Problems at the SNF

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I have been working at this snf a little over a year now and I am quickly losing faith in this whole profession. Firstly, I am a white male somewhat new grad with Filipino bosses and coworkers. There have been a lot of changes going on: the administrator was fired, many of the admissions people have been let go of and today the DSD was fired. What really bothers me is the manner in which they did this. The DSD was in the middle of an inservice with CNA's and they pulled her out and told her she was fired. The poor woman then had to go back in the room and get her belongings in front of the cnas, humiliated. This complete lack of compassion really infuriates me. I have noticed that many of the filipino supervisors dont seem to have much compassion for the residents or the staff. Afterwards, they were joking about what had happened. My point is this: if you are not a compassionate person, then why do you want to work as a nurse? Is there no compassion in nursing anymore? Is this where this profession is heading?

The corporation I work for owns dozens of snf's on the west coast. They do not tolerate us working overtime. I, and my coworkers, routinely work off the clock out of fear of getting fired. I almost never take a lunch break but I must clock out for one every time I work. I've been written up for things that other nurses, the filipinos, routinely get away with. Recently, they introduced more paperwork protocols for events, etc. I find it increasingly impossible to get everything done on time. The standards expect perfection and do not tolerate anything less. I find myself not passing meds to some residents on some nights b/c there simply isn't enough time. I work my ass of but it's never enough and I always feel incompetent. Many of my peers feel similarly but we are all powerless.

What do the rest of you have to say? Have you had problems with fellow nurses of Filipino decent? What should I do?

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg.

Many LTC facilities are like this. I've also wondered the same thing about people who get into this profession sometimes. I don't think it's a phillipino thing though. sounds like you just need to find another facility.

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Get your posting numbers up and I'll message you an answer to your predicament.

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Well it finally happened. I got fired. Here's what happened: the other night I was working, had an admit to do,etc. it was just me and 2 other nurses in the whole facility, no supervisors, no tx nurse, no Adon, etc. well right before the dinner trays come out I hear this loud thud and screaming. Turns out one of the other nurses had tripped and fallen, hit her head on the way down and had a concussion. So we sent her to er b/c she was in no shape to pass meds. I call the don and tell him we need a replacement ASAP. He's like so and so will be there in an hour. So meanwhile it's just me and this other nurse who's only been there a couple months. The other nurse is pretty much clueless about what's happening- he didn't even realize she had to be sent out. In other words, i now get to manage my patients and the other nurses patients too, so im really stressed out! Fast forward about an hour, I'm trying to pass Her meds and mine which is hard bc she didn't sign half of them out bc she's worked that cart for ages and knows them all by heart. This new resident, who had just gotten out of prison btw starts flipping out, talking about he never got a tray. So the cna's get him one. Well he throws the lid into the hall, almost hits a couple residents. This guys been a problem before btw. At this point I just go off on the guy: tell him that if he's not happy here he's welcome to leave and I call him a word that I shouldn't have. At this point everything just falls apart. He starts getting in my face, threatening me and trying to antagonize me. By this point I've had it, text my don and tell him I quit. But immediately after say I'm not sure but I'm just very frustrated and I really need another nurse to get in here now, which I guess worked bc help finally came in the form of a nurse at the sister facility down the street, which is good bc that "about an hour" the don had said was gonna be more like three by the time the other nurse finally arrived So finally help comes and I make it thru one very unpleasant night. Anyway, that resident told the don what I said and how I went off on him. This guy btw is substance abuser and keeps bringing all these sketchy visitors in to the snf up to no good. So I get called in today and I'm getting canned. I guess my threatening to quit was the last straw and everyone was sad to see me go. I'm really gonna miss working there but I won't miss the horrible bosses I had to tolerate. Turns out the don is probably gonna get fired also. SNFs really are horrible places staffed with wonderful, caring people and managed and owned by money grubbing thieves that should be locked up.

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Sorry to hear you got fired. I hope you will be able to find a better job now.

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Well, as if this situation couldn't get any stranger...the other day I get a call from that sister facility and they want me to come work for them. I'm thinking this is really strange bc there is a policy within the company that states If you are fired at one facility you are forbidden from working at any of the other facilities. Turns out that when they filled out my termination notice I was not properly fired bc they didn't give me any prior warning regarding my "unbecoming conduct" that it states I was fired for. This, in addition to the fact that I was fired for threatening to quit in a situation that was unethical and put me at risk for liability makes me wonder if their just trying to get me to work so they can more legally fire me. At any rate I'm probably gonna end up going to the state, the labor board and eventually have to seek counsel regarding this wrongful termination.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

By your own admission you verbally abused a resident (with whatever name you called him). That alone is grounds for immediate termination. It sounds like you really had a horrible night but abuse of a resident is a violation of several federal regs & I seriously doubt your DON had any choice.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

Agree with above. Plus always give your meds out on time or not.

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That doesn't make sense. Did you even read my posts? I was being forced to do the 2000 med pass for two nurses. How can I ethically be responsible for doing that? It's not possible and my DON even acknowledged that when he asked me to just pass the pain meds and forgo the coumadins and digoxins, dilantins, bp meds and whatever other mandatory meds those patients were required. The fact that I threatened to quit so he would get someone else in faster is what caused me to get terminated. He made no mention of what I said to that other resident when he terminated me. At any rate, I'm probably gonna sue for lost wages due to missed meal breaks (clocking out but not taking a lunch), working off the clock (out of fear of reprimanding). I have no sympathy for this awful company and the way they treat and exploit their staff. I just hope that I can find a better place to work

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I am sorry you had a bad experiance with this company, but are you SERIOUSLY going to sue this LTC and be paying court costs to have you TRY to get money from a few missed lunch breaks? To be totally honest with you I can not see how that can work in your favor being that they never forced to to clock out and still work. That was all on your own accord. Please, If I was you I'd really just move on and like you said try to find some place else. Forget it, and try to find a happier place to work.

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After talking with my lawyer, it turns out I am eligible for a substantial sum due to all of my missed breaks, etc. under state law if it is not possible for a worker to take a lunch break or the 10 min breaks that are mandatory under state labor regulations then the company must pay the employee for a full hour. More often than not, due to many of the reasons that I'm sure you are all aware of in working in a snf and having such a high patient load with little or no support from other nurses (supervisors, tx nurse, Adon, etc) it was simply not possible for me to take lunch breaks or my mandatory 10 min breaks. The corporation I worked for encouraged us to clock out on time at the end of our shift out of fear of getting reprimanded. Therefore, many nurses, myself included, routinely work off the clock. When you are faced with the choice of being disciplined for working overtime or losing your license out of fear of not properly charting you have to work off the clock. That's just the way it is. As for the fees, I won't have to pay any lawyer costs, just a filing fee ($400). All of the lawyer fees come out of my settlement and if I lose the case, then I won't owe the lawyer anything. I am looking for work but I am still very bitter about the way that company treats its nurses and I intend to take action. Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Really? You couldn't take lunch? I've had nurses tell me that and every time I go to the floor they are sitting around chatting...NOT working. You said you were verbally abusive to a resident. You have NO excuse for that...stress or not....busy or not. You, frankly, were lucky you weren't reported to the BON for that behavior.

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