OneOnOnes

Just over a year ago I started as a new grad nurse on a very acute & busy med-surg floor which was also the cardiac/telemetry floor for the hospital. I ended up quitting on the 12th week of orientation. I felt extremely anxious all the time, depressed, afraid to talk to providers, and felt like I did not know what I was doing most of the time, and did not feel like I was properly managing patients symptoms due to fear of providers acting like jerks. I since went to work at a nursing home in long term care and skilled nursing for a year now. I now feel much more comfortable in my role as a nurse, and not as afraid to speak to providers, however I am getting very bored of the job and feel like I just monitor when people go to the bathroom and supervise staff. I am considering trying the hospital again to gain skills. I do not want to try medsurg again, but I am considering ortho or cardiac. I am specifically thinking of applying to a cardiac-telemetry floor at a different hospital that I have connections at. Any tips? Should I make this career move now?

Once you get over the initial awkwardness, bathing will be super easy! Just start at the face then work your way down. You can either wash them head-to-toe or you can do a partial bedbath which consists of doing the face, under the arms, under the breasts, peri area, and then their bottom. Either for a full bedbath or a partial bed bath always start at their front side first then roll them over and then do their back/back of their legs/bottoms last. I always bring in 4 or 5 wash cloths if I am doing a full bed bath because I like using fresh wash clothes for all over the different areas and then I don't reuse them afterwards. I always do feet and bottoms last. I always use a fresh wash cloth for feet and discard it after. It sounds also like you're not squeezing a lot of water out. When I first started I squeezed a lot of water out but tried to keep a little bit and I wrapped the wash cloth around my hand and washed that way. But to really give someone a good wash it's best to not squeeze it out all the way, and you will definitely get the bed soaked that way, BUT if you bring in extra towels and put it under the patient/resident's legs and arms before you wash those areas then the water will get on the towels and not soak the bed. Those are my tips!

I am not sure what shift you are working but I will try to list some advice! Also, if the RN tells you that you are doing a good job, then you better believe it! The RN's and LPN's I Worked with when I started out at a SNF were quick to tell me if I was doing good or bad and they meant it. They will be blunt when they need to be because it's their licenses on the line since we work under them, and if they don't think a person is getting proper care they will say so! So be glad - you must be doing great so far. Rounds at a SNF must mean just checking people and changing them for incontinence? You'll be able to do the 1 assists on your own but definitely get help on 2 assist patients, seriously. You don't want to hurt yourself rolling heavy and incontinent people. Other random tips I will try and think of... Answer lights promptly. Report anything "out of ordinary" such as a new behavior or a new mark on the skin to a nurse. Nurses love it when we keep them informed about their residents and show that we are actively trying to keep up with the resident's conditions. Have a little notebook/pad to write down door code #s and any other important information you may need until you have it memorized. Be proactive with helping other CNAs and nurses - I always helped as much as I could so that when I needed help I knew those people would help me in return. Mark down if residents have a BM so you can chart it later, and if you chart I/Os then chart whatever drinks you give them. If you put a female on a bedpan put toilet paper or some sort of barrier in the front so urine doesn't go everywhere. If there is any task at all that you don't feel comfortable doing either from inexperience or it just doesn't feel right, always stop and ask or get another staff member for assistance. If someone tells you that so-and-so is a 1 assist walk to the bathroom and that you can do it on your own but then you go to that resident and she is not feeling well for some reason and can barely walk, then don't do it! Something could be wrong. Or maybe that day they are just feeling weak and need 2 people. Their assistance levels can change depending on their conditions, activity levels, and what's going on with them. If your facility provides gait belts then use those when transferring or walking residents because it will make it a heck of a lot easier. If you have any other specific questions you could PM me. Speed will come with practice. It is OK to not be speedy at first, you will get there!

You can definitely be employed at two SNF's at once - I knew a couple girls who were per diem at two and worked at both regularly. I am not sure about being employed at a hospital and a SNF at once. If you need more shifts a week and more money I do recommend looking into a nursing staffing agency in your area. You can choose to work any day or shift of the week and as many as you want and with much higher base pay than at a facility. The only downside is that you would have to travel to whatever facilities they'll need you at and if you're employed at an agency you can't also be employed at a SNF or be sent to a SNF you've already worked at. You'll have to look at the schedule that you'll be planning on setting up for yourself and think: will it be realistic? Will you get enough sleep and "me" time? Will you make enough for your expenses or too much? I worked a variety of different hours and shifts until I knew how I wanted to spend my time.

Hello, I haven't posted in a forum before, but I have been thinking of doing it for a little while now because I am getting frustrated at work. I am starting nursing school this Fall and I currently work as a CNA/TECH on a unit in a hospital. I started this job 6 months ago, and I have 2 years prior CNA experience at a SNF. Working as a nurse has been a dream of mine for years, and I strongly want to become a nurse. However, I am feeling at my wits end working as a CNA. I have no problem with doing direct patient care and working with a strong team of CNAs that promptly answer all lights and help each other out. What's frustrating me about the job is that all the nurses on the unit will seek me out and ask me to do something. I feel like I can't create my own routine for the day because whenever I walk by somebody they stop me and give me a new task to do as if I wasn't already in the middle of something. Other staff do this too besides nurses such as volunteers, dietary, housekeeping, etc! I understand that it is a busy floor and it's all about teamwork, but I feel like being constantly told what to do is what is annoying me. Also, whenever I'm at work, there is that constant thought in the back of my head if they are going to float any of the CNAs today, perhaps for a 1:1 somewhere else in the hospital that cannot be left alone, or to help out” another unit while leaving our unit in a disaster with over 10 patients to 1 CNA ratio. Sometimes I enjoy floating to get off the unit and get new experience elsewhere, but I can't help but feel like I am just being thrown around” whenever a CNA is needed elsewhere, and they don't float nurses at the middle of their shift, it's always at the start. Floating aggravates me because my unit usually gets screwed over to help someone else. The CNAs on my floor answer all lights all of the time, I can't even sit down and chart without being told to answer a light. Due to this, I pretty much know every patient on the unit and I feel like I have the entire floor to look after. I am starting to loathe the nurses for being able to sit down so much and chart, and they only have their own 4 or 5 patients to look after all day while I have the whole unit. I feel like when I become a nurse it will be so much easier because I can do my own routine and see my 4 or 5 patients strictly and not have all of the staff around me changing up my tasks all of the time. I understand that I am there to help the nurses with their workload, but it feels so disorganized because I am always being pointed in a different direction. This post is half of a vent, but also me asking: will I still feel this way when I become a nurse? I know for a fact I will have greater responsibility for my patients and stress as a nurse, but at least as a nurse I won't have that constant fear of being floated away during the middle of my shift and I can plan for myself all of the tasks that I will have to do. Or is all this frustration just on me and I should just get over it because I am still going to be swamped as a nurse anyways? I am counting down the shifts until I start school in 1 month and am wishing I was working in retail or something else. :/