mtessmer2000

Hello all! Well I am elated to announce after three very long months of being unemployed, I am starting my new job tomorrow! Regional Director of Care for 8 Assisted living facilities. So excited! Thanks for everyone's support here!

Hello all! It has been a while since I last posted so I thought I would update you all on the curveball of sorts that I have been given now....It seems my previous employer has now gone all out on defamation and going to the extreme in so many regards. I am still looking for employment, and have had continued interviews but still to no avail, it seems as if I get to the second step of the process, then nothing. So, to make a long story short, I have been denied unemployment as they list me as resigning without good cause, I have been served three certified letters now claiming I have violated HIPAA laws/breaches, and have been accused of theft of confidential company information....I have had a complaint submitted to the board of Licensure which may go into investigation (I hope not!) but anyway, I have now had to attain legal counsel and am I am sure heading down a dreary emotionally taxing path. I am trying so very hard to keep my head up but it is tough for sure. Any advise you are willing to lend or kind words would certainly help give a flicker of hope and sanity. Thanks to all that post on this forum and sorry it has been so long. As you can imagine I have been up to my eyeballs in applications, interviews, etc. and now legal crap. Good Lord must be testing me yet again!! God Bless!

Hi HARLEYDNS! You can email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to help.

I am interviewing for an RN Case Manager position at a hospital near my area.

Well all, my interview went to well that I didn't have to wait till next week to hear anything!! They called me today and I do a second interview with the ER Manager, another RN Case Manager and the RN Case Manager Director on Tuesday!! Smilin' from ear to ear here!

I was thinking about the interim DON travel role to as a temporary riding out finding the perfect job for a bit. I worked for three different agencies within my years as a nurse and should connect with them. You given me some thinking to do. :)

It wouldn't have been so bad had she had some regard for my level of experience in nursing and what I could have contributed had I been supported. I have learned however, that in this particular case, the madness goes all the way to the top and I truly feel that the source of it all IS the top people. A business forgetting they are taking care of people, vulnerable people. At any rate, a day out of leaving and still no regrets so that is a positive sign. :)

Hi all! My phone interview went very well. It was a bit difficult to relay the reason for leaving as I wasn't ready for that question. I did say that the time demands affected my balance between family and my job. I was truthful in saying the 60+ hr work weeks were becoming very challenging although I loved my job. Hopefully when I said I find the RN Case Manager role to be a crucial one in facilitating safe discharges and I am highly interested in sharing my knowledge and experience within that role. I also said that my recent experience has prepared me for the multi-tasking and diverse dimensions of a job such as the one being interviewed for so hopefully that helped and I hope they call me back! The pay is salary based with 36 or 40 hr work weeks and on call every 5th weekend. I cannot even begin to express how working 40 hours a week pleased me. Not the salary part so much BUT it was near what I was making as a DON!! WT_! Anyway, prayers would be great. I have another interview for the same position in another nearby city on Tuesday so I am also looking forward to that one. Have a great weekend all! Oh yeah, by the way, I am nearly crazy with nothing work-related to do!! lol. Strange feeling but welcomed. Resting is all I have been doing to say the least. :)

Thanks to all for your support and kind words. Truly appreciated here! :) Today, I feel better than I have felt in 9 months!! A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders to say the least.....and I have a phone interview in 30 minutes.

That is what I did today. Today was the last time they were going to abuse me and use me to the extreme! I have my notice today and later this afternoon was asked to turn in my badge, keys and security fab and that my belongings would be waiting for me. I came, collected my things, demanded to inspect my office (which I did and of course they forgot to include many things), and I left, unfortunately, not quietly.

Thanks so much for the advice and insight. Unfortunately, no ADON to help and not one to be had within the management model there.

Agreed! Well, they will now be down a DON as well. I pity the pour soul who thinks they may be able to do this job.

Thanks so much for your insight and guidance! I actually have had several "talks" with the snit that is or should I say was my boss. I put in my notice today, and asked to go home for the afternoon. I asked directly if I was being terminated and the response was, "As I said, you will go home for the afternoon". I did so accordingly, and was called at 4pm and asked to bring my keys, security key, and my badge and that my belongings would be waiting for me. I asked again, if I was being terminated, and the response was, "I shared your letter of resignation with corporate, and we feel your resignation should be effective today." I came in, got my things, and did not leave quietly to say the least. To answer your questions, there was only me as DON, and three MDS Coordinators/Managers with census of 120. No nurse consultant either...only the Corporate Ops Director who is not a nurse and has felt she has adequately trained me... At any rate, I know that I am employable and have been actively looking none-the-less, have an interview tomorrow and next Tuesday. I left knowing I did the best I could do. I also filed a formal complaint with the DQA & DHS as well. Thanks again for your support!

Hello all, I am new to this forum and found it by searching for hours...It seems to be filled with fellow leaders in nursing like myself and I am in need of some guidance, advice, or whatever you can offer a struggling DON. I have been a nurse for nearly 20 years, and have worked in LTC, Acute Care, CCU, ICU, Disease Management, Travel Nursing, etc, and have now "settled down" with a job that I always wanted to do. I am the DON of a LTC Skilled Nursing Facility in WI, and within a non-traditional nursing management model. My facility is a 120-bed facility, and I have 3 MDS Coordinators who are to be unit managers as well. I have been in this role for 9 months now and have worked consistantly 60-70 hrs per week, and am on call 24/7. I have always been very efficient, a leader, have great organization skills, have managed and worked as charge RN in nearly every job I have had and this one, I have to say, is about killing me! The responsibilities of our jobs are certainly broad and time consuming, but what I have been handling seems to be the job of more than one person. Here are a list of my responsibilities which I am sure will not be all inclusive..... -Staff Development and Education (In-services monthly & Nursing meetings) -Behavior Med Management and roundly with Psychiatrist Bi-monthly, TD screen management, etc. -Hire, recruit and evaluate all nursing staff -Infection Control (to which we just recieved an level L F-tag during our influenza outbreak), Epidemiology within my monitoring, ensuring adherence to McGeers criteria and CDC, etc. -QA daily of behavior charting, Summaries, Incidents, Falls, MD Orders, New admits, Symptom Pursuits. QA weekly of Med rooms, passes, accurate charting, follow up with SO/MD's, etc., etc., etc. -Daily MD rounds (we have MD's in our building for about 4 hours per day), and monitoring for accurate and compliant Mandated visits with each resident. -Nutrition Risk Committee, Skin Committee, Behavior Committee, Medicare Committee, Falls committee...Chair of all of them.. -Required to staff (despite being salary) to improve PPD numbers one 12 hour shift per 2 week schedule -PPD management with numbers that seem impossible to reach, in addition to staffing with the help of a scheduler (Thank you Jesus!) -Employee Infection Control -Immunization of Staff of TB, Hep B, FLU, etc, as well as Residents and keep current daily. -Troubleshoot with staff and be available 24/7 for any nursing concerns, and resolution of conflicts -Medication error investigations and re-educations -Discipline and re-education of all nursing staff. -Deal with and resolve resident and family as well as staffing complaints. Now, I am sure I have forgotten something, but I feel like I am doing the job of at least three people, work everyday at home, and have now been written up 4 times since October by a brand new 23 year old new grad NHA with no medical background who needs to tell me everyday that she is my boss. I am undermined by one of my MDS Coordinators daily who was once the DON, and have a brand new nurse recently hired into one of the MDS roles (not by me mind you), and another who rarely checks her email or mailbox. I rarely get office time until after 6pm as I am out there on the floor with my staff, educating newer nurses, and attempting to understand the lack of professional accountability throughout my staff (especially seasoned and experienced nurses), and when I do get an hour or so in my office, it is to listen to a million messages and return phone calls. I am now completely spent, sleep about 4-5 hours per day and one day a week on the weekends I sleep all day (literally), just from exhaustion. I had exactly 30 days of training from an interim DON who had never been a DON and truly have learned it all on my own. Can anyone out there, tell me I am nutz, or tell me that this is the reality of a DON job?! Any advice would be helpful, or even just telling me to quit whining would be sufficient. I am paid fairly well, but at this rate making about $10 buck an hour, and my kids and husband (who I thank God for everyday), are surprised when I come home before 9pm....and I go in at 6 or 630 am!! Help, as I am at the end of my rope for sure. Looking so forward to your responses. Michele