Nurse Candy

Dear Adaptation, Thank you so much for your reply. You don't know what an encouragement that was to me. Slow documentation might not kill a patient, but I guess Medicare penalties can kill a business. I guess that is more important to them than someone who is good with the patients. But, aren't they why we are in the business? I have been in a supervisory position before. Even if I had to talk to a girl about something she might have done wrong or could improve on, I always tried to find something good to say, too. I think it is one of the duties of a supervisor to do her part to make sure her girls are doing the best that they can. The second-in-command (the owner was in the Philippines visiting her sick mother), who was the one who told me to "take a hike", actually told me that my "positive reinforcement" was my paycheck. It wasn't her duty to give me "warm fuzzies". Would her marriage survive long without "warm fuzzies" from her hubby? I think not. Not only do I now have no job; four days after my "firing" found me with a broken fibula. It is a struggle just to get through my own ADL's, let alone try to look for work. I can't stay at the desk or computer too long - my toes (the only thing I can see sticking out of my cast) get to looking like little stuffed sausages and get rather dusky looking if they stay in a dependent position too long. Several of my patients have actually continued a relationship with me outside of work. Their choice. Of course I welcomed it. Kind of validates what I knew and said about my being a good nurse and the patients liking me, huh? I could use some prayers and some encouragement. Who is going to want to hire me when they see me hobbling/crutching in through their door? Thanks again, Adaptation, for your encouragement. I hope to have a good report for all of you very soon. "Crutchingly" Yours, Nurse Candy

Thank you everyone for all of your help, especially tburrell. All of them did help me quite a bit. I was actually told that my charting was improving after that. But now look what has happened: I am truly devastated right now. I would like to find some Christians who really do treat others as they would want to be treated. I have come to the conclusion that Christians, as well as nurses, "eat their young". I worked for an organization run by a local Baptist church. Today I have "lost" (they "let me quit") the home nursing job that I have only held since June 23. Was I a bad nurse? No! All of my patients loved me. My downfall was that !@#$%^&*()+! Medicare paperwork. I could not, for the life of me, get it all done in the time that it was supposed to be done in. It seemed like the requirements were always changing. I couldn't keep up. I bet even "normal" have this trouble. But, I have ADHD, and although I have an IQ of 120 and am quite smart, my reading and writing speed have always been abnormally slow. If I was there to affect the lives of my patients, why have I been taken away so soon? What does God have for me to do? Now? I have been very down and low and depressed for most of the day. Crying for most of it, too. Not only do I have ADHD, but also bipolar disorder and anxiety. I'm not in too great of shape right now. I sure could use some love and encouragement and advice and email right now. ------------------- Candy, RN, BS @}-------}-------

O.K. I have a question related to this one. I am getting back into nursing after 15 years out of it. I am in home health. I have tried twice now (two times each) to draw blood on little old ladies, and I have been unsuccessful each time. Where does a rusty old nurse go to "relearn" the knack I seem to have lost, without torturing my lovely old patients? Candy

I ran across this discussion board "by accident" when I was looking for information on home health nursing. I am currently working as a home health nurse. What I am looking for is charting information on nurses notes on a visit. What do you say? How do you say it? What do you include? How do you do all this in a way that is acceptable to Medicare?