briefs. we got a fine from osha for not having accesible sharps containers. our cna's recap razors to take them to a sharps container. why? i have no idea. our dirty utility rooms were overflowing for months with biohazard bags. i told management, for months. no one did anything until osha came in.

i go home at the end of my shift appalled at the things i see.....because i can only do so much. i go home at the end of my shift racking my brain trying to think of solutions. i approach management with solutions and i am ignored. there is so much more behind the scenes that i could post here, you have no idea. but yet, i am the one with the bad attitude? our don has been on vacation more than she's been in the building. so you tell me where the money needs to be used....

DixieRedHead, ASN, RN · Nov 14, 2011

OK, I will answer your question. NO, none of us works for a facility that "trains" DONs. When you become a DON you are expected to know, from experience, not training, how to handle administrative matters.

And in spite of YOUR words that you "want to become a DON for the experience and the bonuses", you will not be a good DON, because you don't have respect for the people who already occupy those positions.

I hope you will find another line of work.

SE_BSN_RN, BSN · Nov 14, 2011

OK, I will answer your question. NO, none of us works for a facility that "trains" DONs. When you become a DON you are expected to know, from experience, not training, how to handle administrative matters.
And in spite of YOUR words that you "want to become a DON for the experience and the bonuses", you will not be a good DON, because you don't have respect for the people who already occupy those positions.
I hope you will find another line of work.

I didn't start the original thread, so it wasn't my question. I was just stating what I see in my facility, and in my facility, my DON gets 2 bonuses a year. But, no one bothered to ask how I would use that money, because I would manage the budget to get the most benefit out of it for the facility, not my personal use.

And don't worry, considering all of the hostility I see on this thread, if a DON doesn't have respect for me, you certainly aren't going to get it from me. I think this is a good example of "eating our young." No wonder LTC is so crappy. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out, I suppose. And, of course, thanks for not answering my question.

fulzgold · Nov 15, 2011

Hello,
I obtained my LPN Aug 2010 and my RN June 2011. I worked LTC as a CNA and as a LPN. I currently work in a large hospital and will stay there at least another year. I will have my BSN completed but the end of summer 2012. I love the LTC population but as an aid and as a LPN I saw and lived with lack of adequate staffing, hostile environment, unhappy overworked aids etc. I want a job where I can be an advocate for the patients and the staff. Does anyone work for a company that offers training to do the DON job correctly?? I want to do more than barely make it, stressed out, guessing on how to do my job. Im looking for a company that will teach me the job and back me up. Is there such a place?? I know that I can make a difference and be a force for postive change... given the proper tools. Anyone work or recruit for such a company??

No, there isn't such a place, there are numerous DNS out there who all had the same ignorant (not an insult,) thoughts going into it. You'll soon discover that doctors and nurses are not consulted about patient care needs, but told, by the non medical powers that be, what will and will not be allowed to be done for any patient. These are the people that hold the purse strings. I got so upset today, that I turned in a list of all the patient care needs and related sate codes, that have been unmet, to the interim power, who has screwed my patients royal, and I walked out of the building. All this without thoughts of myself, placing myself at risk of unemployment. Maybe I'm not so honorable, but stupid. Who knows. I love my residents, I know the difference between right and wrong, and I have to live with myself. Read some of capecod's posts for further education and training. Any DNS out there who can play the corporate game and still meet resident care needs is exceptionally intelligent. She may not even realize it.