KarynicaRN

My orientation in LTC lasted about 3 shifts and then I was expected to get out there on the floor on my own. The hardest part for me was learning the names of all the residents. I worked the night shift and did a 6 pm, 8 pm and then 5 am med pass. Once you learn the residents' names and medications, it will be easier, especially if you are assigned the same halls. I first trained with a nurse on a hall and then the next shift I worked, I was placed with a different nurse. It gives you a different perspective from each nurse you work with concerning the job. I was also first trained on the day shift because it is considered the busiest of the two shifts. Day nurses see so many different things from the night nurses. Both shifts have their own uniqueness about them. Always tell your supervisor if you feel you haven't been trained enough. I hope this helps and good luck! :)

Does it really matter to you and upset you that much that she did all those things in a few days time? I have a resume posted on Indeed.com and yes, I have received calls from numerous employers for jobs that I never had applied for...I just don't understand why you are so worried about the OP. You said you are suspicious of her...ok, that's your problem. The OP came here looking for help, not to be chastised. SMH

this forum is like every other internet forum out there. You have your group of long-timers who flock together and bash and trash and then call it "an observation or an assessment". LOL

Sad to say, but here in Southern Illinois I'm making $22. an hour. All RN's at this long term care facility start at the same wage no matter how many years experience.

Hello everyone! I need help on how to deal with a DON who keeps getting me confused with other nurses, or just outright blames me for something that happened on the shift before me. I work in long-term care on the night shift. We are a new facility with 6 patients. My DON keeps getting me confused with other nurses and calls me at home, leaving terrible, nasty messages. I'm really tired of calling her back, her realizing it's me and then trying to backtrack. She blamed me for the med cart keys getting locked up in the med cart. That was the other Karen. She blamed me for another nurse calling the physician concerning a patient with a 100.9 temp and getting an order for a CBC and urinalysis. That was the evening nurse. I turned in the midnight census and because she couldn't find it, she discusses it with the evening nurse instead of asking me directly where I had placed the form. This is really getting old. I don't see the other nurses going through this stress. What is this DON going to do when we get 120 patients in this facility if she can't keep track of just a few nurses? Please help me!

Yes, my daughter is an alcoholic and a drug user. I raised her until she was 17 and then she moved in with her grandparents because I would not tolerate her throwing things at me, hitting her little sister and bringing beer and drugs into MY house. This is the girl that calls herself a professional. She has hated me since I made her stop beating up her little sister. You can call me a bad mother, but you don't know me. You don't know that her father beat me and then beat my first child who died. You don't know anything about my life and what this girl has done. The whole town knows her reputation, yet doesn't even know I am her mother because I have distanced myself from her self destructive behavior and refuses to get help. And yes, this is about HIPAA. My daughter tried to make me look bad by bringing it up in another person's home. I asked a fair question and instead of getting a fair response I get dumped on because people think this is a mother daughter struggle. I can take that to another forum.

ok, I see that some people are not understanding nor maybe have I given the correct information. My daughter tries to discredit me all the time in front of others. She has tried in the past to make me look like an idiot, much to her displeasure. If you could just see her room, those of you who are nurses would probably call public health. How would you feel if your daughter is always in trouble with the law? Has a rap sheet? Is known around town as the "drunk"...and she has the nerve to call me out claiming I am violating HIPAA. I guess I came to the wrong place to talk about this. I won't bring up my private life again.

Let me just clarify. The people in question were never in my care at any facility. They were never my patients/residents or even friends. Hope this helps :) I remember back in nursing school being taught about privacy and how just being in an elevator and talking about someone without even mentioning their name could give away important information, especially if someone in the elevator could be a family member. I just can't believe my daughter being the "professional" that she is could spout off something so ridiculous to me. I did tell her that I was talking about an event that happened back in 2004 and that everyone in the community knows about this event because it was covered all over our state because it could have caused someone to lose their life. I think I might just tell my daughter she needs to read up on HIPAA again. Obviously she doesn't know much about it.

This is just a general gripe, but I would like some input on this, so here goes: My 25 year old daughter works for a CILA home. She started out as a DSP, was also trained as a med-tech and now is the evening supervisor at the DD facility she works. She thumps her chest and prides herself in being a "professional". Now, please don't get me wrong because this girl is MY daughter, but she is a raging alcoholic and drug user, but remember...she is a "professional". Last night I was talking to my husband about a supreme court case involving some people in our town. I live in a very rural area and everyone knows that these people are in prison because of what they did to another person. My daughter walks in on the tail end of the conversation and says sarcastically, "RN mother breaking the HIPAA act, you should know better" I told her to mind her own business, we were talking about a published supreme court judging on the people in our town that were sent to prison. It dates back to 2004 and it is being used as a tool for law students because it has many useful parts that had never been addressed before in a court of law. It's on the net, for crying out loud. So, I get chastized for talking about the news and a published legal document. Who is teaching these young people about HIPAA and do they even really know what it means?

I am definately addicted to Xanax. I have been on it since the death of my son in 1997. I just wish the doc had given me something else for my nightmares/sleep. I have talked to my psychiatrist about being on this drug for so long and the long term effects. I was told that after 70 years of prescribing Xanax there have been no long term problems. Doc tried to wean me off this mess but it didn't work..I went through the roof and thought I was going to die..the pull was so strong. Some people have told me that Xanax and other Benzo's re-wire the brain to make it think you HAVE to have the drug..that it is part of you. I have been on 2mg for many years and haven't had to increase my dosage, but still feel like I am definately addicted. I am also on Cymbalta which in my case is a joke. I don't feel anything like those commercials show people running out and having a great time with their families and pets. I feel like a zombie and so tired all the time. Oh well, sorry for ranting..I wish you so much luck in finding a job that will work out for you and your meds. :)

I take xanax for sleep because a whacked out doctor thought it was the right medication for me and now I am addicted. I have tried the whole psychiatrist thing and it doesn't work, so doc insists that I have to stay on this crap for life. I always test positive for benzo's and the DON of any potential job will always call and ask me if I have a script for it. I produce the script and they are happy, but it makes me want to crawl into a hole. It's not easy living with PTSD, plus depression and then added on top of that Xanax for sleep that I shouldn't have ever been prescribed. If I had panic attacks then I would have understood the docs choice years ago, but it's too late now. I try not to divulge too much info about myself to anyone because it can backfire and cause a huge misunderstanding. Explain things as best as you can. I wish you luck :)

oh gosh, boiled peanuts! I live in Illinois. On our first time driving to Florida we went through Alabama and boiled peanuts were everywhere. On our way back through Alabama we stopped and got some fresh out of the huge pot and were they delicious. I still to this day think about how good those peanuts were. We don't have them here in good old Southern Illinois :) I love the south and can't wait to go back and visit again.

I would return as a medic for the USAF, but since my back won't let me pass the physical I can't do this. So I guess I would work as a travel agent. I worked for a travel agency one time for about a year and loved it, except the pay sucked , but it was a great job and fun too!

Good luck! Sounds very good and hopefully just what you are looking for in a nursing position. :)

I wish I could tell you something different, but you are making more money in Chicago than down here in the extreme southern part of the state. All of the nursing homes that I have had the displeasure of working for pay $18-$19 an hour and I am sure the cost of living is way lower here. I extend my sympathies to you while working LTC. It is the never ending med pass, charting, etc, and yes as you described..things that would bring the state down on a facility and pass out citations like candy. I cringe every time I walk into a nursing home. I guess maybe the burn-out has made me feel this way. Also, I know the feeling of being on your feet all day and hurting so bad when you get home and being so exhausted you can't do anything else. I wish you luck in finding a really good job that you deserve. LTC is not for everyone and I have come to the realization that it's NOT for me.

try not to be so hard on yourself. You had a bad experience before with a psych patient and it seems the negative of it all came rushing back. It happens to us all at times. I have PTSD from my time in Iraq. I try not to talk about it much, but there are some days that are harder than others and I feel like I go into a daze especially when I would take my nursing assistant students into the VA nursing facility where we did our clinicals, but I made it through class after class. Just remember that as a nurse you will always have psych patients. I remember my psych instructor telling us that we rub shoulders with psych patients everyday at the store, we just don't realize it. Keep your chin up and if it gets to be too much I would make an appointment with a psychiatrist. I have one through the VA and she is the greatest. I wish you the best of luck :)

I would see a physician is the pain continues or gets worse. I was a CNA back in the 80's and spent years in agony after lifting a certain patient. It was only in 2000 that I finally told my doc to do an MRI that I found out I have bulging disks in L4 and L5, plus S1, that slip into a nerve in my back if I do too much or turn the wrong way or even pick up something on the floor. Please try to rest as much as possible and do see someone about your pain if it continues. Being a CNA, nurse etc can be back breaking work. Lifting residents/patients is what did it to me. I can still work, but I have to be very careful. Make sure you watch your posture, don't bend over from the waist; stoop (which I am sure you have heard 100 times) and just try to be careful. Hope this helps a bit :)

I went to the bookstore and bought the NCLEX-PN book and studied. Also, don't beat yourself up so much until you know if you passed or failed. I remember doing the same thing as you are doing now. I worried myself into a fit and it took about 2 weeks or longer to get my results back. The computer shut off at exactly 86 questions and I thought sure I had failed. Just try to relax and let's hope you passed with flying colors! :)

I only use RN after my name at work. :)

About the regulations concerning medications; I too am at a loss. The new program is supposed to allow residents to keep their medications in their rooms in a locked cabinet. If a resident has a 7am med and doesn't get up until 9 or 10, then it would seem to be a med error because it wasn't given. But..the state wants the residents to have their own say about when they take their meds, have meals, etc. It's going to be a real change for many of the staff.

I have the same lack of energy, feel terrible and it seems to be worse at work. My problem is burn-out. Some time off and a vacation is in order for you. Hope you will feel better soon. :)

I would have chosen A, only because it would allow the patient to ellaborate more on their condition if they want. Try not to worry. When I took my NCLEX-RN I had to go through 265 questions and thought sure I had failed. I had been told that some people taking the test will have to go to the very end just because the computer is programmed that way. I know it's no fun waiting for your test results. I was sitting on the edge for several weeks waiting back in 1996.:wink2:

yes, ancillary staff and physicians who show up late at night unannounced make me crazy. They think we are supposed to stop everything and run to help them. I was in the middle of a med pass, which has to be done on time btw, and a person I had never seen before walks up and asks me where she can find a certain resident. I didn't want to come across harsh, but I asked her who she was. She says "oh I am Dr. So and So and I am the Podiatrist here cutting toenails"... at 8pm at night. Why on this green earth she didn't come to me and state that she was in the building is beyond me. I know how you feel about staff that thinks we are supposed to drop everything and run to help them because we have nothing else to do. HMPPHHHH!

I was told years ago by the Administrator that I HAVE to take a lunch BY LAW. I am in Illinois. I explained to the Administrator that we don't have the time to take a lunch. He stated that with two nurses on day shift there is plenty of time to take a lunch and that I need to start clocking out and taking my lunches, or the facility would get into trouble. I started clocking out for lunch and still working. It's pathetic when there is no time for the nurses to take a lunch, but the aides get their smoke breaks and lunches, plus they can leave the building as long as staffing is covered. During the 6pm-6am shift I am the only nurse and I cannot leave the building. It's called being a nurse and not having enough time to even eat. Sad, but true

In my rural area here in Illinois $45,000 would be a blessing. Almost every single hospital, nursing home and home health care pays $19.00 an hour. Some people think I'm crazy to work for that amount, but our cost of living is low and I don't know of any other places that pay higher unless I went to Chicago.