new med times.. upon rising, breakfast lunch???

[griffincrew]

Resigned after 4 years at the only ltc facility I've ever worked. Asked to float to a unit at 10am after my initial assignment was complete. I was to now take over a team that hadn't been touched. Med times ... "upon rising, breakfast, lunch, dinner, hs" this is to get around 1 hr before and 1 hr after a specific time frame. Now we can "lie" to state and say " oh they just got up or they just ate breakfast." To me this is poor nursing. This is setting nurses up for failure and patients up for harm. Anyway back to the story. I got an incomplete "report" if that is what you want to call it from the nurse who supposedly had this assignment. There was not a single person she gave meds to. What was she doing the whole morning? I was just coming up extra to make full compliment. Things were not given that are imperative, like digoxin and insulins. I brought this to the DON. She said I was there to work and sometime med passes go over. I understand but this happens frequently on this unit. I also feel like I am being asked to perform tasks that are not in line with what is legal or moral. Needless to say I am jobless but thank God I am a nurse.

Added note: This stinks.... mangement is making rules to allow us to give meds at unreasonably late times, how unsafe. Med time windows are given for a reason and if the DON or UM know we are drowning because they can't staff the floor, then come help us!!! DUH! God forbid they come out of their 2 hour long coffee breaks in their offices.

[griffincrew]

xxxxx

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

That makes sense to me, actually. Passing polypharmacy to 42 people who need apicals, special methods, yada yada yada - makes much more sense that to magically do it "right" when the state is in.

[Simplepleasures]

Now we can "lie" to state and say " oh they just got up or they just ate breakfast." To me this is poor nursing. This is setting nurses up for failure and patients up for harm.

Added note: This stinks.... mangement is making rules to allow us to give meds at unreasonably late times, how unsafe. Med time windows are given for a reason and if the DON or UM know we are drowning because they can't staff the floor, then come help us!!! DUH! God forbid they come out of their 2 hour long coffee breaks in their offices.

Yes this form of deception has turned into an art in LTC.They are now firing their staff if they oppose this practice of "lies".This is so sad because it is prevalent in most LTC facilities in this country.What will it take to stop?

[Fancy Face]

I wouldn't be happy walking into that situation either. You mean the am insulins and (I am assuming) ac brakfast blood sugars were not checked? And it was then after breakfast when you got to the floor? I would have refused to take over the med pass until the off-going nurse documented on the MAR that she MISSED all of the ac breakfast stuff so that you are not responsible. Then I would have started the pass with after breakfast time frame, and made a HUGE complaint to the DON about that off-going nurse! What the heck was she doing all morning? Anyway...good luck!

[caliotter3]

Your description is as bad as the things that were going on at the LTC where I was working when things were "testy" years ago. I noticed that shenanigans occurred at all the facilities when state was in the house. People would do things right under the noses of the surveyors. What made me respond to this thread was remembering a comment by a nurse that she could not understand why the nurse who was caught giving 7 AM med pass at 2 PM by surveyor just didn't "lie". To this day, I have been awed by the thought that some nurses are so skilled, that they could easily lie about giving 7 AM meds at 2 in the afternoon!

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

The OP was edited since I added my response.

[griffincrew]

Thanks for everyone's responses. I knew I would be justified by the good nurses that are out there. I just dont like the ones who are there to protect themselves and their paychecks. Maybe they'll be the ones who end up in a nightmare of a nursing home - hopefully one filled with nurses that practice just the way they do.