Rain Gutierrez

I am a new LPN and I am in my second week of orientation at a nursing home. It is a nice nursing home with a 5 star rating. I am so excited that I got this job but I am very overwhelmed. I have only trained on day shift so far and there is so much going on that I don't know if I can do it by myself. There are 24 pts to 1 nurse during the day. The floor I work on is skilled. I have not been able to get the morning med pass completed by 10 am yet. I have done it twice by myself and I don't finish until 11 or 11:30. I am trying to go quickly but I am afraid if I go to quick that I will mess something up. What are your tips on getting the med pass completed on time? (the more detail the better) Do you bring several pts their meds at one time? Do you stand there and watch each pt take their meds before you leave? I also feel like I don't know anything. A pt said they had mild chest pain today. I couldn't even think of what to do. I had to go get my preceptor and ask her what to do. Also a pt choked yesterday on her meds that were crushed and mixed in apple sauce and she was turning blue. I was watching 3 other nurses deal with it so that I would know what to do if it ever happened to one of my pts. They didn't do the heimlich maneuver. They kept trying to get her to cough. Then they went and got a machine to suction her. I am confused. Why would they do that? I feel so dumb. I hope this gets better. I don't feel qualified to work without my preceptor...