CNAatHome

what about volunteering in the nicu or nursery at the hospital of your choice? babies always need holding, feeding or delivery to their mothers.

linden-nurse: It' been a while, but I'll try to help. Going to the Manager with anything but an easy solution is recipe for mud. Hope you have found another position by now. I've experienced both ends of what you speak, working with the most fun and best RNs, as well as with the opposite situation of a disengaged RN. Slackers of any title are recipe for downhill patient statuses. The manager couldn't see anything clearly and the staff took notice. Things that ordinarily mattered, went off in a hand-basket. Since I still speak from the "aide" aspect, I've found that when an RN treats us with respect, acknowledgment, and gives us advanced information necessary to make the RN's job easier, we feel like a motivated part of the "team" and can help keep everyone a step ahead. On the other hand, we sense when we are dismissed by an RN because of our lack of credentials. That leads us to feel we aren't capable in the RN's eyes, so why knock ourselves out? We have studies and families that require our energy, so why not expend it where it will be more valued? Sorry to hear the rift was growing. Closing the gap amongst peers is a way to solve something -- it won't be with the help of the "Manager." Take "Leadership" into the hands of the floor RNs, and wait for this "Manager" to flush herself out, if it she hasn't already.

Yeah, it's funny, I hear from long-timers...it's a tradition, we don't know why.

WI, you are welcome! I wanted to add that a client with dementia will not remember a visitor, and if the spouse is absent, and/or the family is intermittent in their involvement, it may be a good idea to note it that people are coming into the house (unless you know them). I would want to know if it were my parents due to all the funeral, cemetery and financial scammers. As to the mail, again if the client has altered mental status and family is absent, it may behoove a caregiver to glance for "IMPORTANT NOTICE" mail from the local electric or gas company. In the case of the former caregiver, if you know this piece of mail is going to upset the client, you might save your entire team a lot of agony in the effort it may take to help restore the client to their previous state of "norm." How you would go about this would be the arrangement decided upon by all concerned parties, including the client. Sorry to hear you do not have a "go-to" person, but it sounds like you are doing an outstanding job as a Home Care Nurse. Best wishes!

This is always a "gray" area. It must first be understood who owns the logbook. My experience is that they are used for the benefit of the patient, so we will understand and follow their needs and requests. Sounds easy until questions like yours arise. First, the RN who developed a personal relationship was not following proper protocols by stepping out of the Professional Role. This in turn, has created mistrust by the Client. Not surprising. We think the logbook is just between caregivers--until the fateful moment when it does eventually get the notice of family, or the Client themselves. What you are upset about is the drama that ensues by the reaction to the notes. I would suggest using sticky notes that can be pulled off and pocketed by staff at report. This way, anything sensitive is not a permanent part of the logbook. However, in this particular instance, something may have been written in such a way, that it struck a nerve in the sense that someone was defending the fired coworker. We have learned that the less we say, the better off we are. It has also been pointed out, that if the logbook is not properly safeguarded and falls into the wrong hands, or is left open and a "visitor" walks by and reads it, that we could be subject to legal action against our licenses. Correct me if I am wrong about that. If your company is in support of the logbooks, perhaps someone should encourage the family representative to speak with a Manager in the office, to "air" the complaint, and possibly come to a resolution. At least they will feel like they are heard, and their explanation to the Manager may spell out the truth of what is really bothering them, so that the issue can be rectified. At least they might feel vindicated, and it gets the pressure off you for the time being -- until it blows over. Logbooks left in the home after they are filled out are a great history for caregivers and can provide better continuity of care. However, there is always a future dilemma of these records which could serve as a deterrent in the event the family decides that a lawsuit is in order. If you have a business card for your higher-ups, hand it to them. It may (re)build trust, and it WILL BLOW OVER. Just try to stay neutral, change the subject for a while and don't talk about it with anyone since that reinforces everything all over again. Best Wishes to you, it has happened before, same book different chapter.