ilovetheelderly

So after nurses get off their work duty, take care of family, struggle and make family sacrifices (financial, emotional, physical) and start going towards their bachelors, Hopefully, your family has survived, because something has to give, where will the money come from to pay to correspond education with employment. Lets face it, its a bunch of c--p, its bad enough the money just isn't there!! Medicare reimbursements and Medicaid reimbursements just want us to give more and with less people do the job. Someone down in Albany has gone off the DEEP END!!! Working nurses sacrifice enough without having some bureaucrats tell them what will now be required!! NO WAY!! You have nurses now that are barely making it financially and emotionally because of what the profession now entails!

Thank you for making me laugh!!!I needed this!!! Bless you!!!

You hit it right on the nose, preach it sister!! This is the source of our many problems, we want to not know where does it end?? Great thread!!

Cat, first of all just feel warm hugs right now from me to you and yours. My soul aches for you and I'm glad you called, let me tell you its a fantastic step. Let me tell you I'm praying right now for you and your name is going into my prayer journal, along with your loved ones. I don't know your pain but I know what pain can feel like. There must be someone close or nearby whom you know would be willing to hear you and just listen to you, but there is the Almighty Savior who is willing to hear you pour your heart out to. HE IS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER OR A SISTER!! I want you to know that many of us are concerned and care for you. We are here for you and we will always be here for you and yours. Please keep in touch and know that suicide leaves so many of our loved ones in pain forever, because there is only one chance at living and death is permanent, no turning back. YOU ARE NEEDED AND CHERISHED FROM ALL YOUR FELLOW NURSES WITH LOVE AND KISSES. Please keep in touch!!!

Cat, first of all just feel warm hugs right now from me to you and yours. My soul aches for you and I'm glad you called, let me tell you its a fantastic step. Let me tell you I'm praying right now for you and your name is going into my prayer journal, along with your loved ones. I don't know your pain but I know what pain can feel like. There must be someone close or nearby whom you know would be willing to hear you and just listen to you, but there is the Almighty Savior who is willing to hear you pour your heart out to. HE IS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER OR A SISTER!! I want you to know that many of us are concerned and care for you. We are here for you and we will always be here for you and yours. Please keep in touch and know that suicide leaves so many of our loved ones in pain forever, because there is only one chance at living and death is permanent, no turning back. YOU ARE NEEDED AND CHERISHED FROM ALL YOUR FELLOW NURSES WITH LOVE AND KISSES. Please keep in touch!!!

It has been such a wonderful support group and I've come to realize my end for long term care. Its sapped so much out of me and I can no longer give as much as they need. Until something opens up with this new job, a placement agency, for nursing but no longer long term care. In the meantime, its just 4 days a week, no more 5 to 6 days. I've explained to close friends its too much for me and they certainly ditto my sentiments. This new place is an agency that is run by a nurse who 3 ex coworkers now work for and they say, "what took you so long". So, thank you again and I'll keep you updated. This place has been in business for several years and they either do permanent or temporary placement and she is quite respected in this community. She says there is work in every aspect of nursing but they find what you would like and that is one of their goals.

We give meds, put ports in, insulin, fsbgs, vs, t & p, put foleys, lab results and remove stool, give immunizations tb testing, put creams measure wounds, check for o2 sats, change o2 equipment, put res on toilet, clysis, dressing changes and all that it entails, feed and clothe residents, take orders (tele & verbal), deal with residents and their families, assist with prom and rom exercises, wipe noses, oral care, post mortem care, call laundry for lost items, bladder scans, continually prevent the dementia res from falling even though chair and bed alarms go off as soon as you leave them and give them 1:1 etc with folding washcloths, stuffing envelopes, give them cards to play with, put music on, ambulate res and put them in mechanical lifts or assist, hold hands, give hugs, clean nails after filed or cut. All of this continually in everyday tasks and job descriptions, to name a few in long term care and all while you have to do your main job which is "WHAT, WHEN, HOW MUCH, " . If it wasn't for prayer and restful periods (at least a lunch and a restful sleep, and weekends), I would've quit long time ago. Lord, help me not to give up but it doesn't help when families c/o why their demented family member who is incontinent, bed alarm with 2 mats on floor because of frequent falls, fx'd hip that won't be repaired r/t fam's decision to place on comfort care. I had to apologize to family that I was feeding a res next door. Don't families ever feel that maybe they can pick up a wash cloth and try to give comfort themselves to their beloved one or is it always our job, I mean lets get real. Its not the nursing professions fault that these nursing facililties cost almost 8-10,000 dollars a month. I had to stop feeding this res to go get another staff nurse while the aide was I don't know where (she later said she was putting someone else in bed which I do believe her), but I mean when you have a cna on an assisignment with 5 mechanical lifts (and you need 2 people) and many times they're not easy transfers, either they're spitting on you, kicking out of the sling, or just plain heavy people, and then you have to get someone else to feed the res and by this time, the food is cold. This kind of system has to change and then everybody wonders outside the nursing profession why there is a nursing shortage. By the time the person gets to feed the res after an interruption, the res changes their mind. Hopefully, this doesn't always happen but lets face it, this happens more often than you want. Many times we make a difference, but just as many times we can't as nurses give the care we would like to because there aren't enough people giving 100 % which we would like to but we're not superwomen or men unless you have team players. Please pray for all of us that we will try to make a difference as much as we can. Thanks for letting me vent but I'm getting tired of this job description when we're not superwomen or supermen even though this non profit corporation and its nursing administration think we are. Did they forget what it was like to do our job or are some families just more and more unrealistic when they think their mom or dad aren't the same like they use to be, Lord help us, let your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven!!!!

Since I last posted, res started to have an inflammatory event with new lesion-like (red in nature) from Left hand to upper arm and was continually itching. Paxil was d/c'd r/t possible skin reaction which just so happen to be pruritus and rash, can you stand it. This poor res was on Sarna lotion, kenalog, and now desonide mixture from pharmacy after Derm MD continually is probably baffled. Res uses special soap and res family insists its not anything they use for laundry. Thanks for all the information, and all I heard about this Eladil. The article for pruritus is awesome too, thanks for everyone's input. The article also says that some pruritus is ideopathic but we will find relief. Thanks for everyone who posted, I don't know what the MD OR Derm MD will order something quick for the relief. Cool compresses assist also. We've t r ied so many creams it's ridiculous, and with not much relief either. Thanks again everyone. The creams are started for a little while and then they're discontinued and pulled out of the treatment cart so that no one else may use it.

There's a res at our LTC who constantly scratches the skin raw it seems. Family or daughter is in denial about diabetes and the doc has tried Claritin to no avail, Atarax 25 mg tried at HS for 2 days only and abrubtly stopped, and now doc is trying Paxil 10 mg.?? Sarna lotion was tried with no help and d/c'd and now kenalog (med with 2 to 3 different med's in it) with no relief in sight.!! When res scratches the marks are red based and circular in shape, really weird! Res is slightly demented and I guess family or doc want to stay conservative as far as behaviors are concerned because behaviors are present already. Anybody, ever seen these problems, help please.

Where is the choice for the child? Where is the voice of the child, who is listening to this cry or silent cry, all in the name of choice or lets say an option for the mother?!!! We no longer value LIFE, HOW SAD!! All human beings just need to see pictures of the result of pregnancy that is terminated either medically necessary, let's say to protect the life of the mother or it should be a part of health curriculums (in pictures and details). The Dept of Education obviously feels that our children need to know about pregnancy, sex and birth control, but yet we fail to adequately show the other side of pregnancies that lets say are unwanted for a reason or another!! This topic is so deeeeeeeeP, but someone such as yourself has given us that information that we either know about or don't even want to think about it, but even if one person's deep thought or conscience has been touched it is so worth it. Thank you for sharing and may the Lord enable you to either continue or to stop, all in the name of those silent cries of the unborn we don't want to talk or think about for whatever reason.

What a present issue that just makes your job just harder! I often a few years back had to work on a floor at times with this bully (fellow nurse coworker) who would tell me in a very sarcastic and domineering manner of what was needed to be done and not in a polite way. This nurse would want to know where you were going, why, and who was on the phone and what was said and so forth. I always remained professional and many times her behavior was tolerated. Quite a few times, I would walk away or indicate to her that I did have a life outside of nursing that she wasn't welcomed into. For some reason, she was always finished with the med pass 1 hr and 1/2, which was also including rounds, at least 1/2 hr break and maybe 2 cigarette breaks, personal phone calls and who knows what else. Then, she would sit at the nurse's station, do doc's orders and paperwork. Well, her attention to everyone's work caught on to those who then started watching her, and guess what. She was terminated for not passing meds (only passed the so called important ones, which Lord only knows what she did), falsified routine bp's, pulses, temps and treatments. So, sometimes these bullies are trying to cover something else up, but they don't know the good Lord knows everything that goes on and its just a matter of time before their dirty deeds are picked up on!! I pray you hang in there and stay strong and above all else pray without ceasing!!

Thanks for an awesome article, it is so clear and vivid. I will be showing this to my kids, I mean its so sad but like the other posts I had stop eating beef for awhile, then, I slowly went back to it. But wow, what a wake up call, this is incredible!! It's sad that people work in awful conditions too.

It's good to say that in our nursing home, not only do we have a wound care specialist but we also go to seminars to update our knowledge for things are constantly changing in re: wound care. First of all, only licensed NY STATE nurses are able to do dressing changes, I have not witnessed CNA'S willing to do dressing changes, they have enough to do and they value their profession and lives also. Next, betadine is still widely used even though its going to be a long battle getting MD'S and others to stop using it and start using hydrogels, calcium alginate, and even accuzyme, etc. Depending on whether you have too much drainage or not enough drainage to promote healing and the slough needs to get the heck out of there to promote granulation to take place. Ditto, to increasing 2-cal or protein in their diets at med passes to help everything along. The question is who was turning this res. or positioning, was anyone paying attention. Where was the anti decub mattress or pressure relieving mattress and cushion, and who was toileting, bathing, this res. Don't they give thorough peri care meaning washing after each incontinent episode, someone here needs to relay this info to the state, I suspect too many people here were not watching this res properly, once you know someone is immobile r/t CVA, GET OUT THE SPECIAL SKIN CARE PROTOCOLS FOR THEY CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES, HELLO, why weren't these in place. I make it a point to check people's bottoms, heels, and backs regularly and I help out my CNA'S to assist them and ask for them to show me any changes in skin integrity. We use sterile dressing kits for sterile procedures but you'd be surprised what people would try to get away with when they think people don't know any better. What an attitude, this agency staff person supposedly said, this is all she had; I beg to differ. I have also met some exceptional agency personnel whom I hold in high regards in r/t their profession, expertise, and manner. But as we all know, we come in different packages, and this is why we need to be held accountable because there are some out there that just don't care, or just plain ignorant (being kind) AND THEY NEED TO GO WORK WITH BASKETS OR COMPUTERS OR SOMETHING, NOT WITH HUMAN BEINGS!!!!!!!!! Just venting, much love, and remember the majority of all of us are in this field because there is something special about us and we see special qualities in those that need our help.

My mother in law gets this home health care and we are going to say that all of the nurses are fantastic and exceptional but I'm sorry to say that the aides that she has had come to sit down on the couch, do homework, watch tv and I mean the whole 9 yards, etc. One even slept on the couch for the 3/4 of the 2 hours. Don't mind you the scolding we gave her for not calling us when this last one was sleeping. There is a language barrier, but mind you, there is a list with duties and also family notes on the fridge as to why they are there and what to do. They don't even walk to the bathroom with her when she says "I go to bath now". They just sit there and watch TV. We finally addressed the social worker and she told my sis in law that my mother in law c/o too much, and isn't this Medicare fraud. I'm soo upset that these situations continue to happen but I have to let them handle it and I just try to inform them of their rights. I got involved before and my mom in law backfired on me and said I get too involved, so I let them handle it. But one nurse's comment to me was, its as if you're pulling lead, referring to getting the aides to take initiative, they would rather sit down; this is fraud, how about these people that can't advocate for themselves and they are in their homes and these girls do the minimum, if that!!! Sorry, but if you're new, stay away from home care, too much you have to be on top of and that's just the surface, what about your nursing skills which have to be packed in your belt.!! Come up here in NYS and get paid $16+ hr in a long term care facility.

We have to check for the placement of these Fentanyls' and sign off in the MAR!!! This is the lowest of the lowest, how sick and there must've not been regular staff because someone should've noticed and where were the checks in place. Other people must be reprimanded because staff on the whole unit was ultimately responsible if they were her caregivers. At our facility, we keep our CNA'S on the same cluster for 2 to 3 mths and even sometimes longer depending on the unit which may even have their residents permanently to have these kind of safeguards in place to protect residents from these ugly possible scenarios (including physical abuse, neglect, mistreatment, etc). This way there is a smaller pool of people that were responsible for these residents if something so bizarre was to ever happen, God forbid!!