nurse555

A friend of mine just started her pre reqs there and will likely start her nursing program next fall from what her advisor told her.

I wanted to thank everyone again for thier input. Just to update. I have transfered to another facility that will still meet my contract obligations and I have discussed my issues with an attorney and have filed a complaint with HR. The facility I'm going to knows nothing of the bad situation I was in and I feel like its a second chance to start over. Thanks to all again:)

Thanks to all for the input. In my opinion I think they're trying to make me quit. I have had absolutely no problems with the 3 previous DONs just this one. Zim where are you located? It sounds as if my LTC and yours could be run by the same company. I called my corporate person today and explained this situation to her and she is going to check on this for me. I'm seriously leaning toward finding an attorney to explore my options. Again thanks for reading and for offering your advice.

Hi. I just need a place to vent. I have been employed at the same place for 5 yrs. I am on my 4th DON. I went back to school for my RN this past year and now my work life is total chaos. I have a scholarship through my employer and have to work for them for 2 years. In the last 3 months I have been demoted, told I would have a day shift position that is now being filled by someone with less senority ( 2yrs less) and was told that when I finish school I will only be working 3 days per week (on evening shift) instead of the 32 I have to work to pay back my scholarship. I have never had any disciplinary writeup the whole time I have worked there until recently and management put it into my file without my signature or telling me what it said when I was demoted and ironically everyone in the building knew about it 2 days before I did. I have been blindsided by all of this. After all of this crap the DON says to me how do you feel about this?? Honestly!!!!! Then she has taken it upon herself to direct me to other jobs that would be full time. Anyone else in a similar situation or have any advice? BTW I am due to graduate in a week how's that for timing. Thanks for reading. Sorry its so long but I feel a little better:banghead:

Thanks for your responses and your great advice. I think I'm going to ask about a job shadow experience for both to see it in the real world and not as a student. I truly appreciate your input. Thanks!

I have read on this site that you need 1-2 years of experience before traveling. I am a soon to be new grad and need some advice. I have an interview coming up and am undecided as to what area to look into. I am trying to decide between cardiac and nephrology. Since you all are experienced I could use your seasoned advice. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To the OP welcome to geriatrics. Not all places are like this. A lot depends upon your management team and their focus and views. Some of this might seem kind of excessive it happens a lot but remember who you truly work for and that is the residents because without them you'd have no one to care for. Meds passes are tough even for experienced people who do them often enough to sleepwalk through it. Don't be afraid to speak up because you are the patient's advocate. Believe me this is the only thing that gets me through my day and this is in my opinion the reason for a lot of turnover is the focus on the money and not on the resident.

I feel for you. We have the same situation where I am. Unfortunately most of the scheduling has to do with if you have came in extra and been a team player(HaHa!). If you haven't been a team player you can go from working a full time schedule to maybe 3-6 days in 2 weeks. I have worked in places where your schedule was posted for a month at a time and you had until the 25th of the previous month to make your requests off. Of course you could trade shifts in a pinch because everybody seemed to work together with a few exceptions. A lot depends on your manager or DON.

Where at in central Illinois? I am from there also and would also like to get into consulting. Robin

This isn't a reply but a related question. Has anyone had experience in dealing with fed survey with high fall risk folks. I'm just curious to hear what their take on this is. Thanks

Nurse Thank goodness they are gone now. The major area of concern for them was falls. Just curious how did your survey turn out? Thanks again.

Have you talked with your DON or supervisor about this? Sometimes they can help you out with people like that. If not maybe talk with their supervisor. Who knows they may treat others that way not just nursing facility staff and residents in this manner. Good luck. I can sympathize with you there.

Thanks for the tips. I need all the advice I can get.

Just wondering if anyone has any experiences they would like to share regarding this. My facility is in the process of having a federal survey done and I have never dealt with this before. Thanks for the input

Thanks again for all your input. I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks for all your info Trauma. My company has a 2 year employment for their scholarship, just wondering how long your hospital requires and what their prn options are? Thanks Robin

Thanks so much for all your posts. Trauma I live in a small town near Beardstown. My current employer is paying for my ADN but that's the only tuition assistance they offer right know. What hospital do you work for? I'll keep that in mind when I start searching using the great suggestions from all of you. Thanks again Robin

Just wondering if anyone knows of any programs that offer repayment of loans for anyone wanting to go into nursing education. Looking for alternative ways to finance my MSN. I know this type of aid is available to those pursuing a career in education. Thanks for your input. Robin

PJ-you sound like you work with me! Is it the staff or the multiple personalities that take over the management? My fav-the folks who talk about how much they care and let staff walk all over them, give substandard care to residents and then get by with it. No one is perfect but at least the management can be human and compassionate

Some of our more harmless looking residents are real sweet and then they're beating the crap out of you so it really doesn't matter what your physical size is.

Is this guy like this to other residents as well? If so and it isn't addressed it will lead to a huge problem especially if another resident is hurt. There are facilities out there that specialize in residents with behavioral problems such as your resident. Does your facility do involuntary discharges to psych unit/hospital? I know its very time consuming but if he is a danger to others it might be worth looking into. Just my opinion. I hope you and your coworker get some resolution to this. Its scary to work with people like that. I had one of those fellows that would just snap. after he went to another facility he shoved someone and they died from this. the facility was fined 20,000 for failure to protect residents. Robin

As a nurse I think CNA med techs are a bad idea. I worked in an ALF for a very brief time and left because I was not comfortable being responsible for someone passing out meds that only had an 8 hour training course. Some of the med techs were very competent but it seemed like they were the minority. Hopefully someone somewhere will wake up and realize that its not an effective solution before someone dies after a med error. Maybe when the lawyers show up they'll figure it out.

Do you have a back up person? Most places have someone trained to fill in for vacations, etc. I sympathize with you for the backlog. I had a similar situation took the position and the state showed up after a month when I was trying to catch up and cover shifts on the floor. I'm glad to know it isn't just me that is constantly receiving calls to come in and cover shifts for call ins. I'm hourly so the time adds up quickly so they don't like to call me that often. Good luck and I hope you find some training to help you Robin

I am the MDS coordinator for my facility. Although I have only been doing this for a few months, I love this job. I was at the point where after 11 years as a nurse I was ready to leave the profession entirely. When I started this it was on the job training basically as I had no "training". I have attended some wonderful seminars and have learned a lot by this and by reading old posts here. Good luck! Robin

Robin Thanks for the reply. At the facility I work at we have been told by consultant we can't use them. When I asked I was told it had to be done through pathlinks. Of course my reply then was it is through pathlinks. I again was told no. Crazy right? Anyway thanks again I'm sure I'll have more questions to ask. Robin

I'm relatively new to MDS and I was wondering if any other MDS coordinators are using MPAF for your medicare assessments. I attended a training seminar and learned that in Illinois (I'm not sure about other states) if you submit a full assessment for your medicare the state just disregards everything except what is on the MPAF. Just wanting to get some input from others. Thanks for your input. Robin