JLL41183RN

Thank you everyone for all the great advise and support! :) I did talk to my DON yesterday, I was beside myself with everything, and once I sat down and talked to her and told her that I really have no idea how the building is run and that I don't even have access to the computer to look at lab work, she realized the problem, She has (thank GOODNESS) lengthened my orientation, and they are going to give me a day off now, so that was taken care of as well. The shift last night was very eventful, lots of patient issues, lots of family issues and then a gas leak in the kitchen, but with the help of my preceptor, we survived, until the night RN called off, I didn't know what to do and my poor D.O.N came in because I didn't know I had to call all the other nurses and then call her, I thought I called her to make her aware and then looked for staff, so when she offered to come in, I just thought she was being nice, no she is supposed to be the last call after I already made the calls.... I felt so stupid and bad for her as she explained to me the scheduling (yeah I had no idea)... I can't believe I ever thought that LTC was easy when I worked in the hospital, lol, I am eating my words on that one, it really REALLY isn't but I am looking forward to the challenge. I just have never honestly supervised and worry all the time because I really can't please everyone. I am so used to befriending all the staff, but was specifically told yesterday not to do that, to be friendly, but not friends, which makes sense, although I personally need to get over my people pleaser issues and just do what is right for the residents, and that includes staffing. All of this is such a change, and I am so glad that I found this site, and there are actually people that can relate!!! This is going to be a wild and crazy ride...

So as I posted before, I just started working in LTC I am a RN and have a critical care background, I decided I wanted to try something new, something where I could spend some more time with patients and all that good stuff. I quickly realize that I was mistaken. I am the evening supervisor for 266 bed facility, staffed with 16 cna's and 12 lpns on my shift. There are 2 RN's sometimes, but we also have a rehab unit that needs to be staffed with an RN and when there isn't one the Supervisor takes the entire house, including the patients that come right out of the hospital, fresh post-op patients. I have been on orientation for about a week and now they are taking me off orientation and also I have to run the rehab unit on the weekends, and I have never been trained there, I shadowed there for three days, but I don't even know how to do an admission. ALSO they scheduled me for 8 days straight, I never asked for overtime, or even "ok'ed" it so I was shocked that I was given that with one day off followed by 4 more.... As I said I am from the hospital, I am not used to this, so I have to ask.. is this normal? Is this even doable??? I am totally freaking out, I talked to the scheduler about the issues with the unexpected overtime, but there isn't anyone overseeing my orientation, so I think I'm going to try to catch the DON today before she leaves. Overall, it seems like a nice facility, it's very clean and the staff seems nice, although I do sense some drama in the air, I don't play into that stuff, I don't even have time for that stuff, as I am trying to sift through paperwork, call doctors to clarify orders and deal with staffing, oh goodness the staffing.... we are also, ALWAYS short and at least 1 person calls off on my shift... So can someone please tell me, is this the reality of it? I am totally a fish outta water here, it also doesn't help that everyone refers to me as the "baby" nurse... I am youngish 29 years old, but I do have experience clinically, I already feel like the older nurses really aren't loving the idea of a nursing supervisor old enough to be their daughter..... advise guys please!!! what do I do...

Two RN's there are still many LPNs on staff on the off shifts.

Hi all, I have never posted on a site like this but I need some help from some nurses that are familiar with this kind of nursing and can help me understand how to be a good charge nurse. A little about me, I am from the Emergency Department, I have always worked in critical care and although I do love it, the schedule wasn't fitting into the rest of my life. I got this awesome job working for the nursing facility, and at first it was just an RN position and then they offered me the charge nurse position on the evening shift, which means I am all by myself with one other RN (most of the time, I'm told), to run the facility. The challenge was very exciting to me, I am always drawn to that. But now I am getting a little nervous and kinda down wondering how I am going to do this? I really need to know what makes a good charge nurse? I have been in "charge" before but on a much smaller scale, this is a very large facility 250+ beds. As one can imagine I am having a lot of anxiety, I want to do right by the patients the facility , and the staff. I have been there for a week, havent even started the charge training (had core training and whatnot of course) and already I am feeling the challenge, trying to be likable, but taken seriously, its hard, and I'm the youngest RN there, which makes it a bit harder. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.