lorajane

I am in very similar conditions in the D/FW area...I've given my two weeks' notice as well...RUN, GIRL, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:angryfire

You are probably VERY right on that one! I gave them my two-weeks' notice last Thursday, so only one weekend to go, but the saga continues. Last night, after working my normal weekend-doubles schedule (Sat 6a-10p and Sun 6a-10p), absolutely exhausting, at best, I did not have a nurse to give report to. We were supposed to have two nurses (10-6, MSU, 42 patients), and one had called in. The nurse who did come in "Lisa" was told she would have to take all 42 residents, but when I started giving her report on my two trach patients, she said she had never taken care of a pt with a trach and refused to accept their care...I totally understand, and support her decision especially because one of those pts is pretty sick by NH standards (went into resp distress on me, at shift change, about three weeks ago, sats 76%, turning blue/purple, etc). SO, "Lisa" called the nurse-on-call ("Christine")for the facility, and told her she would not accept care for these residents, and was told she didn't have any choice, the nurse-on-call had called everyone she could and no one was available to come in, and "Christine" was not coming in to help. (!!!!!!!!:angryfire ) We called the DON (on leave, wife had new baby), the acting DON (also the ADON for the MSU), and the staffing coordinator (a CNA, yes you read that correctly, CNA), and everyone passed the buck! So, I ended up working until 2 am when the M-F 10-6 nurse came in for her 7th night in a row! Yes, that means I worked 20 hours! On the hall, responsible for 16 patients (10 medicare, two trachs, most of them alert/disoriented...), giving meds (not many, thank goodness), and breathing treatments! THESE PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS!!!!! I am still so tired, I can't even decide who to report to first... the BON, the State, the administrator (not holding my breath on that one...), the Labor Board...! This is even getting hard to believe! I didn't have these problems at the other facility...and the hospitals "don't hire LVNs". Am I supposed to stop nursing, and let me skills get rusty, or am I going to have to work as an aide, until I finish my RN stuff? Ugh!!!!!!!!

four weeks! wow! where are you? i should have started my career there! i too took my first nursing job in a ltc facility, and my orientation was a whopping two eight-hour shifts!!! and, the nurse who "oriented" me, was gone a couple weeks later, and the adon apologized for my having to orient with her! latch on to these people! they are committed to their new nurses!

Thank you for sharing. I have another question now: if the allegation is cleared by the facility, can it/will it be reported to the BON, or does it just get dropped? I thought it might be better to just give up the license rather than risk a fight - but you're right, I worked very hard, with three kids in tow, and I think I'm as good a nurse as I can be with a whopping 10 months of experience. So, how can I know if they're planning to report this to the BON? Thanks, again!

The patient had a long history of "behavior issues", at the hospital, in the jail where he was before he went to the hospital, and at our facility. He had had many psych evals, but nobody was willing to treat his psych issues because of his liver disease, encephalitis and high blood ammonia levels - our facility psych doctor said he didn't want the patient to die because of psych meds. Actually, the only thing that saved me was my documentation. I was in his room every 20 minutes, addressing his issues (the meds and his behavior), and counseling him that his behavior was not acceptable. He threatened to throw himself on the floor (as he had done before), paraplegic and all, and he spiraled out of control after that. {The last time he threatened that with me, I told him it would be considered an attempt at self-injury and he would be transported to the psych ER - he said that was fine - and when I asked him what his purpose was in that, he replied "because you're a b****" -and out he went, where he denied having any behavior or psych issues and was returned with no treatments or med changes, of course, right at shift change.} In retrospect, I should have handled him the same way again, except it didn't seem to have accomplished anything, and I figured I had just wasted a bunch of people's time and money, so in the midst of dealing with my other 12 patients, I just dealt with it best I could. Anyway, he did put himself on the floor this time, and everytime I went to check on him (every 20-30 minutes), he yelled and cussed, etc. I told him to let us know when he was ready to be taken care of, but that I was not going to subject myself and my CNA to his behavior. I asked him if he wanted a pillow under his head (his reply was a curse), I made sure his call light was in reach (actually I tried to clip it to his gown, but he tried to hit me) and I closed the door so his yelling would not disturb the other residents. I did this every 20-30 minutes for 2 hours, and every time I went in, he acted a fool. Finally, when he did decide to settle down, I told him I was going to call for a porter to clean up the sticky floor and dishes that he had thrown, so we could use the hoyer to lift him, and he replied "you already have a Porter, that's what started this whole mess" (his last name is Porter), and I documented that, as well, in quotes. I don't believe I have ever seen anyone has manipulative, and hateful, as him. And the real problem came because he was NOT always like that - he had certain people he "liked", and certain people he didn't, and I happened to be one he didn't. Sorry to vent - it still just shocks me! And then my DON says "sometimes we have to be the better person" when handling patients like this, and grrrr! It's just almost unbelievable! I don't think I abused him - I think I protected myself and my aide. He always had a call light, until he pulled both of them out of the wall and started banging on the closed door with them; I offered him assistance, and a pillow; I assessed for respiratory distress, m/s injuries, and skin issues - there were none, although I could have done more complete documentation on these; I really don't know what else I could have done, except send him out again, which was completely ineffective the last time (and that was completely documented). So, if I missed anything, and anyone has some advice (besides "be the better person..."), I'm open. Right now I'm glad he's gone (d/c home with home health), and I've still got a job, and more importantly, my license. Thanks again for your input.

Well, for what it's worth, I agree with you, it is very wrong. The DON kept saying that once the resident used the word "abuse" he was forced to investigate it, and once the paperwork goes to the corporate nurse, it is out of his hands. Chomp, chomp... Unfortunately, the malpractice insurance I applied for last year sent my payment back and said they didn't provide coverage in Texas, so...I'm without any and completely clueless as to how to find a lawyer. I wonder if this really will be the shortest nursing career in history? Even though I've worked so hard...and my kids sacrificed as I pushed through a full-time program... I guess I'll find out tomorrow what the deal is... Thanks for caring and sharing -

I've tried to - I only hope it was enough. I documented in the nurse's notes as the events happened on that night, every 20-30 minutes, and I was still called in for "my statement". I was not allowed to copy the facility documentation, or even my own notes - you know, privacy and confidentiality, etc. As of now, I am suspended without pay pending the investigation; I should hear from them tomorrow re: the corporate nurse's judgment on the issue. I wasn't emotional in any of my documentation - I wasn't feeling emotional, or angry or anything other than disbelief at what I was seeing and hearing. You know, I'm not sure I'm going to go back, even if they clear the allegation. I've heard of nurses eating their young, but this is really ridiculous... Thanks for taking the time to share...

The patient is alert and oriented - we have many who aren't, so I've taken my share of physical hits and verbal crap. Thanks for your input.

I would LOVE to have worked with any of you. I've been on the medical specialty unit of a nursing home, and I routinely have 21+ residents, 1-2 with trachs, 3-6 with GT/meds, 1-2 PICC's with IV ABT. I have a med aide to give the PO meds, and usually 2 aides, but it's pretty intense... The hospitals were going through a phase of not hiring any LVN's, especially new grads, last year when I passed my NCLEX, but it sounds like a much better option than what I'm doing...

I got a call from my DON this morning...said he heard back from the corporate nurse. Said she asked him if he would have done anything different than I did in caring for this patient, and he now says he told her "no" - after railing at me yesterday about "being the better person", after telling me it was out of his hands, and after the ADON pointing out all the facility paperwork that I didn't get completed, even though all the info was in my notes. Then, two hours later the staffing coordinator called to see if I'd work a shift today, even though it's my day off! GAG! I'm scheduled to work tomorrow morning, and I'm taking my two-weeks' notice with me. We are travelling overseas to get our adopted daughters in four weeks, so I probably won't be able to find another job right away - I don't think anyone would hire me knowing that I'm going to have to be off work for four-five weeks. I will go back to a hospital environment, too, even if I have to be an aide...I've only got about 8-9 more months of study with Excelsior before I can sit for the NCLEX-RN, and I've just got to keep my license until then. Thank you all for sharing...and caring. The temporary suspension without pay is a facility policy, and the only work I missed was scheduled overtime anyway, so I'm just going to drop that issue. I searched online last night for malpractice insurance, and found some, so I'm taking care of that later today. I don't know what the deal was with the other company, and I don't even remember their name. My husband (my biggest fan) kept telling me there was no way this accusation could come to anything. But I still feel my instructors standing behind me, if you know what I mean, when I'm doing procedures and giving meds (not that they terrorized us, they were nice and helpful), and I sooo want to be good at this, but I get our quarterly BON newsletter and see pages and pages of nurses' names/license numbers who've been disciplined one way or another, and I could just see the last two years being a total waste. Anyway, thanks a million to everyone who shared! I'm definitely wiser from this whole mess, and I have survived, so I'm pushing on... I've been a licensed nurse for a whole year now, working in a long-term care facility on their medical specialty unit. I just found out that a resident I took care of earlier this week has filed a complaint against me, alleging abuse. He's a very difficult patient, and there is a lot of documentation in his chart to prove it, besides my notes, but the DON's only advice to me at this point was that "we have to be the better person" when dealing with these impossible people. So, it sounds to me like I'm going to fry...probably the shortest nursing career in history...although I did all I could, as far as I can tell, without risking physical injury - I took lots of verbal crap from the resident every time I took care of him being called names I hadn't ever heard before... Any advice from anyone? Do I just surrender my license, or wait to see how things play out... I've never faced anything like this before - most people would say I'm a pretty smart, careful, loving person, and we're in the middle of adopting two international orphans, so I obviously have some redeeming qualities... I just don't know what to think about this. I was warned that this DON didn't support his nurses...I guess I'm finding out the BIG way how true it is... Thanks for listening...