Don't You Just Want To Scream?

Specialties LTC Directors

Published

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I've had it with nurses not doing what they are supposed to do! There was an order to 'encourage fluids every shift and monitor intake on Caretracker" For 3 days the nurses signed off the order, but not one of them documented or even looked at Caretracker. If I didn't think the DPH would have a hissy fit, I'd write in the MAR "Stand in the middle of the hall way naked and whistle the Star Spangled Banner". I'm sure they'd sign that off, too. What is the matter with these people? The nurse practitioner is 'surprised' we can do IVs??? Jeezlies Peezlies I want to smack 'em all upside the head and yell " WAKE UP.....YOU"RE A NURSE....DIDN'T YOU LEARN ANYTHING IN SCHOOL????"

Thank you for letting me vent.

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Specializes in 10.

Sometimes you feel like a glorified babysitter.. It really is a shame that adults won't work unless they are "hounded". They come to work to get a check, not look cute.

I hope tomm, is better*wine:

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Thank-you, I feel better....I thought it was just me, lol!There should be a rehab for nurses like us, that cannot understand WHY people don't just look at, read and follow the MAR. It seems to simple.. I have had patients ask "How does the nurse know what she is to do for me?" I always show them the MAR and then the patient looks at me blankly, and then I know the nurses aren't even really looking at the MAR. SO SAD!

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I doubt if it is because they do not want to work...............most do not have enough time in a day to do things the way they should. I have seen some pretty scary short cuts going on like stacking cups of meds.....that is what scares me...

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Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU, Psych, Med-surg...etc....

It's sad. I see it all the time. Signing off things that are not done...watched a resident all day- supposed to have a chair alarm...never had it on, it was signed off though that it had been on. The list goes on and on...fall mats, 10am snacks, fluids, TED hose, etc....

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Yep. I've actually taken it outside and did a primal scream thing once. Yes...it did feel a bit better.

Now days, I'm just a staff nurse and it does get frustrating when you come in after being off for a few shifts and find stuff like this that hasn't been done for days. At least you are recognizing these things and call the nurses on them. My current DON lets things slide (totally burnt out and just biding time until she can move on)

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Specializes in Physician office, Hosp, Nursing Home.

the worst thing to me about LTC is the redundancy of documentation. I dont have time for all that bs. triple charting. I feel like a secretary. I've been a hospital nurse with standing order etc. LTC i do not feel like a nurse. no critcal thinking skills, if a res is sick we ship 'em to hospital. no crash cart for code. yes we do have a defib. on O2 and suction. but everything is locked in the med room, and during an emergency i have to unlock med room..scramble with the pixis to get nitro, while at res is coding, and we are 20 mins from hosp. DNR does not mean do not treat. i hate the fact i have to get an order for an ice pack. i work midnights. if i called a doc at 3 a.m. for an ice pack the doc would chew my ass./ the skilled charting and paper work is priority. nuts. i'm used to having a rapid respnse team, respitatory, er doc, house super, lab at my finger tips. not so in long term care. i have too many residents on midnocs. and only see them in the dark. i do not know these pts. i come in early every sunday at 7pm just to get to know the res.there are to many rules. i understand the "why" beacuse the gov't medicare decides what is best. even though many of rules are impractical. I do work in a 5 star facility. i'd put my parents there or go myself. but as for nursing-we are just paper pushers and med passers, i started this job in may 0f 2011. i hope i can adjust. i've always done computer charting and now have so much hand written nartative-same thing every day. one example if a nurse has a minor med error like not giving a pt tums(or res refuses) we have to do vitals for 3 days, call dr, and family. ***. no common sense. the pendulum has swung so far the other way.. i agree with no restraints and pt rights etc. but i'm losing my skills. because of paper work and the fact when a res is sick we ship em out. i do want to care for the elderly but ltc may not be for me d/t paper work, no critcal thinking, losing my skills, no iv's, etc. any one in ltc have any advice.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

Order..give glucagon for blood sugar under 50 and inability to swallow. Nurse: Res. semi conscious with blood sugar of 104 and inability to swallow, sooo...she gives the glucagon.

"Now really, what in the world made you decide that because she was semi conscious and not swallowing therefore she had to be hypoglycemic even tho her blood sugar was NORMAL"..

(No..I didn't really yell. But I wanted to. For crying out loud she has been a nurse as long as I have and seemed shocked that I didn't agree with her course of action.) Umm..could have been a TIA, maybe a cardiac event, med reaction, etc but ya proved it wasn't low blood sugar so why did you treat it at such and never investigate other possibilities or inform the Dr. gee whiz.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Polly-we don't send our residents out unless they are critical. We do everything the hospital can except put them on a ventilator. Perhaps my nurses should work where you do where it won't matter if they have no critical thinking skills as long as they can fill out papers.

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Oh I hear you loud and clear... we had 2 on fluid restriction... yes only 2 for clarity it was two....we were cited inserived by corporate, corrected and inserviced by me...they still didn't do what they were inserviced on...bang your head.....luckily we hadn't reached date certain yet...grrrrrrrrrrrr you can lead em to water but can't make em drink it.

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This is the way it was at all of the facilities I ever worked at. Most of the nurses didn't even bother to "paper" it either. They didn't care. They all knew that there would never be consequences for not doing the job very well.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Must have been the full moon this week- my two incidents: 1. Resident is on lovenox with Coumadin at 6 mg from hospital. The lovenox is one of those kg/mg so I have the RN ask the MD about it just because I am not comfortable- knew someone would make a mistake. I check later in the day after the MD does rounds and she looks at me and goes oh- I forgot to ask. OK- now I had this all written down and spelled out with my "t's" crossed. She said "well he will get mad if I call him"- too bad too sad. So she gets the Lovenox changed to a straight up order with no weights involved. Wonderful! Walking back to my office I had a sinking feeling about the PT/INR as she didn't tell me when they were doing that. I started thinking too myself No- she knows better and would get one. I just couldn't take it anymore and had to call her- guess what she didn't get one. Worse yet she asked me "why would I do that?" Seriously??? 2. A resident is coughing/choking in the dining room and the RN doesn't remember to assess him as she is to busy? Seriously? A-B-C- Airway always trumps anything. She should have gotten up then and went straight down and looked at him. Why would she even put it on her paper to look at him later. I just want to hit my head against the wall. My ED says I have too high of standards. I am sorry, but not killing someone because of stupidity is not too high of a standard.

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