andrewRN

Totally agree! What I was iffy about was just the simply-write-you-up-cuz you-were-wrong. Everyone's thoughts are derived from personal experiences. I, for example, work with those type of nurses so I easily/spontaneously advocate for the humanistic approach, sadly. This thread is truly educational. Gets the the critical thinking going on :):redbeathe

I guess the problem lies in the fact that I am simply new at the job and not too familiar with the residents. This night, I simply cannot give a resident her glaucoma eye drops. Talking nicely didn't work, nor did distraction, relaxation, reasoning, smiling, or begging. When I asked my orientor to administer it, same thing. However, in the MAR other nurses do and are able to administer it. It boggles me that I can't even at least get it once. Oh yeah, she has eyelids made of steel!

I can see your point of view. I think when I mentioned the word cool, you got the impression that I value rapport MUCH more from my coworkers than patients. In my opinion, both are important. Nevertheless, that wasn't the main point of my post nor was my age. My intention was that the poster to resolve the conflict between her and the dietary aide; not to pacify the aid but to develop a cohesive teamwork that looks at the common goal through education and management! There are many style of management and one is not more right than the other. And yes, rules and guidelines must be followed and I failed to add that. IF the patient was hurt, there must be accountability just as you have stated. In her scenario, the resident is not. Therefore, I focused not on the patient safety issue, but the supervisory and managerial aspect of the problem. I'm sorry, but it seemed you have misinterpreted the reason why I used the word "cool." In my philosophy, one can be professional and be liberal. Then again, that is MY philosophy. :)

A coworker once pointed out to me while I was randomly and unpurposefully doing tricep push ups on the hand rails and stretching my legs (I take martial arts). Push ups are good too, but the floors!

Thanks for the input everyone. Thanks systoly for that charting advice also. I do take the extra effort to not just simply walk away and write "refused". Everyone's replies are all helpful!

Thanks everyone. At least I know it isn't just me. Like you all have said, unfortunately only time can make me know the residents and their preferences well enough.

I am a newly graduated and licensed nurse. I started working in a skilled nursing facility. As I recently learned, med pass for 34 residents can be quite a task. With my calculations, I must not spend no more than 2 minutes and 40 seconds per resident to make it to giving report for the day shift nurses. That time includes accessing double locked narcotics boxes, crushing pills, drawing insulin, etc. If a patient insists on sleeping, or simply does not want the medication, do I simply write refuse? If that is what I am suppose to do, there would be a lot of "refuse" on the MAR. I don't think the charge nurse would be happy about that. Then again, I can't use force to give eye drops. In addition, the facility is a "no restraints" facility and only uses alarms. What am I suppose to do? Some nurses, mostly LPNs, (I don't mean to give LPN's a bad name) simply puts the meds in the slightly confused residents mouths and ask them to swallow. Some nurses simply say "I have a treat for you." I am a new nurse and I do go by the book. I wake the resident up, tell them I have medications for them, and convince them that they need the med. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some would say yes, but shut their mouths tightly. Some would just stare at me. ....oh and the clock it ticking.

Say something like, "I understand that you want to help but in cases where a resident is still able to speak, we should not try to 'help'. Studies show that hitting the back can worsen the case at times. It's great to know you're worried about the resident, but he/she should be fine. I don't want you to get in trouble with management." Keep in mind that the aide is not as educated as you. The solution to "just write her up" is incomplete and seems more like it was done just in spite. If it was done like this, how are you any better than the aide who talked back at you because he/she feels that you undermined his/her capabilities. If you did just write her up, do you think you "taught him/her a lesson." I think not! In fact, you simply shut him/her up, but your professional relationship with that employee is broken. I suggest that you look for that employee and have a small talk. Say something like this, "Hey Joe. Yesterday we had a little incident at the dining room. I want to say that I didn't handle the situation as well as I wanted. As a nurse, I always put the resident first and you do too. You are a good person. I did not intend to put you in a position where you would feel defensive, you know that right?"............."Anyways, if you see a resident and you're not sure if they are alright, ask them to speak up first is the best thing to do." "Are we cool now?" (I use the word cool since I'm 20). Empathize!