Need a plan

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I have been an ADON for only a couple of weeks now. I was told I would have atleast one month orientation but just hit the ground running. The facility is a total mess. I work for a large corporation that has wonderful resources but unfortunately the processes have not been established. We are in the state survey window and they are expected at any time. I am responsible for all education, employee health, new hire orientation, entering T.O's, scrubbing charts, etc. I spent over an hour just trying to get into voicemail. There is no phone manuel and IT never called back. My office has been used as a dumping station so there's piles and piles of stuff scattered all over the place. I just found the bottom of my desk yesterday. The problem is I am being pulled in a million different directions without a plan. One of my strengths is multitasking but it seems as though I am just spinning my wheels. I need some sort of direction. I am expected to do my first New Hire Orientation next week and just found the teaching manuel yesterday, which is missing a couple of sections. It's like this with everything I start. Things are either missing, broken, or I'm unable to finish because I'm being pulled away to do something else. Needing a plan and fast!

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Specializes in Assessment coordinator.

Get your large corporation to get on top of the new hire orientation. There are laws about what has to be done for compliance. They need to send a regional A) To Do Some ACTUAL WORK and B) To give you an orientation

Phone manuals are downloadable at the website for the manufacturer. I've had to download one everywhere I've worked.

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I'm afraid in even the most ideal of circumstances you may still feel pulled and scattered! It's the nature of LTC management! What I've done recently for a new ADON I hired is assign each day a focus. Put it on a calendar. If it's not a focus day for orientation, you let it wait. Unfortunatly it looks as though you will have to inservice yourself, or keep spinning your wheels. Don't try to perfect every system all at once. You may have to do enough on a few of them to just get by while you are focusing on the one that made the top of your priority list. Try not to do too much at a time. Just give yourself a free pass for a month or two where good enough will have to be good enough in some areas! Just don't forget to get back to them and perfect them! Just the fact that you're concerned tells me you're doing a better job than you realize! Take a deep breath! It's been broken for a long time obviously and no one has been murdered Bc they didn't fix it! Prioritize by what relates to patient care and good outcomes! Weights, falls, skins, infection control. Work your way down from there and allow yourself time.

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Thanks a lot for your words of encouragement. What you said makes sense. Thanks again for the advice. Things are getting a bit better.

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Specializes in Geri, psych, TCU, neuro--AKA LTC.

Use the Seven Habits quadrants to help you prioritize?? I'm amazed at how much more I get done with this type of prioritization.

Q1: Upper Left is Urgent and Important-- These are the fires that need to be put out! (80% of your day)

Q2: Upper Right is Important, but not Urgent-- After Q1, then work on Q2. (They recommend 20% of your time daily)

Q3: Lower Left is Urgent, but not Important-- Delegate!!!

Q4: Lower Right is Not Urgent, Not Important--IGNORE!

Use your Outlook to it's fullest. I'm using Tasks now and am able to prioritize them. I had no idea how much more organized I could be. It's a lifesaver. If one of my nurses asks what she can help with today, I share my Tasks.

Get to know your staff and their strengths. Use THEIR strengths to YOUR advantage. I have a really picky, OCD RN that is awesome at collecting data for Infection control and QA. Once I taught her the process, she's continually collecting the data, so it's not a ton of work at the end of the month (or the day before QA if you're a reforming-procrastinator like me).

Sounds like you may need a day just to sift through and figure out where you're at. DO IT! and start your priority list.

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Thanks so much for your ideas. I am going to use the priority system. I can see how prioritizing could reduce stress and set a clear vision as to how to prioritize my day, particularly when I'm coming into such a mess. This is my first position where everything is in shambles. It has been quite overwhelming. I also agree that I need to take a day and just get my office in order. Thanks again for the wonderful advice.

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Hi Buzy....I was where you are at about 1 year ago. My office looked like you have described yours to be. Finally, after a year, I feel as though I know most of the aspects of my job.

Good luck

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Specializes in R.N. Med-Surg, LTC, Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Great advice, I wish I had signed on to this board much earlier, I identify with bzyadon regarding being new to the position and just being thrown in, yikes, I found myself in that very same position 9 months ago and just now feel that I am getting comfortable with what is required of me. I love your systems idea, I have tried to steer the rest of nursing admin toward picking systems and reviewing them but right now we are just putting out fires and given our DON is also new to her position perhaps we will all grow together at the same time.

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