AngelsWings09

I have been agency for a number of years. Last evening, another agency nurse and I were put into a very dangerous situation. We each had 24 patients, one admit each, and only 3 CNA. This was a subacute unit, trachs, vents, g tubes, IV meds. Indeed, a very dangerous situation, but we stuck it out, pooled our resources and pulled thru the night. I did call my agency this morning, and informed them of the situation. She, of course, warned me about patient abandonment, something that I have seen happen with other nurses. What can we, as nurses, do about these dangerous situations? I know it is all about money and nursing hours, and management does not want to hear this.

Have you ever walked onto the floor and just had that strange uncomfortable feeling right off the bat that is is gonna be "one of those nights (or days)". Seriously, , this happened to me just last night, and true to the theory, all bedlam broke out right off the bat. My first patients room that I walked into, a woman asked me where her bell for room service was. She wanted me to help her rearrange her winter wardrobe and replace it with all the clothes that her and her daughter had went on a shopping spree to Kohl's and had 8 bags of clothing that all needed untagged, labeled, hung up. Explained her that this is what volunteers and family members were for. She told me that her daughter had a very important job at the post office and had to work all weekend, so I would have to do it. Excuse me??? When I told her that I had med passes, vitals, treatments, and charting to do for 24 others, she pulled her wig off her head, threw it at me and told me to get the hell outta her room if I was just going to treat her like that:flamesonb

Camp Redwing for the Girl Scouts of SW PA. Super excited

I work in long term care, so I have had many times that the families all gather around grandma while she is passing. It is kind of like they are all on "death watch". So sad when they all cry and grieve for grandma, even though they live 10 minutes away, yet have not seen her in months. This just makes me furious. Had one family, 4 sisters, all had a "pronounced" opionion for each other. Could not stand to be in the same room with each other. And each one had a differant way which they wanted mom to be cared for. One wanted "everything possible" done. One wanted her to go out to the hospital if she as much as sneezed. One wanted her to only go out if she really needed to. Forth wanted nothing done at all. They fought on the phone with each other constantly. One actually had been writing down everything she had done for mom for the past months, to prove she loved her the most. When mom finally did come to the point of passing, they all came together. They were fighting over who was going to get mom's rings, who was going to get her afghans she had made, EVERYTHING!!! It was like the most morbid show of "Let's make a Deal". My CNA's informed me that they were practically beating the snot out of each other. I promptly went in and ordered each and everyone of them out of the room, so the mom that they all professed to love so much could die in peace and quiet.

I love being an agency nurse....tried to work for a "facility", never again. The scheduler treated the girls like crap. If she liked you, you got what days off you wanted, the assignment you wanted. If not, you were at her mercy. If you speak your mind, you get put thru the ringer for it. As agency, I work when and where I want. I need a day off for an appt at the doctors, I let them know and it is done. You don't have to put up the mandatory 45 minute inservice on too many paper towels being used, at 3pm, when you should be at your assignment. I have been an agency nurse for 11 years, looking into doing some traveling now. I love the challenge, the knowledge that I can come into a facility "cold", do a narc count, find things in carts that look like they have not been cleaned in months. If you greet your CNA's, introduce yourself, tell them you are there to help them with anything, answer call lights, put grandma on the bedpan, show them some respect, thank them before you leave at night, you will be treated well and welcomed with open arms. I have walked into facilities, after only one night with them, and the girls have asked if I was working tonight, and met with a "YES!!" when I said I was. Not blowing my own horn, but give respect, get respect. Thank you for your kind words. And remember, it is not always the "agency nurse" who did it, or didn't do it. We are here to help you.

Without a doubt,,,start each day with prayer and praise...

Recently, I was fired for going over the January MARS and signing a few spots I had missed. Went thru the union, and won my case, but have decided to move on. Now, I am in the process of applying for a new job. I am just not sure what to put down when the application asks why you left your last job? I want to be truthful, but am afraid that if I put down documentation falscification and fraud, which are the grounds that they fired me on, that prospective employers will put my application directly in their circular file. I do not:idntdt: want to leave it blank either. Any suggestions on what to put down will be greatly appreciated.

I have been informed that my grievance meeting will be held on Thursday. I have met with the union reps and have assured me that I have an excellant chance of getting my job reinstated. To fill you in, I was fired for going back on the January MARS at the LTCF I work for and signing a couple of inititals that I had missed. Was fired for "fraud and documentation falsification." I was treated with the utmost rudeness, insulted at the meeting when I was fired. The DON asked me "What do you think you are doing here, throwing feed to chickens or hay to cattle"? Told me that I had no ethics, no morals, and threatend to take my license. I have been a nurse for 14 years, love my job, it is my calling to work LTC. Now I have to meet with her and the administrator and am soooo nervous. Could use a bit of advice from any one that has gone thru this. I do not want my job back, I feel that I will be just setting myself up to be watched and targeted. I know of several nurses that went back over the MARS and signed anything, anywhere for anyone once they started cracking down and writing us up for missing initials. I still talk to several nurses that I worked with and none of them have even been pulled into the office for dicipline. I refuse to rat them out, and I know that I was set up, along with another nurse that was also fired for the same reason. The place is toxic, and I have excellant references to land another job. Could just use some advice here. Thanks

Update ....Yesterday I got fired. Reason was that I went back thru my MARS at the end of the month to see if I had missed any spaces and initialled them Told this was documentation fraud. Yet, in an inservice a few months ago, we were told to review our MARS at the end of the month and initial where we had missed.

I have a situation and need some good unbiased opinions. When it come to your MARS and TARS, how strict is your facility when it comes to the end of the month and blanks have been left. Are you allowed to go back at the end of the month and fill in where you have missed? What does the nursing protocol say about this. If you have missed, and did not catch them, do you get wrote up over the blanks? If you do go back and fill in your missed spaces, do you consider this fraud and illegal? I'm just wondering because our facility has been writing up everyone and a few have gotten suspensions because of this. I do realize that if it has not written it has not been done, but we are human, and at tims you do have to drop everything and attend to a situation that may arise, and lose your place when you come back, expecially if the situation is one that rattles you, such as a code or a bad fall.