chasingmydreams

I have a situation that has kept me sleeplessly tossing and turning all day so who better to turn to then the wonderful folks at AN!! My schedule is 12 hour nights on Sun, Mon and Tue. This past Friday my brother-in-law passed away VERY unexpectedly and too young (64). He was a wonderful man and a fixture in our family and never sick a day (victim of the widowmaker). Needless to say our family is devastated. Arrangements were made over the weekend. When I went into work last night for my first night the ADON was there, as was MDS. I looked to see who was the nurse on call and it was MDS (our protocol is to call nurse on call with these situations). As she was there I began to tell her my situation and that I would need Tuesday night only off and was planning to work the first two nights of my week (of course I was already there). As I am explaining this to her she starts to smile! I stopped what I was saying and said "this isn't funny" to which she started to laugh! I again said " this isn't funny...you are laughing at me?!" That only made her laugh harder!! The ADON was shocked and tried to cover for her saying "she isn't laughing at you she is just laughing because of having to deal with so many schedule issues". Seriously...she does not even make the schedule but she did have to come in yesterday to cover a call off. I am sorry she had to work a Sunday but did I deserve to be laughed at?? She never did apologize, express sympathy or anything...they both just told me to wait til after midnight and call the next on call nurse. Sooo....I called the next nurse (who actually does nurse schedule) right away instead of waiting til midnight and explained the situation and told her I would try to find coverage for the night. She told me to try Nurse A. I called Nurse A and she was happy to cover for me as long as she was approved for OT because for the past month OT is a felony punishable by death (OK not really but close). I sent a text message to nurse on call as when I earlier called it was very noisy and she was obviously enjoying her day off and I did not want to further bother her since she really was not on call yet and also others have said it is the best way to contact her. So I thought I had just this one night off and then I was scheduled off the rest of the week to deal with my family issues. I came home this morning and have tossed and turned with too much on my mind and just sad. I look at my phone and there is a text....can I switch a day instead of just taking off because they need to eliminate the OT. Seriously?? While I have been there less then a year in that time I have never called off, never been late, never had anyone complain about me. I try to do my job the best way I know and help my fellow coworkers when I can. Can't I now just have the time to grieve with my family?? Isn't that why companies have bereavement time...so we may mourn and began to heal with our loved ones? My question is what do I say to her?? Is it unfair to go in tonight and say "No...I am asking to take off one night and have the rest of my scheduled time off to be with my family". I am sorry this is so long and hope I have not rambled on. Thank you all.....love AN and learned so much from you all over the years!!

I guess my husband is going to live a very long time!! :redpinkhe

I am in Indiana and I start, maintain and discontinue IV's. Again I am sure this varies by state and facility. Best of luck tomorrow!!

I didn't feel the OP was bashing LPN's at all. A later poster took the opportunity to do that in their response though and I think it was rude and hurtful personally. There are many well educated, competent and caring LPN's that do not deserve to be torn down that way!!

Thank you from all us LPN's that work hard to provide excellent care and believe in our capabilities to do so!! :heartbeat

Geez I just got a papercut...can somebody tell me how to open this bandaid because I am just an SNF LPN without enough common sense to come in out of the rain. Whatever!! I work in a Rehab hospital with RN's and LPN's and also a SNF with mostly LPN's. I have to honestly say I would much rather have those SNF LPN's caring for me or a loved one then some of the RN's at the hospital (not all...some). SNF nurses are mostly overworked and overwhelmed at times, but dedicated and caring because they work through the stress...because they care about their residents. They are not just a patient or a resident...they become our family. Yep we only went to school for a year, but we didn't need more to learn love and compassion. Common sense and compassion are some important traits for a good nurse and those can't be taught in a classroom. I have seen amazing LPN's and RN's....and I have seen some pretty crummy LPN's and RN's. Let's not fuel the fire of class division when we should be working together as a team to get the job done!!

I am officially creeped out....

Hi Drew, I work in a small rehab facility. We have a large dry erase board with pt first name and room number. The board is a large grid broke down in 30 min increments and PT, OT and ST use magnets with each therapist name to block out their scheduled times. This allows staff and pts to look at the board and know who they will be working with and where at a glance. Nursing also can block out time for any treatments they need to schedule. In each pt room is a board with the day and date, nurse, cna and we also write their therapy schedule for the day on that board as well. We also see notes of love and encouragement pop up on those boards from family and staff. Hope that helps

I want to work where you work!!!!

I was just married 2 weeks ago and in Indiana I just had to mail a copy of my marriage certificate to the BON. Changing my SSN had no relevance although I am doing that tomorrow. Congrats....it is such a happy and exciting time. I am still floating!! Wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness together!!

In our facility the CNAs change shifts 1/2 hour before the nurses. By the time the nurses come in the CNAs are already on the floor working and answering call lights. Seems to work great!!

I have tried nursing shoes, crocs, high end athletic shoes and I finally have discovered that New Balance are my favorites. Best of all they are not horribly expensive although I am willing to pay to keep my feet happy. I do have a pair of the Skecher Shape-ups and I switch off shoes some nights as I have heard you should not wear the same shoe day after day (give those babies a chance to air out) but the New Balance remain my favorites. Good luck!! :redbeathe