Misled In Job Interview... Advice Please!!!

Nurses LPN/LVN

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I have been an Lpn for about 6 months, i worked in a psych facilty for teens and after getting injured many time, I figured it just wasn't for me. I worked geriatrics alot when i was a cna for 6years. So i took a job about 2 weeks ago at a local "upscale ltc facility". The DON said in the interview I would have 14-15 patients because I would be on a floor with two nurses. During my orientation i was put with a nurse that only had 11 patients, then all of sudden i am told no you are going to "blank" unit, that has 25 patients half of them are medicare with lots of charting, highter acuity and more meds. I feel misled and bamboozed, no one wants to orientate me over there, my med passes are a diaster, and I feel overwhelmed with no support. She wants me to learn the patients in 3 days are you kidding me, I feel like quitting. I do not think ltc is for me. My question is how do I bow out of the job offer without burning a bridge, or do I just walk away because there is no way i am going to put my license and my sanity on the line. I don't have the feeling she is going to put me on an easier unit. Advice would be greatly appreciated. :no:

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I'd be talking to the person that hired you and have a heart to heart talk with them. Tell them what you had expected when you where hired and that this was totally different then what was agreed on. Tell them how this is unrealistic and not what you signed up for and see if they will acomidate you better. Give you more time to learn the job, and better orination. If they say no then I think you have every right to quit because this is not what you agreed to when you took this job. Good Luck, and I agree that quiting this job would be better then putting your licence in jepardy, or something goes wrong at the facility.

Also just because this job at this particular LTC seems to be going south does not mean you can not handle or belong in LTC. Some other facility might be a better fit for you

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Well i talked to the DON and she was completely misunderstanding... she said that "every unit is the same" ??? What are you talking about 11 patients, versues 25 plus with higher acuity, she spoke to me in a matter a fact tone and said i should be able to learn the unit by fri. What?? She had no empathy or sympathy, and gave me no option for a another floor. I think it may be time to walk away, i have a really bad feeling about this...:nailbiting:

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Yes, you might want to walk away. . . to a specialty other than LTC.

I worked in LTC for six years and never received an orientation longer than three days. When I was a new grad, I received a pitifully short orientation of one 8-hour shift to learn the residents before I was cut loose to work the cart on my own.

In the area where I live, three days of orientation in LTC is the norm. 20 to 30 residents per nurse is the norm on days. I used to have up to 68 residents on night shift. 11 to 14 residents would be a dream come true, and hearing those numbers would have made me leery that the DON may have been fibbing.

Some DONs and nurse managers will mislead or outright lie to prospective candidates to get nurses into the door. It is not an uncommon practice.

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Its very disheartening and unfortunate, that a DON would lie like that, as nurses at the end of the day its about your patients. Wouldn't you want someone who felt comfortable with that amount of patients and to be honest about what that job applicant was getting into. It is really sad that someone would lie just to have a warm body on the floor and not give two cents about the quality of care in your facility.

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The facility has other openings in home care do you think it would be even worth it to speak with HR to consider me for any of these.. or to speak with them about what has happened. I just feel that speaking to the DON again at this point is no use....

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
The facility has other openings in home care do you think it would be even worth it to speak with HR to consider me for any of these..
You might as well speak to HR about the home care job openings. What's the worst thing that could happen if you expressed your interest? You have very little to lose at this point.
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