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Discussion

Me vs. 3 year old

I have a situation that is causing me to lose sleep. I work night shift. So the folks I work for do not oversee all that I am doing in their home. I often leave the house without their even coming out in the morning. So they are not necessarily inspecting the house etc. They have a child

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    They accused you of throwing your key on the living room floor, pretending to think it was lost while all the while you know it's right there in the living room, for the sole purpose of getting the little guy in trouble while simultaneously trusting their child's life in your hands? And you've already been there a few months before this happens?

    Also they allow you a key to their house, but also think are capable of a bizarre behavior out of spite?

    I'm just going to preface this with the following: if the economy wasn't so horrible and jobs so hard to find, I would say let the dust fly as you peel out of their driveway never to return. I would also wave buh-bye to the agency who responds to your concerns with stonewalling, snippy attitudes and a willingness to pander to the family no matter what sort of outrageous behavior they engage in.

    As it is now, you have a family that doesn't trust you and an agency that doesn't give a cr*p about you. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but I don't see how you can continue to work there if they act like that after you've already been there for several months.

    The only possible solution I can think of is that you make an effort to establish rapport with them, which takes a while. I know it's night shift and you don't cross paths too often. But as you mentioned, they don't know you, and unfortunately many have been burned by unscrupulous nurses/caregivers in the past.

    If you approach them with the attitude that you are all on the same team, and you want to figure out mutual solutions you could come in earlier or stay later and have a non accusatory atmosphere, maybe over coffee, they may be able to relax the hair-trigger responses.

    You absolutely have the right to discuss with them his acting out behaviors such as hiding your things, but again it's better to keep it very calm. You would want to start with telling them about some of the positive things about their child and areas of growth you've observed in him. In summary ----phew---- the truth is family's don't like to have one nurse after another etc- it takes time to get to know all their idiosyncraces, and they generally value very highly those who make it that far.

    Well sorry for droning on but those were just some thoughts I attempted to make coherent-- best of luck to you!!:)

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    • Author

    What a nice response. I think I just needed to hear that I wasn't wrong to think this was a little bizarre. :)

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    Nope- you are correct. . .it's definately in the Top Ten most bizarre things I've heard about in the Home Health arena, probably even in the Top Three!! :nurse:

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    • Expert

    You seem to have a good grasp of the situation. How badly do you need this job? I would seek out another agency. Once you get established with another employer, it will be a lot easier to say "so long" to this case if you still feel the same way in the future.

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    • Author

    I didn't want to say exactly where I live but. . . let us just say that it is a big metropolitan area with about 7 major hospitals and many walk in emergency rooms. I have submitted over 100 applications to these hospitals including one that told me that the door was always open back when I left many years ago. I started applying in May 2009 after I retook the NCLEX and passed with flying colors (thanks to this web site, I might add). Unfortunately, after spending hundreds of dollars to get my license, I find that everything is standardized and so I send in my little computer application and resume and get back a standardized letter saying that there are other candidates more qualified. After going to the ER with one client and hearing stories from the parents, I know that isn't the case.

    That is what led me to home health. But really, I like hospital nursing and I am a good nurse in the hospital setting. I am simply not going to get a chance because I haven't worked in a hospital in a long time and I can't get in the door in any way, shape, or form even if I go back to school and get a BS degree. Of the aforementioned hospitals, one company has a monopoly on the majority of them. So with that in mind, with over a year of applying and being turned down, I was not just a little grateful to get a job through this agency.

    I am probably picturing them as a bad agency and in some ways, they are taking full advantage of the fact that there are so many nurses in my situation. However, they did hire me when nobody else would and so I have to be grateful for that. They are paying us a pittance

    They have put me in some situations that are even worse than the one I mentioned above. Believe it or not. They don't tell you anything about the client and pertinent details about the parents that should be well documented. The reports that I get before I go into a situation are all the same for the most part and lack any kind of important details. I have attempted, at my own expense, to meet the family before I go to their home just to get an idea of what is going on to protect myself, find out what equipment that is being used so that I can learn it beforehand, and meet the family.

    In the midst of one crisis with a child I was caring for, the mom starts poppin' Xanax. I admit that I am not totally familiar with adult psychotropic drugs. She insisted on driving to the ER. I asked these nurses in the office after the incident what I should have done and they said again that the parents make all the decisions. :bowingpur "Yes, master. Whatever you say." That is, of course, until the wheel rolls off. You know at that point they are going to be singing a different tune.

    At any rate, they keep a safe distance from me so that they can terminate me at any given time. I am sure that is the rationale behind why they are so curt to me in the office.

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    • Expert

    I once changed my tune about the agency that hired me when I thought I would never get a job. It was difficult for them to turn me so far in the opposite direction, but they managed to do so. Since I was no longer working for them anyway, it made it so easy to start to be truthful about how I was treated.

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    Run. These parents and this situation sounds Crazy! The way that this agency is handling it, seems to cater to this type of behavior as well. I would move on, to a place that cares a little more deeply for their staff.

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    "nurses are a dime a dozen" is something that has come out of our area director's mouth before. They act that way until someone quits and then they just can't seem to find anybody to replace them. The fact of the matter is that good nurses are worth their pay and it costs more money to hire and train new employess than it does to pay good nurses what they are worth.

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    Do you do any IV Therapy? If not, try to get trained thru your agency, then go to an IV Infusion Center and work prn. After you get more experience, find a hospital that does IV Therapy... get your foot in the door that way, then ask to be cross trained to the ICU, ER, MS, whatever you want. Float Nurses are NOT a dime a dozen!!

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