LTC Frustrated

[0128AAE]

I have seen nurses ignore protocol in LTC alomost daily like for instance our protocol states if chemstrip is > 300 then you must recheck and notify MD if no parameters are set, also must recheck chemstrip after 30-60 minutes, I have seen no recheck in chemstrip and no MD notification no family contact etc, this is very frustrating and I feel that if it is okay for one nurse to get away with this than if I forget to recheck a residents chemstrip when everything gets chaotic then its ok and I should not feel guilty since I am checking them before thay go to bed anyways and making sure before I go home for the night that they are below 300 why do I feel guilty that I did not get a recheck in after an hour past the > 300 check when another nurse never even bothers to recheck residents chemstrip. Isn't this enough for the other nurse to lose their job for not following nursing protocol? Or doesent it matter as long as the DON likes you?

[achot chavi]

Be smart- make sure that you follow protocol and do the right thing, if it bothers you this much, make an appointment with your supervisor and bring facts and examples. I don't know where you work, and its true that supervisors tend to put a more positive spin on the work of the nurses that they like (I suppose that goes on in other professions as well) but you don't know what goes on behind closed doors or whats written in each nurses file. Nurses who ignore protocol will eventually get caught- either by their supervisor or by the state inspection or by the lawyer representing a family who is suing the facility. If its that bad- I would look for a better place to work.