DONJuanOhio

#Hoka shoes if your gonna be on your feet 12 hours with minimal breaks. ER is fast paced and rarely do you get an uninterrupted break or a chance to sit down.

Yes CapeCodMermaid, we are expecting our survey anytime now and other facilities that just had their survey agree. Mostly infection control and immunizations mostly due to the poor performance of nursing homes during the pandemic. One good thing that came out of the pandemic is bringing LTC to the forefront of the news and policy makers.

Yes Plate is full but when you work for a small facility, you have less supporting staff and you have to do the jobs of about three people...LOL But I enjoy a challenge and want to do my best and not let adm/owners down. Thanks for the info! Much appreciated. My administrator's response to me was "You have only been here three months. Don't be so critical of yourself, take day to day." Support like that is priceless...

20+ years experience mostly in med surg and critical care. Tired of the floor nursing stress and low pay, I took advantage of a DON opportunity I came across at a smaller family owned nursing home. The administrator and I hit it off immediately- personality wise and both being male helped as well (not meant to offend but to give a better picture). He gave me everything I asked for as far as salary requirements and flexible hours. The facility has gone through 2 DONs during the first year of Covid due to not wanting to be exposed and for having to work tons of overtime during the initial crisis. When I arrived, they had a temporary interim DON covering until a new DON was hired...which was me. The only issue I am having is there wasnt really an orientation so to speak on the DON duties and expectations. The adm is very supportive and encouraging which helps a ton. I initially had some staff issues being the 3rd DON in the last 15 months but have seem to reassure staff that I was here for the long haul and wanted to improve on staff morale and teamwork. So basically I am wanting to make sure I am doing everything the DON of a nursing home needs to do to stay compliant with CMS. Short of memorizing all 275+ F-tags can any of you seasoned DONs break down what you do on a daily or weekly basis. A routine you found works best and is efficient. Also What are all the items you track. I am currently tracking: ATB/Infections Wounds Hospital/ER Visits Falls/Incidents TB/Covid Vaccine Alarm Device Use Psychotropics NOMNC Notifications I also am taking the Infection Preventionist module from the CDC so I can be the Infection Preventionist for the facility. And also am required to be in charge of the QAPI program and the usual staff development training stuff. So with that said, is there anything else you think I may be missing? Any suggestions or time management ideas would help as well. I am trying not to get too overwhelmed but our annual survey will be any day now. BTW I purchased The DON's Handbook for Long Term Care which has helped some and Searched Google for Anything related to DON duties and daily tasks and nothing of substance was found.