alabastershadow

I am newly employed in my fourth job in just over a year of nursing. The first I had was a wonderful nursing home (I know those words seem to be an oxymoron) I disliked very little in the six months I worked for the home, but I met this wonderful cowboy and I wanted to move closer to him. So I moved and found another nursing home job in another city. That's when it all began. With in two months I had enemies at this new job. One of which stemmed from my working as an aide. Yet she was their prime example of nursing, and thus I was "let go" when asked the DON said "you aren't fired we're just letting you go." Ok... Enter home #3... Felt like home again. Nice people, great residents good staff... Until someone decided I wasn't doing my job. Not that the residents weren't taken care of but that I needed too much help. I rarely asked for any help and when I did it was for something I had never done, for a new nurse it only happened enough times in the three months I worked there aroun six times. Taking care of nearly 80 residents by yourself and having to change a catheter on a five hundred lb woman, and the bulb wouldn't deflate is not something I knew what to do with so I asked for help. This sort of thing. So I was slated to "reorientate" (why do people use this 'non'word) on days. I was offered a job elsewhere making much more. That job is a prison and its a completely new world from nursing homes...I'm not really sure if it will last but ya I feel your pain.

ps- i also agree with the statement "I wouldnt ask you to do anything I wouldn't do." and i've proven this with each of my aides, if i'm not up to my nose charting. I am on the hall helping with each of their rounds. I don't think that because i'm an LPN i'm above resident care. After all we are still there fore the care.

beary-nice, in response to your question. I've often taken her questions of the other shifts and acted on them, they get better for a few days, but then they slack off. I tend to handle it each time it comes up. However, the aide in question does not do everything perfect everytime. So, if i were to write up these aides because they made a mistake of not taking out one trash bag, i'd be writing her up left and right as well. I tend to start with OJ and sugar, then as i work nights, I will find some peanutbutter and crackers to help stabilize the glucose in the blood. My own thing. Works well. Yes the aide does at times fall asleep on the job, and then she complains about others who do the same. I tend to walk through the room and bang a trash can or something. To wake them up. I am not without fault i have nodded once or twice (never falling asleep just the initial nod) and then gotten up and checked on residents, done anything to keep myself from sleeping. I think anyone on nights has had a nod or two, but when people start snoring the gloves have to come off. I dont know, I know we have problems the two of us. the aide and myself. Because i want to like her, and I want everything to work well. But she and I apparently don't mesh. Maybe it's me being too sensitive, but maybe some of it isn't me. And regardless I've got to handle it someway.

yes and no. She has told me i have to deal with it first, and then she will deal with it. Pretty much if i write her up, there will be big dealings in the works. I had a long almost hour conversation with the DON the other day. And she said that while she understood where I was, i had to tell her to stop, and make her see it. If she refused to come around, then she wouldbe called into the office. pretty much I have to be the charge nurse. (and I call them my aides, because mostly we all work well together, and i go to bat for them if something goes wrong. Even the one I do not get along with I will stand up for.) hopefully this makes sense

thank you Suesquatch for seeing what i'm having issues with. The DON is aware of the issues, she also has had them with this aide. She was only hoping that it was directed only at her, and as she has minimal contact with 'said aide' that she could continue to use her, instead of trying to find someone new. Unfortunately it's not just 'me' she has attitude with, it is not just what she 'knows' that she tells off about. I have NO problem with her coming to me with an issues. The trash not being changed in resident's rooms, a person not being cleaned up, her feeling that she's being dumped on from other shifts. Those are all acceptable. She, telling me what to do, how to do it, that it's not how her 'best friend' nurse does it, those are accepted until it gets too much. When I started I had a resident who's bs dropped to 30. She was able to drink OJ and sugar. The aide in question tells me "that's not gonna work." think a three year old sing song voice. "The OTHER nurse uses soda pop and it pops it right back up." I looked at her and very sweetly explain to her that I would do the oj and sugar first, and then move on to other venues, because that is what the order stated. She got angry and told decided then and there I was not a good nurse. A resident with chest pain, diaphoretic, bp out of whack. i send him to the ER, of course he's just in 'pain' no heart attack or anything, but I had to follow protocol. The aide tellsme "There's no reason for you to send that resident to the hospital. He's not hurting, and he's not having a heart attack." I can list a million different ways that she's overstepped her bounds as an aide. I wont. I don't feel any different than she does, aside from the fact that I have to keep her working during hte night when she falls asleep. But apparently I dont have the ability according to some here to do that either. I'm at my wits end. I ask for help and apparently i'm the one in the wrong. That's cool, but I can't deal with her anymore, so i guess i'll be looking for a new job elsewhere. In short she gets what she wants... she wins.

oops.

the problem is thus. I can let it fly for as long as possible. She's good at her job, i'll give her that. She can be very accomadating, but she is also the same person who will walk down the hall, come to my cart and not only say. "Mr smith (false name) wants a pain pill." When I reply that it is not time yet, and ask her nicely to inform him of such, which is in her scope of practice. Just to relay that information. Instead of saying "I'm busy, or sure. or whatever." she chooses to nod and do whatever she wants instead of that. I think that the man in question has been informed that he can't have it yet, and then BLAMMO all hell breaks lose on the home front. BS of 44 two people who wont take their medicines, and finally I make it to the end of a med pass. get to the desk, and the same aide says "DID YOU TAKE HIM PAIN PILLS, BECAUSE HE WANTS THEM AND YOU NEED TO TAKE THEM>" Yes she was yelling. the problem is not the fact that i think little of her, or that i think highly of myself. I think she is an excellent aide, aside from when she refuses to go into one resident's room because he annoys her, or things of that nature. My problem is how she takes offense to everyone and everything. She makes it her life's work to run the hall, and she is not the one in charge.

No I've never worked at this facility before becoming an LPN. I didn't want to deal with the "odd" dynamic of working above people i'd worked alongside. I'm at the end of my rope, i feel that I should just give up and walk away, mainly because I do not have the backbone god gave a tuna. I'm afraid that she will hell, i'm not sure what i'm afraid she will do, But aside from not doing it because i don't have time to do the aides work and mine too (all of both jobs) I've over heard the aide talking to people (not just me) and saying things like "it's about time she did something" speaking of me. She's the sort that rants and raves and cusses and I have to hear this all the time. I know what HAS to be done in theory, I just cant seem to act it out, i'm too afraid of the rammifications. Someone kick me in the ass please?

I have an aide that I used to think worked very well. I'm not sure that she is such a great aide anymore. She 'tells' me what to do, 'refuses' to do things that are expected and asked of her. And 'tells' me when to do things that I know how to do. I am an LPN.. she is an aide. She spouts quite often "I've never been written up in 27 years of aide work, and i dont intend to start now" yet she gripes constantly, and she refuses to accept any type of constructive criticism, much less praise. If I say "You are a great aide" before I can get the BUT in there, she says "Of course i am, i've done this for 27 years...." see above statement. I end up fed up and have to walk away, or else I'll jump all over her, and i want to be the professional one in the situation. however, with my BP skyrocketing because of the stress of her 'calling the shots' and my lack of a backbone, i'm not quite sure hwo to handle this. I'll accept ANY advice. (btw i work in a LTC facility and I am her direct supervisor)

Its starting to get easier. Med pass takes me more like 2 and a half hours without short cuts.. and under 2 with. I dont do things half assed, but I will pop joe smith's meds out with John tuckers when they are in the same room and give the first to the first and the second to the second. saves steps. yes I realize this is cardinal sin #1. but as long as state isnt in the building... I dont see the harm. I know what person gets what. And charting is getting easier too. If nothing happens you chart (working nights) vitals, what they are doing.. (resting in bed with eyes closed)...then if something IS wrong you put that here. (Combative with staff during pericare.) it's all simple in the charting business really. What causes the most issues now: distractions. distractions. distractions. Always remember (and this is to me as much as anyone else): You have a 2 hour window that does not include, transferring, emergencies, and the like. If state can't see that transferring two residents in the span of a med pass causes you to seep into three hours... well who cares. Your facility gets a red flag. I've learned a lot since starting LTC. Some of it good, some of it bad. But it's never dull, as I feared it would be during school. I have every hope of going back to school in the spring semester, finishing up the few basics i have for RN school, and then proceeding on as soon as possible. Not because i'm not happy with what I am, but because I aspire for more. I want to work with children, I want to do Emergency care. And who knows after I continue on, I may find myself back in Geri Care. And that would be cool too.

my question is this. evveryone that has had a pain pills script. does it always say "For back pain" or "for lower abdominal pain?" because when i've had them it has stated "take 2 tabs every four hours as needed for pain." not a specific location. To me, and many others it means if i am in pain i can take this medication. As long as the script is valid.

I should also point out that i take HALF of a pill at a time.

your reasoning confounds me. i have anxiety attacks. I have a scrip of alprazolam 0.25 to be taken as needed no more than tid. I get 90 in a script. I can use the same script for 3-6 mths. am I addicted? Or breaking some unknown code with people needing prescriptions? please explain.

A-MEN. I hate feet. ewww... i know they are supposd to be there, but please god dont make me touch them, or look at them EVEn with gloves on! ewwwww lol

we don't know why she had the prescription, it may have been for severe pain before. That makes this post null and void doll. If she has pain pills for pain, she can use them. And why else would she have pain pills? We should all be a little more compassionate I would think you would be able to look it up at the pharmacy you generally use. How many docs do you see? one of them had to have prescribed it, just call to the normal docs you go to. If you don't feel like that, call all the pharmacies your frequent, one of those places will have the information. Worst case scenario they will flag your license and you'll have to explain to the board what happened. As long as you have found the information by then, you will 'probably' be ok. Unless of course the reason the did a pop drug test was becasue darvocets went missing. Then you might have a problem. Just my .02 cents.