Lindeeloorn

Hi! I am a new unit manager in a LTC facility. (long term floor) it seems that there is no rhyme or reason to how information is stored or communicated between staff, doctors and others involved with resident care. there is a different book, flow sheet, or report for every little thing. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can streamline this unit and get everyone on the same page so we can focus less on getting paperwork done and spend more time caring for patients?

Scorp, dont stress! I graduated from lasalle two years ago (granted, it was from the achieve program, but its basically the same as the day program) you will be in the new nursing building at benilde tower, they have alot of new resourses and state of the art programs that i didnt have. if you run into any trouble, there are great staff people as resources with study groups run by faculty as well as skill labs to take advantage of. I suggest you look over what normal values are for assessment skills (resp rate, heart rate, etc) as well as blood gas values. dont worry about what they mean yet, that will come later. Also: PLEASE read over the school of nursing handbook they will give you, they are very serious about their rules and policies, and will stick to them whenever a problem arises. YOu will be fine as long as you dont let stress get in your way. congrats to you and good luck!! L-

new: same here. I just accepted a weekend position. declining the benefits should increase your hourly rate. nights and weekends should also pay more per hour. its called "at will" employment where I am. I've also been told that 20 -30 residents per RN is normal. LTC pays more here than most hospitals except "magnet" hospitals, like Cooper (south jersey) or Abington (PA) who can afford to pay more. Most places will work with you because they really need nurses. dont forget to ask the nurse recruiters if you are working with one. hope this helps. L-:nuke: