jljrdhd

Exactly.

There is a regulation that states that if a LTC building has a census greater than 60 residents, the DON cannot act as charge nurse. However, that does not mean that a DON can't give meds, do treatments, admissions, or other direct patient care duties. It only means that the facility can't apply a "dual role" to a DON if the building has a capacity greater than 60. I was a DON for years and did my share of hands on resident care, especially during emergencies or when we were short staffed...in fact, those were my favorite days!

I just left doing M-F to go back to doing three 12's in the hospital setting. I had other offers to work office jobs (no weekends, no holidays), but having 4 days off a week will work better for me to have more time with my family. After doing 5 days a week for so long (and weekends fly by), I'm looking forward to the change. There are pros and cons to both...you just need to find out what works best for you at this time.