debroh1

Being able to help someone is probably the best part of the job. Being an advocate for someone who can't help themselves. When you can be the one making sure someone who is close to the end make a peaceful journey over. Holding a ladies hand when she's crying because she can't find her kids and her adult kids don't realize why she can't recognize them in front of her. Everyone finds their own niche. The one thing they are good at in this job. And its not just about the money, although in this recession its a good job to have.

At any job ask who ever is in charge your specific responsibilities and try to get them to rank them for you. Find out what you are responsible for ie.. nurse aides, meds, txs. I work at a SNF where I rotate between charge or meds and txs. There is an RN coordinator there but my duties include accomadatyng the DR. when there, knowing when to contact him when he's not, and making sure the NA's are doing their job. Funny thing is if they are not then the RN is responsible to corect them, however I get blamed for not watching them. The best days are med, tx days. That is the extent of my duties for the day.

I'm an LPN at a large facility. I rotate between charge and giving meds. However our doctors write in the orders if we are to check the BP and hold for parameters set by the DR. If I fail to check the BP before giving meds than I have done a med error and not the charge nurse, RN coordinator etc...LPN's are governed by BON just as RN's are and are responsible for their own actions. This is not delegating duties under your license unless you ask her to get the BP's prior to administering meds(such as it is your job to do the VS, but you delegate it to the LPN to do-which is reasonable since it is in their scope of practice)If a bp drops too low as a result of getting the med then it needs to be brought to the md's attention to evaluate the med. Either way, unless they are required to get the bp prior to giving the med and ignore that part of the order than it falls on their head and not yours.

The tx was a topical cream, otherwise it would have been initialed and dated. This resident has a hx of trying to get staff in trouble. I believe he does this to get what he wants. If staff is scaredof getting in trouble he gets extra care. His bath typically takes an stna 1 hr to do and involves at least 2 aides at times thru out. He is a 60 .o. quad by the way who is completely oriented.

Think of all the time we waste doing pages of reports r/t rolling out of bed from 2 inchs off the floor. Sometimes I think department of health changes rules for job security. They don't address the poor staffing issues because of the facility but they worry about that.

Do you really think he needs a lawyer. Part of me is just mad that this ******* can lie thru his teeth and get away with it. He told everyone all weekend it was me, then when he couldn't get mein trouble he switchs his story and the nurse managers go along with it. The thing that burns me is the nurse from friday who told them he did not do the tx and signed the book is not getting reported.

:confused:My husband and I work as LPN's at a long term care facility. Recently one of our more problematic residents got mad at myself, and unfortunately another nurse I worked with forgot to do his tx, but had signed the TX book. He decided he was going to get me in trouble by telling everyone I falsified his record and didn't do his tx. That weekend he told everyone (my husband included) that he was going to get me in trouble. Well monday am he went to the DON and told them I did not do his tx on friday but of course it was the other LPN who did not do it. He then changed his story to my husband did not do his tx all weekend. They are now reporting this to ODH despite the fact that the other nurse he worked with thru the weekend was with him (Had to have 2 to roll him) and states the tx was done. I am so mad because he is outright lying because he could not do something he wanted to do on that Friday and he was mad at me. Now my husband is going to be investigated because of me. Any advice??

If you are going into this job knowing that you can't handle it, then you really are in trouble. I work a 50 bed unit and am the only nurse on 3-11 most nights. We have Rn care coordinators for the whole building (almost 500) and Rn managers to handle staff issues, but again it's one nurse to 50 residents. And yes it is hard and no you will not get a break most nights. But if you know that you can not handle it going in, then go somewhere else. Because when you do make a mistake and God forbid have to go before the board who do you think is going to back you up?

What is your hospital policy on alcohol use at work? If the supervisor is now changing her story and claims she smelled alcohol why wasn't he sent home or an investigation started? It is a serious threat to patient safety to allow a coworker who you suspect of abusing alcohol at work to continue the shift. I would push that angle with anyone who brings up the issue. Also definately find out the policy and if questioned again, refer to it and follow all guidelines (my facility will send you for a breath test immediately) this should not only stop all problems, but will be the basis for any other wrongful actions taken. I work with my spouse as well and know the difficulties of other coworkers taking out their problems with him on me. Sad that some people feel the need to act this way. But if your partner is serious about keeping his job, either transfer to another unit or document every interaction with supervisors over the "alcohol" smell and follow thru to insure his reputation and job are safe.

I agree and encourage family participation for just that reason. We only keep three months of documentation on the chart before it is thinned. Sometimes the family will remember that something was already tried and didn't work. There is a thin line though to being an advocate and concerned family member to being neurotic and unrealistic. I have families that I love to see everyday and then there are the ones that when they walk through the door you cringe. You take the nice with the unpleasent and eventually learn how to deal with them, and what they want to hear and see. One wife was very critical of her husband's care, his hair had to be combed just a certain way and then pushed forward just so that it would look fuller on top. After hearing her complain everyday over this and other things, I started walking into his room on my way up the hall in the morning and fixing his hair exactly how she wanted it. When she would come in after breakfast she was soo happy to see his hair the way she wanted it, that she soon forgot about all her other complaints that could not be fixed (his general decline d/t health, not neglect as she made it seem at first). The key is to try and figure out what you can correct and work from there. Sometimes its the little things that we do that will make them happy. And sometimes their guilt over LTC placement will never allow them to be happy over their loved ones care.

You'r an angel for volunteering, especially on an Alzheimers floor. I work a secure care dementia unit. They need more than anything someone to talk to. To them their world is very real, and it's not only useless to try to re orient but also scary and threatening to them. Ask them about their family and children. Go along with whatever they answer with and build from there. If they think they are in their teens, twenties etc. ask about their job, if they were a veteran, etc. Most Alzheimer residents become combative because they are scared and really don't understand what is going on around them. Having someone to talk to is calming to most of them and helps to redirect them from other things (leaving, fighting with the others). As you spend more time on the unit you will realize who you can and can't connect with, and what they most remember and want to talk about. As a nurse I've realized that 1:1 conversation with my residents is the best activity, but frequently don't have the time due to the demands of the job. I work at a VA home so all my residents are veterans. Makes it a little easier to find a topic they want to talk about.

There are many job opportunities in LTC. You are putting your license on the line by continuing to work there, not to mention your sanity. Is it worth losing your license to continue to work there? It's hard to think of leaving residents that you become attached to, but sometimes thats the only way to get management to listen. At our facility there was a very big turnover of Nurses, and it took that to get management to question why staff would not stay, and why there were no applications. Things are improving and they listen to us more than before. Look around and inquire at other facilities. You may be surprised about conditions at other places either being worse, better, or the same. Just realize that you have many possibities of employment and there will be someplace better suited to you if you look hard enough.

I was a nurse aide for 12 years before going to school and have been an LPN for 2 years now. I always thought the LPN had it so easy till I actually became one. I remember 1 nurse in particular who I thought was the same way (lazy, didn't want to help out, and seemed to have a bad attitude towards the NA). Then when I became an LPN and of course stayed at the same facility guess who trained me. It was then that I realized how mentally draining her job was, how even though NA's have a physically demanding job (and yes stressful too) the nurse has the responsibilty of the entire floor. Which entails dealing with the dr., families, residents, staff disputes, lab, pharmacy, RN manager, incident reports, med pass, treatments, tube feedings, endless mountains of required paperwork, charting, etc.. that comes with that little bit of more money. I may not leave at the end of the night physically tired, but I am mentally exhausted. Then I spend the ride home trying to rememnber if I did this or that, and if I didn't how much trouble is that going to be. So then I get home and call back to work to find out if I did remember to do everything. That same nurse who I dispised became my best friend. She was the one nurse who knew all the ins and outs and knew how to dot the i and cross the t's. Many a night I called her at home and she always knew the answer to the problem, and who to call what to do. And while training me I realized that she NEVER took a break (lunch or otherwise) came in just a little bit early and left only after everything was taken care of. You never know till you walk in someone else's shoes. Yes there will always be the bad with the good. But NA's can never realize the burden of our job, and the responsibilty, until you actually do it. I always thought I would be the nurse to help the NA's out. (feed, toilet and help out) but at the end of the shift they've had all their breaks and are leaving on time. I've not had one break and am staying over to finish up my job so that I don't get in trouble. You get good nurses with the bad just as you get good NA' in the mix also. Just try to realize that even though that LPN acts like she doesn't want to help out, maybe there is more of a reason.

I work in a LTC facility in Ohio. We can have anywhere from 25 to 50 residents to care for. I work an Alzheimers floor 3-11 and the minimum is 2 nurses for the 50 residents. On some of the other floors there are 50 residents and the minimum is 1 LPN on the evening shift