c.oconnor

Bad debt, charity care. Entitlement programs. Government regulations. Employee sponsored health insurance.

Oh yes....this is EXACTLY my job. I NEVER go out and check on the care of the residents. I just sit slumped over my desk all day counting ppd, and overtime, and trying to figure out ways to cut staff and still make more money. Absolutely. Oh, and not get in trouble for poor resident care, because, of course, I care nothing about the resident care in general, or how the families feel. NOPE. Don't care at all. Please.

You are exactly right. Thank you for standing up and making this point.

Well, you will most likely get unemployment. Whatever issues management had with you should have been covered in a timely manner. I have never heard of an activities director writing up an RN...I wouldn't allow that at my facility.

ABSOLUTELY! We pay a premium for therapy where I work. Even the assistants are highly compensated. And you never, ever hurt for a job!

You've done a fabulous job! Thank you for your reply. Your grandfather is very proud, I'm sure!

I know this is an old post, but I was a bit offended by this. I am an administrator and I (just now!) spent 45 minutes on the phone with the family of a resident in my facility who has dementia. It is 8:24 pm in my part of the US, and I am still at work. I ALWAYS have time for family...complaints, compliments, concerns, whatever! So does my DON...if she is not here in person, she is ALWAYS available by phone. You should ALWAYS go to the DON (DNS) or Administrator when you have a complaint/concern. If you do, and they will not help you, then you have a problem. I don't have eyes on the back of my head, and I am not here 24/7, so sometimes things happen that are not right, and I need someone to inform me! Overwhelmingly, the posts on this website lead me to believe that a lot of the members are not thrilled with management. I am sorry that so many DONs and/or Administrators have not fulfilled their roles well. We have hard jobs, too. We really do. And please never forget that an Administrator has a license that is on the line, also.

why do you work in ltc? i am not a nurse, so know that up front. i am an administrator, which may be the equivalent of a four letter word to some of you! i work in ltc because: i have seen first hand the wonderful relationships that the nursing staff form with residents, no matter the resident's cognitive ability. i love the elderly, and think that they all have wonderful experiences and life lessons to share with each of us. i am always amazed, each day, by a resident in my facility. i feel like i am contributing something meaningful to my community each day. there never exists a day that is exactly like the day before. each day brings a new challenge. my father has frontotemporal dementia, late stage, and i want to affect change in the ltc industry. he is the reason i entered this profession, and i hope to make him very proud. why do you work in ltc? :redpinkhe

The state that I work in would say that this is a dignity issue.

that is too much!!!!!! I love it!

At my facility, EVERYONE (including me, the administrator) takes turns sitting with some of our dementia residents who would love to escape from the facility to go home to their babies, or whatever. One day I was walking one of our wonderful ladies down the hall towards the front entrance when a CNA approached us to ask if she could help me. This particular CNA is really tall, and our resident is a tiny, tiny little lady....she looks at the CNA and states very matter of fact, "NO, you CANNOT help us! You might be tall, but if you get in my way, I am going to knock the **** out of you! I gotta get home!" I wanted to die laughing right there, but I waited until I got into my office. I love the elderly. I would never choose to work with any other population!

This sounds like a poorly run facility. You should have another nurse on the floor when you have so many residents who have behavioral issues. You have to be careful in LTC that you are not "doping up" your residents. You can't do this to accommodate staff. This is a bad situation that you might want to leave!

She had support and help.....lots of it! Truthfully, she wasn't a great DON. She has moved on by her own choice, and I wish her the best.

I am not an RN, but even if I was, I would leave clinical decisions to my Director of Nursing. Her job is to run the nursing department, and making clinical decisions is part of that. I am involved in the process, but my DON makes the final call. Yes, but not exclusively. My job is to oversee all departments and to ensure that the facility is run appropriately. There is a lot more to that then financial statements, budgets, etc. I deal with HR, marketing, public relations, resident/family issues, staffing..... However, my DON is involved in the financial process, as well. She is interested in making sure that the facility brings in enough money to operate and to make improvements, give raises, etc. I involve ALL of my dept. heads in the process of hiring a new dept. head. We need to work together as a team, and so they should have a say in who they have to work with. I agree! I often have employees in my office complaining, and the first thing I want to know is if they have talked to their supervisor. If not, then I tell them that they need to do that first. If they have, then usually I ask to meet with both the employee and supervisor to get both stories. Right now, the nursing staff in my facility is in an uproar over time changes for med passes. Instead of talking to the DON (she's fairly new to the facility), they are coming to me. I can't solve this problem for them! I refer them to the DON. Thanks to everyone for the responses! I appreciate it!

I am a fairly new administrator in LTC and I am wondering what the general consensus is among nursing about the administrators you work for? What are some of the things that administrators do that drive you crazy? What are some things that you actually like? I see quite a few posts that are fairly negative towards "upper management"....I'd like to hear why. Give me some examples of both good and bad management. Thanks!