TrivaNurse

Ugh, I had something similar happen to me! I'm a new RN in a LTC facility and I think this happened sometime during my first month off orientation. I came in at 6p and had to hang an IV ABT right away. I grab my supplies and headed to the room only to find an empty bag of the same ABT hooked up to the patient and beeping. The only other dose of this ABT was scheduled at 11a in the morning. I walked back to the nurses desk to ask the nurse about it and she growls at me saying, "Just GO hang the BAG!" Basically saying, "go do your damn job". Super confused I walk back to the patients room and assess that yes, the bag is still attached to the patient, etc and realize that I do not feel okay hooking up the new bag because I have no idea if the patient just got her dose or what. I leave the room and the next thing I know that nurse walks into the patients room, then comes up to me in the hall way and starts talking about how "Us nurses look out for each other and we don't tell on each other if the patient didn't get hurt..." Basically that nurse had given the patient her 11a dose and then LEFT THE EMPTY BAG HANGING until 6p!!! This nurse was in at least her 50s, had been a nurse for 20 years, and before LTC worked for 10+ years in the ICU. I was 100% shocked and confused. I chose not to tell her on but looking back I wish I had. She was fired a few weeks ago for something unrelated. I know this didn't answer your problem but you're definitely not the only one having problems like this. Working with other staff members is often much harder than working with residents.

I'm a RN working my first job in a LTC facility and I've been there for about 5 months. I work night shift (6p-6a) and here's a basic run-down of what I do on my shift: 1). Finish any skilled sheets left from day shift (head to toe assessment plus extensive charting regarding their care needs) 2). Finish any admissions (paper work, assessing the patient, writing orders for them, etc) 3). PRN medications plus a few scheduled meds 4). 5a PEG meds 5). Standard charting on patients with FC, ABT, ISO, etc as well as any behaviours 6). Busy work (checking fridge temps, testing glucometers, crash cart checklist, etc) 7). Labs at 4a 8). Stocking med room, med cart, etc 9). Treatments 10). Managing the building. This is the toughest one for me because obviously as a nursing student you never manage anyone. I'm responsible for making sure everyone shows up to work, calling management if someone doesn't, re-assigning halls to the CNAs if we're short staffed, and occasionally even calling other CNAs to see if they will come in to work. I loathe this part of my job. Such a waste of time that could be given to residents. Hope this helps:)

Hey! I'm a night nurse at a LTC facility as well. :) This is my first nursing job and I've been there for about 5 months. I completely understand the worried/restless feeling. I felt like I quickly got the hang of basic tasks (foley caths, passing meds, paper work, etc) so after the first 3 months I also felt kind of bored. Something I found that really helps is writing down my patient's diagnosis and then studying them after work. Obviously, we learned about the common diagnosis already in school but going over the material again when you have real life experience is TOTALLY different. Once I started doing this it really made the nights a lot more interesting because I would know way more about what to monitor/assess/look for. Doing that extra studying has been a huge help in garnering respect from family members and older staff members too because it shows them this baby nurse knows her stuff, haha. Hope this helps! :)