danij040866

I realize this is illegal. Just disgusted that there is always a catch 22. If I don't chart I am up **** creek. I can't pass on my treatments etc... Can't pass on all my assessments etc... Our DON is from Kenya and has an attitude if you can't do all this there is the door. But nobody is completing it because it can't be done.

I ask myself that everyday. I am set up for failure as soon as my skechers hit the door. I am finding this type activity almost in every AL because of minimal regulation.

Need opinions please? I work in an assisted living caring for 42 patients. 6 diabetics. 5 total cares. Home health involved so also doing wound vacs. Wound care 5 days a week. 2 RCA for 42 residents. All admissions. All patient hospital transfers. Nurses are responsible for 11 direct care patients, including all medical records for all 11 patients ie: chart thinning, all health assessments, all physician orders. All weights and vitals. Now are DON has informed that he cannot do his job and also complete insurance authorizations, so another tasks is added to nurses. I have been a nurse 22 years so I am no means short on time management, prioritizing. Also, just to add to the chaos. Our Executive director has zero medical background and also feels that we must cater to every whim of residents and their families. We are to drop all our tasks if a patient's family wants 20 min or 1 hour of our time. Total counter productive. So now to the issue. Med pass starts immediate after report takes from 3pm to 6 pm to complete.( every nurse that works these carts that is the timeline.) 6 to 7 pm is sending meds back or catch up because we had to drop what we are doing to cater to every need of families no matter how inconsequential. 7pm to 9:30 pm is second med pass. 9:30 to 10 pm is wound care sometimes longer 10:15pm. Oncoming replacement nurse comes in @ 10:30 pm. So now when do I chart? Take off orders. Complete daily medical records duties. And now they want us to take over insurance authorizations. My DON has pretty much outright stated. There will be a lot of punching out @ shift end and staying 3 to 4 hours over each day we work to complete all administrative duties. No staff backup plan in building for call offs. Vacations etc... Just enough nurses RCA's to cover each shift. No prn pool. No agency. I was told I cannot cut my hours to 32 because there is no one to replace me. But DON just let day shift nurse cut her hours to 32. Oh yes, I almost forgot, as you can see no lunch breaks for any nurse. But we must write down we took 30 minutes. If I write no lunch I am disciplined. This is absolute humanly impossible to complete in 8 hours. Everything administrative is months behind etc.... and all that keeps happening are write ups and revolving door of nurses because our Exec director cannot see that expecting your nurses to care for 42 residents and approx. 4 hours of administrative duties daily is not possible to complete in 8 hours period. Oh and also we are not allowed to inform families of severe shortage of staff. If there is one RCA for 42. Same workload expected as if there were 4 RCA's. I forgot to mention, there is absolutely not even 5 minutes allotted for falls, which on average there are 3 to 4 a night due to severe understaffing. We have to take our walkies in to bathroom and must answer even if we are indisposed in the bathroom. You must get up from lunch for every call. We are not allowed to refuse any call to eat.

Not_A_Hat Person this is mild, it is like you walk into your nightmare, literally, everyday i walk in. OMG does dept of health really not see the issues? Or are these corporate owners/administrators really that slick about covering up all this abuse/issues. Never, in 22 years have i seen a place this poorly run and all about the almighty dollar. Warm body and a pulse!!!

TheCommuter, I have worked in and out of skilled, LTC, rehab, dementia over the last 22 years. Prisoners are treated better!!! I cry when i come home because it is plain chaos and every want and wish to fix things is met a brick wall.

What has happened? STNA's who are not disciplined for aggressive verbal attacks on other staff members. Nurses who are not held accountable for work undone. Nurses who complete their 8 hour assignment with workload complete and forced to complete work of others who will not complete theirs. Threatened verbally if you report STNA's who are providing substandard care. Nurses are being held responsible for all secretarial duties. any jobs that other departments do not want to complete "just make nursing do it". IE: MDS duties, maintenance duties. The list goes on. Do a complete admission including orders, care plan, head to toe assessments etc.... If you are a fast typist can be completed in 3 1/2hours, if not then 4 hours. Plus 2 med passes totaling 4 hours. Well, let's see that is 8 hours. Where is the time for tx's, phone answering all shift, toileting, UDA's on PCC? Stna's have a union and administration is petrified of enforcing anything. Floor nurses have no authority, all write ups are discarded or not addressed. Nurses verbally attacking other nurses if you call them out for critical work left undone. Shift to shift reports consist of "I don't know and i don't know that either". OMG 4 DON, 3 adminstrator in 2 years. Heck most of the nurses who on board and get their first clue of the culture are running out the back door never to be heard from again. Patient's and resident's wounds that the dressing's are not being changed for a week or more IE: Same initials on dressings from 5 days prior. State in the building every week since i started. Cursing loudly among staff members. If you try to correct situation, forget it, then you are public enemy number one. Appointments for patient's that are cancelled on a continuous basis because of absolutely no follow through. Medications missing on a daily basis pharmacy blames staff, staff blame pharmacy end result patient/resident does not get their medications. Tremendous amount of patient's that are fall risks assigned to one STNA then backlash if you cannot provide continual 1 to 1 care and also complete all other duties. IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION!!!!

Yes, Houtx i believe you are correct if the state has IPN, TPAPN, and a nurse follows the guidelines i think it is in Lieu of discipline.

Too many people criticize others for what they do. Because they just haven't got caught for the same actions.

I agree with you. I posted later that employer/friend do not mix well. Same as usually not a good idea to employ family.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. There has to be accountability for actions we choose to take. But NOT FOREVER. i was one of the lucky ones that reached out for help to stop it in it's tracks before it became a lifelong issue. No, i probably, putting the shoe on the other foot, would not want a medical professional with repeat addiction problems to perform surgery on me. But if this same MD/DO got help and remained in sobriety for many years than yes you can care for me. Addiction, i feel does not take away the skill. Clouds the judgement to perform that skill if under the influence. But if they remain sober the judgement is no longer clouded. There is sometimes a lot of hypocrites who become judge, jury and executioner and then go home and pound a twelve pack of beer/smoke a bag of weed, whatever their drug of choice drive, break the law, whatever, and continue to dole out severe punishments to people for the same thing because they are in positions of power. UNFAIR and UNJUST.

I read the bottom of your posts i now realize why you keep posting "almost accusatory" " I am confused" comments you are in PDN & drug recovery". That is ok. Yes, all same time frame. Courts are not real quick around here. I speak from time to time @ the same DUI classes that i took. "How my life was changed/turned upside down in an instant". for whatever the reason that it is not acceptable. "Denial". I had a chain of traumatic events in my life in a super short period of time that i could not physically or emotionally deal with. Hair falling out, lost 37lbs in a matter of weeks etc... I chose the evils to get through that short period in my life. If this was another state i would have probably had to go through IPN. But our Board does not have that program. Just discipline. When i reported the marijuana to my employer/friend. Not a good combo. I thought she may offer help knowing my personal situation @ that time in my life. This was not the case. In the end of all of this i chose to get professional help via psychiatrist, psychologist specializing in PTSD. They were wonderful. I have them to thank for getting me through. My post were really just to get feedback of how our nursing profession is punished for life. No forgiveness period for the rest of your natural born life. There are nurses/doctors and others that have 100% turned their life around and have never re-abused illicit drugs/alcohol. Does that mean that all recovering addicts should be lumped together in the pile of "your life is over, so shoot yourself, hang up your career, you are done for" type of attitudes. I do not think so. But i feel the nursing/medical community criminalizes medical professions for addictions. No help just criticize and punish. I realize their has to be accountability. But forever. I just don't think it should be that way.

Me too Here.I.Stand. I see so many nurses have their licenses disciplined for petty things or read stories of how another nurse out for revenge falsified to board of nursing. Unfortunately, OBN or i am sure many other boards. Guilty until they feel you are innocent or they have milked your life savings. Usually the latter. Like i said in my first post. Something has to be done to change the way the system works. I agree if you screwed up etc.... Pay your dues. But really.... a lifelong punishment for public view/safety.

Well, thanks for all the comments. Word of the day "Naive". You would really have to know me. I was brought up believing that everyone is good etc.... Boy have i learned the difference. I really thought my boss @ the time was forgiving. Guilt, guilt and guilt. I swore i would never do that and i did. Went through a trauma. My children's father committed suicide i was scared to be on my own without support system. Someone offered said " will relieve all your stress" I smoked got the munchies hated it. But i do believe now that it has a great medicinal effect for pt's with CA etc.... Actually i spoke with a woman at OBN who thought it was odd that my employer would keep me knowing this. But she did and it was noted on my consent agreement. Actually, I have good news someone approached me today via email and offered me an interview even with that prior discipline. She was very kind and understanding. Told me " You made a mistake paid the price and i really need a nurse with your experience". "You pass our drug test there will not be an issue". so i am elated!!!!!

Hello fellow nurses, I have been reading in allnurses for quite a few years about nurses with prior disciplines on their license who are unable to obtain employment. So, i thought i would share my story. 9 years ago i self reported a 1x marijuana use because i felt so guilty for even trying it. "Oh boy that was the biggest mistake of my nursing career". In the end i received a consent agreement 1 year of monthly UA test at my expense,probation without restrictions. My test were all negative I did not lose my job. But what they wrote on my consent disturbed me. "I admitted to marijuana use after random screen". Untrue, i self reported to my boss who told me "most people have tried it at one time in their life". She told me you are a great nurse you don't miss work, patients love you etc... But, it is my duty to report you to board of nursing. So, going forward one year later my license fully active etc... with notation of prior discipline. No problem with employment etc... for the last 9 years. Now, Ohio joined Nurseys and my consent agreement from 9 years ago in full public view. You probably know what's coming next. My company let me go after all these years, and i pass their random drug test. Oh, by the way clear background checks. Now when i apply i do get some return emails for interviews but then silence. One hiring manager was kind enough to return an email and was very blunt with me. "You will probably have difficulty finding any gainful employment as a nurse due to this blemish on your license" " I have way too many applications with out a blemish as it is". etc.... etc.... "Unfortunately, our corporate views this as a liability that we just can't except". I am so heartbroken over this but she is probably right noone will give me a chance all over again. So i guess it's time to hang up my 20 years experience. So, i feel for all nurses that are recovering addictions etc.... Maybe, because i have had this experience i feel that something/legislation needs to happen to stop the "Lifelong punishments" Maybe only visible 10 years etc.... depending on the issue. This is all i have known nursing. Heck even some adds i see for gas stations want cash register experience etc.... I guess it's all over. Lose my house, car, and everything that goes with it. Felons are treated better than nurses with a prior discipline.

Hi Laylag10, I am in Ohio and received a DUI in 2007. 1st offense. I self reported. Need to write out what happened, what you learned from it. No discipline and ok'd to further education. But don't wait. Hope this helps.