still-inspired

ive been doing MDS for years now and i still refer to the RAI manual, it took about a year to become comfortable , it is a constant learning process, a reorganizing process,there are resources on the net for the "minimum data set" and every state has a mds contact person. give yourself time, keep at it, ask questions of your don, im sure the other one seems unapproachable because shes probabily trying to keep her system structured, its a difficult task, no one said it would be easy in fact im shure they have said your nuts for taking the job,. it can be stress full its alot of work and variables, and each person is unique. but once you get it.. its a beautiful thing , it creats a massave ammount of information on all your residents (referring to the 672 and the 802) that is a very usefull tool. some times on my way to work i start singing the theme from mission impossible, lol puts me in the right frame of mind. from one mds coordinator to another, ( its impossible to keep your chin up and your nose to the grind stone, unless you move the grind stone up:) )

shoot i wanna come work for donmomofnine. i am a unit manager and here is what i do daily audits of mars and tars for med gaps and errors daily snf and "hot rack" doccumentation reading including looking to ensure everything is done and doccumented for every situation, from there written educations on what ever was found during the course of the above are gone over with whom ever needs it. doccumenting on a QA report form for our daily QA meeting and so that everyone knows whats going on on my unit taking suggestions from the QA meeting back to the floor and instuting all of those requests. instuting RD requests, monitoring physician visits, infection control logs and psychotropic medications and GDR requests,weekly weights and physician notification. PPS meeting every monday wed, friday, review all new orders with the tripple check system and ensuring everything is in order, transcribed correctly and on the calander for follow up, lab's drawn, transportation set up, family notified, you know ect ect. daily staffing posting i also do the monthly schedule, requests for time off, on call every 3rd weekend but they call all the time, even when im not on call. review of daily doccumentation of the restorative therapy personell along with revisions, auditing of the bath book and meal intake books. peri care and hand washing audits 2 times monthly, med cart and med room audits 2 times monthly, all of the Nf and snf mds's raps care plans and updates seriously i could add atleast 15 more tasks. need i go on, im feeling tired just thinking about it, in fact im wondering if maybe im not doing more than that of a "unit manager" lord knows i have to put in alot of hours this list is not all inclusive but you get the point. some days im glad im a professional and have a healthy fear of reprecussions because i would otherwise ask to see what the DON's list looks like, i know the first thing on her list is delegate to the unit managers.

our facility has a 2 part hydration program. 1 fresh iced h2o passed to all at the beginning of each shift by the designated cna, and at the beginning of the 2-10 shift pictures are changed out for clean ones, with the h2o pass. 2 we have hydration /snack carts that come to the floor that include a snack cookies, crackers, fruit, along with 2 pictures of juice and cups of thickened juice labled with individual names on it to ensure that all residents recieve adequate hydration. this cart comes to the floors tid. at 10 am between bkfst, and lunch again at 2 pm between lunch and supper and once again at 7 pm or hs so far weve had lots of compliments about this program including from state agencys and family members not to mention the residents. each one of these 2 duties is assigned to a cna at the beginning of the shift. when they are passing the snacks they are also taking orders for the next meal as far as the main meal or prefering the alternate meal. and so many times all anybody wants is a choice, so this works out well.

anybody know what the requirements are for the use of an e-z stand vs a hoyer or e-z lift. im being told that you have to be able to sit on the side of the bed independently and be able to hold on to the "u" shaped bar. other wise the e-z stand would not be a safe transfer. anybody know the answer?

heres a little story for you. a resident older gentelman not with the greatest eyesight, jokester if you will, nice guy, sitting up in his bed the other day and we were talking, and he spots my tattoo, that unfortunately (back in the pre-nursing era)i got right in the middle of my chest , because the top of it peaks out from the "V" of my scrubs, he says " oh thats a heart, and jokenly i replied , john how many times have you seen me, what did you think it was? his responce, ( laughing histericly, " i thought it was chest hair" i said ohh thanks and laughed the rest of the day and then again today, now i ask, is it about apearances or about people? guess you know how i voted:-).

hello, i have worked in long term care for 8 years going on 9years. Geriatrics and long term care is very difficult, fast paced, it is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed. each dicipline has different responsabilities that need to coienside with the other diciplines responsabilities. Like a machine. every one deals with stress in different ways, as im shure you'll agree, and we all have it, their are situations always popping up that need addressed, and as rude as that nurse was to you, it sounds like he was busy and stressed, if he is an approachable person, i would suggest talking with him about it, maybe approaching the situation from a student standpoint will help you to understand what nurses go through in situations with admissions ontop of the other 50 million task that they are responsible for. and inturn promote communication (which is vital)which will remind him to be cogniszent and professional in those situations also. i know you learned how it affects subordnant staff when nurses are stressed.and dont handel it well this is how i deal with those situations, i think . if i were the one doing that, and letting my stress impact those around me i would hope someone would ask me about it and help me calm down. i wouldnt want my residents or coworkers to feed or be negatively affected by my presence. on the other hand the line we cross that turns into insubordination is determined by our DON's i would ask her how she would handel a situation like that, if it occures again. at this point ," no use beating a dead horse" id let it go. always remember in long term care to follow the chain of command . if you remain professional and act as an advocate for the residents then'll do fine. as for the restorative program i think that if thats something your intrested in then you might want to talk to the pt ot and st personel at your work place, find out what they have learned about restorative programs and what makes them successfull and unsuccessfull. if your still intrested (be a professional) walk up to your don and hand her a resume and coverletter . even if your more casual than that. show her your serious. tell her and show her your interested. think outside the box. dont let your coworkers effect your attitude negatively , and the best way to do that ,, vomit sunshine. alot:-) you can't teach compassion, but you can lead by example. i know im windy, it just looked like your lookin for advice so this is mine. and i read the post from the person that says long term care might not be for you, and its true, there are all kinds of speciality areas out there, i dont know if you have any staffing agencys where your from but you can work as a cna through a pool.. and discover all kinds of options from hospital settings, nursing home, home health/ private duty,ect.may help you find your perfict fit, not only in the field but may also allow you to determine what group of people you can be at your best with. i hope you find the answers your looking for. Good Luck. LPN,unit manager for LTC facility

hello, i have worked in long term care for 8 years going on 9years. Geriatrics and long term care is very difficult, fast paced, it is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed. each dicipline has different responsabilities that need to coienside with the other diciplines responsabilities. Like a machine. every one deals with stress in different ways, as im shure you'll agree, and we all have it, their are situations always popping up that need addressed, and as rude as that nurse was to you, it sounds like he was busy and stressed, if he is an approachable person, i would suggest talking with him about it, maybe approaching the situation from a student standpoint will help you to understand what nurses go through in situations with admissions ontop of the other 50 million task that they are responsible for. and inturn promote communication (which is vital)which will remind him to be cogniszent and professional in those situations also. i know you learned how it affects subordnant staff when nurses are stressed.and dont handel it well this is how i deal with those situations, i think . if i were the one doing that, and letting my stress impact those around me i would hope someone would ask me about it and help me calm down. i wouldnt want my residents or coworkers to feed or be negatively affected by my presence. on the other hand the line we cross that turns into insubordination is determined by our DON's i would ask her how she would handel a situation like that, if it occures again. at this point ," no use beating a dead horse" id let it go. always remember in long term care to follow the chain of command . if you remain professional and act as an advocate for the residents then'll do fine. as for the restorative program i think that if thats something your intrested in then you might want to talk to the pt ot and st personel at your work place, find out what they have learned about restorative programs and what makes them successfull and unsuccessfull. if your still intrested (be a professional) walk up to your don and hand her a resume and coverletter . even if your more casual than that. show her your serious. tell her and show her your interested. think outside the box. dont let your coworkers effect your attitude negatively , and the best way to do that ,, vomit sunshine. alot:-) you can't teach compassion, but you can lead by example. i know im windy, it just looked like your lookin for advice so this is mine. and i read the post from the person that says long term care might not be for you, and its true, there are all kinds of speciality areas out there, i dont know if you have any staffing agencys where your from but you can work as a cna through a pool.. and discover all kinds of options from hospital settings, nursing home, home health/ private duty,ect.may help you find your perfict fit, not only in the field but may also allow you to determine what group of people you can be at your best with. i hope you find the answers your looking for. Good Luck. LPN,unit manager for LTC facility