anniern2010

Hey!! Stop worrying so much!! Sounds like you are a great nurse getting used to her job/surroundings :) you just graduated, give yourself a break. If your bosses hired you they know what kind of experience you have and should take it in consideration. Just get into "nurse mode" when you work and give it your all. Then when the shift is over, go home to your baby and know you did everything you could for him/her. You'll do great, just have confidence (and caring ). The rest will come with experience.

CapeCodMermaid-this is what I was refering to------> "I find it hard to believe that your just going to stand there and do NOTHING, I'd not want to be in your shoes when you have to tell the family member that their loved one died because YOU stood around waiting for EMS to arrive, wouldn't want you taking care of me or my family." The people on here, instead of giving their opinion and letting others give theirs, are focused on making the posters feel as I am feeling now, defensive. I am a great nurse with a tremendous amount of caring. I'm not about to let someone choke to death. I understand why you would think that my facility's policy is absurd. All I did was answer the original question.

I'm not talking about the union contract, I'm talking about the admissions contract and the living will, which is signed at admission. The nursing union suports it.

I'm just saying what I'm told to do at my job. This particular situation never happened on my shift so I can't say what I would do, but I have thought about it. I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. This is just answering a question. Please don't take a stab at my competences as a nurse.

That was the initial reaction of the all the RN's when we were told, but the families and residents are made aware of this at admission.The contract of admission states clearly that if they wish to not sign the DNR that no CPR is performed by the nurses, but 911 is to be called asap. I'm not sure why this decision came to light, but I'm sure it's a legal issue. :) We have the union on our side, which I'm a part of... We discussed it and it seems we can't be touched if this is contracted. Many facilities that now have this.

It makes sense that there is no suction in the dining area, for hygienic purposes... In my facility, we are under strict orders not to perform any form of CPR on the residents, even if choking, even if they do not have a DNR order, we just call 911. I don't know if this is unusual or not, but for me, it takes some of the pressure off. I've worked there for 3 years and i haven't had to call 911 for choking. There is always a lot of coughing at meal time, but like someone said, the elderly usually are silent aspirators. If you've got a good staff working alongside you, your residents would be evaluated properly at admission and at any sign of change or difficulties during mealtime.

You're the RN, you're the boss. I would be sure to announce to the staff (clearly with eye contact) who needs to do the vitals and when they are expected. I would also respect that employee's demand to have the vitals up on the sheet at that specific time. Usually the staff has a strict routine and get very upset if it's disturbed (especially by the nurse). I feel that as a nurse I have the option to be a little more flexible and keep the unpredictables for myself unless I need help. That is all you need to do on your part. They need to know their job and do it when asked... Never mind the attitude, I would just ignore it and be as polite as I can be all the time. You're all there to work aren't you?

At our LTC home, the clothes are sent to be washed, and then put on a cart to be redistributed by the night staff in the pt's rooms. Some of the staff weren't careful and didn't check the name tags, so some of the clothes ended up in other resident's rooms, never to be seen again (until a "careful" staff member would notice). The family members made so many complaints about missing clothes I got fed up, threatened to spot check the staff, and do some write up's. Needless to say, this task is really simple, and requires almost no effort, so staff started to pay attention and everything went a little smoother from there. Also, I didn't have to write anyone up! If you are in an Alzheimer unit, forget about it... Clothes and things will go missing... It WILL happen... A lot. We have a box full of stuff with about a dozen items of clothing and 10 pairs of glasses and have no idea who they belong to...lol It sucks that stuff goes missing, but in your case, I guess you will have to backtrack and investigate to see where the problem stems from. :)

When I was night shift I sometimes had around 130-135 patients with 2 staff on each of the 4 units (and maybe an LPN if I was lucky). Know what you can delegate, and don't be afraid to do so. I do find your situation a bit much for a new grad... Speak up if you're not comfortable, in the end if something happens, it will be you who is responsible.