daisie

I forgot one more thing. There is a cna that works with this nurse. They are best buds (at work). This cna will graduate in May as an RN. She is going to become the RN for 2nd shift. We've never had a 2nd shift RN. I thought about getting another job before this happens, but I want to see what happens after she becomes the RN. I have seen this cna making faces behind this nurse's back. And I've always been told (and have seen) that when a cna becomes a nurse they change. I just want to see if she changes and stands up to this nurse or if she'll be under her spell also.

We have a problem in our facility. DHEC requires 7 cna's in the facility on 2nd shift. There were 8 on the schedule and 6 were in the building (plus an orientee, which made 7). There are 2 wings. 4 cna's were on wing one and 2 were on wing two. Two cna's were coming in late. Each cna had their groups and were ready to get to work. The problem was: wing two wanted one of the cna's from wing one to got to wing two and take a group until one of the late cna's came in. Turn and dry them. Then after the late cna comes in then the wing one cna could go back and take up her group. To me this is rewarding the late person (because there group is taken care of) and punishing the person on time (because they have to do the late cna's group and then come do theirs). The don was demanding this be done. I told the cna who went over there to send the late cna to wing one and she would do her group and if she didn't she would be written up. I was arguing with the rn on wing two and was so infuriated (this is not the first time this has happened) I hung up on her and called the don. She was siding with wing two, which has a brown-nosing nurse and gets her way ALL of the time, no matter what the situation. I was told by the other nurses that I am fighting a losing battle when I go up against this brown-nosing nurse. What do you guys think of this? This is a very unorganized facility in my opinion.

Still working there. It's ok for me, but there are a lot of complaints from others. I heard that this nurse is into "voo-doo." She has told me that she doesn't believe in god. Another nurse said that she believes she has "roots" on the adm. and don. She could be right. I have been to the adm. twice with complaints and her face just goes blank, she says its just exaggerated and changes the subject. I went to the don and when I would bring up a problem with this nurse, the same thing, her face would go blank and she would change the subject. I even threatened to put it my resignation. There are only 2 second shift nurses and DHEC requires 2 on second and if I quit they will be short. They are already short when I'm off. I only work 4 days a week. They beg for other nurses to work. They even call me and leave dozens of messages for me to call back. What do you guys think of this rumor?

While I was in nursing school a graduate from the year before came to speak to us. She was currently working in a doctor's office. She said that a girl about 18 came in and she needed to get a clean catch on her. She explained to the girl to take the first towelette and wipe down one side of the labia, then the second down the other and the third down the middle, then put it in the specimen cup. Well, the girl put the towelettes in the specimen cup, not the urine.

We have a rt. who had fallen (before he came to us) and have 3 brain surgeries. He is very, very talkative, nonstop, 24 hours a day. One morning someone told him he smelled like a pole cat (I wasn't there, I was told this when I came in on 2nd). After he woke from his nap and was sitting at the nurses' station, a nurse said, "I smell a pole cat." He said, "Who's talking about me?" She then asked him, "Do you know what a pole cat is?" He said, "Sure, it's a regular cat that sits on top of a pole." We all laughed so hard. Then he said, "But when it comes down it's really smelling good."

When my grandmother was in ICU with angina, she talked my aunt, who is an RN, into bringing her some kerosene to put on left arm because it hurt so bad. Her room really had a strong smell. And she would also pull her IV pump with her to see who was waiting in the lobby to see her when visiting hours began. She was 84 years old. This was 9 years ago.

Last night was my last night for 6 days. I wrote the administrator about the "spy" needing to have things her way. I also had other complaints not about the spy. The day before, the DON came to me wanting me to work more overtime. I told her not to even think about it. I got up this morning and the phone rang. I never answer it because it could be mother-in-law, sales people, or the DON. It was the DON asking me to call her when I got in. Do you think I'm going to call her? No. I'm tired of being the "only" nurse there, it feels like. When someone calls in sick, they always call me to work. Well, no more. And I am going to spend the next few days I have off looking for another job. They may not pay as much by the hour, but my usual work week (without overtime) is only 36 hours. I'm sure I could get a job at 40 hours a week and get some over time there. Thanks for all your support and when I see my coworkers, I'll ask them if they want us to ban together against the "spy." As for our DON, she really doesn't have much backbone. She agrees with everyone. She tells people what they want to hear. She promises you can give the meds and the other nurse do treatments (we all hate treatments because you usually have to do treatments for the whole facility and the meds is just for your wing) and then she'll promise the other nurse the same thing, and then when we get to work there's a big argument. This is one of the reasons I'm cutting out the overtime. And I am getting tired, emotionally, physically I'm hyper, but when your emotions get tired it can start on the physcical and I don't want it to get to that point.

I didn't know there were M.A.s until I had about 2 months left in nursing school. I'm an LPN. I was shocked and upset. If I had known about the M.A.s I would have done that instead of spending all that time in nursing school. Maybe LPN's make more money, no one likes to divulge their salaries. I did my clinicals in 3 different facilities and there were M.A.s in them and they were just as capable as the nurses at their jobs. The only way I knew they were not nurses is if I asked them. All the staff in these facilities did not have LPN or RN on their badges, it said, "Nursing Staff." With the shortage of nurses, we nursing techs. I wish we had some where I work now.

I work in a nursing home. The other night one of my aids called me over the call and said, "Mr. ____ has a bad rash on his prenatal area and needs some cream." I was laughing so hard and she came out of the room and said, "Are you laughing at me?" I could only shake my head 'yes.' I finally explained to her what prenatal was and told her she meant perineum.

$12/hr? Where I work CNAs make $6/hr. and they work ther buns off. I'm an LPN and make a lot more than they do, but if it weren't for the CNAs, think of the work that we would have to do. I respect the CNAs I work with. I am not demanding or ride their backs. When I do ask them to do something for me, they do not hesitate. Some of the other nurses degrade them, yell at them, follow them around and try to tell them how to do their jobs. When these nurses really need the CNAs the CNAs are not as enthusiastic to help. I don't blame them. If I worked for that little bit of pay and was always being hounded, I wouldn't be very enthusiastic about my job either.

I have worked 3-11 for the past 4 months. I worked 7p-7a for the first year I was a nurse. I am a night person. I have worked 3rd at every job I've ever had. I'm on 2nd now because 3rd got really boring for me. All the rt's were asleep and what's there to do but clean. I cleaned windows, the fridge, cabinets, closets, etc. I got tired of cleaning. I'm a nurse not housekeeping. 2nd shift lost all of its nurses so I went to 2nd. Not a dull moment there. Sundowners setting in, rt's refusing to take showers and arguing with them, getting them to go to bed and stay in bed without wandering everywhere, and it seems that evening is when they all get sick: upset stomach, headache, can't sleep, back ache, etc. What a different pace from 3rd. I get to sit for 5 minutes, maybe, to grab a bite to eat. I have ran down the hall while chewing my food many times, but the time goes by a lot faster.

I was in nursing school and doing my clinical rotation through the ER when this young girl came in. She said that she was pregnant and that she had a bladder infection because she had cramps and every time she went voided she was bleeding. We ran a pregnancy test on her which was negative. She was menstruating. The nurses in the ER told me that they get that a lot.

The hospital in my town was very old. It was closed a couple of years ago. The man who founded the hospital died many years ago. The nurses in the hospital, that worked with him when he was alive, say that he always did his rounds late at night. After he died and up until the hospital was closed, the night nurses could still hear his footsteps in the hallways and that doors to empty rooms would close and open and the TVs would turn on. They said that they would have to go around at night and turn off the TVs. I work in a nursing home now and about 6 months ago one of the rt's died. Her room mate was totally blind. Right before this lady died the woman in the other bed yelled out for someone to leave the room. She said that she saw a man in black come in the room. Right after that is when her room mate died.

I graduated in 1999 from Hartsville Career Center as an LPN. It is a one year program. I learned to be a CNA. I learned to be an LPN when I got my nursing job. The experienced nurses in the facility where I work taught me how to be a nurse.

Where I work I eat at the nurses station. I work 2nd and 3rd shifts. 1st shift does not eat at the nurses station, probably because there are too many people at the desk and your food could be talked over or spilled. We have had meetings where they are trying to have a policy about not eating at the desk mainly because our food is being contaminated when we eat around places where patient care is given, which makes sense, but when you are the only nurse you can't leave the floor to eat, but you can't tell management that. Who is going to answer the call light and listen out for anything going on? If there are 2 nurses on duty, which is very rare, then we can go eat in the dining room, which is cold and lonely and who wants to eat in those conditions? Management needs to work the floor for 1 or 2 days before they make judgement calls. Sometimes they give us rules that are just ridiculous and sometimes impossible to live by.

Hi, I'm new to this site. I've been a nurse for 1 1/2 years. I have worked in a nursing home since I've graduated. The problem is with this one nurse. She just doesnt' bother just me she bothers all 80 something employees and our administrator thinks that she is "wonder nurse." This nurse tells on everyone for everything. We all make mistakes and we all try to help each other out in correcting them except this one nurse. She runs to the administrator for everything. If you were charting and wrote down the wrong date, she tells. She also makes up things on the other employs to get them in trouble. I have heard her say, "I don't like so-and-so. I'm going to get them fired." The person is harrassed by her so much they usually end up quitting. She has harrassed everyone that works there at some time or another. We had an RN to quit because of all the lies she told on her. Our staff is at a bare minimum, nurses and nursing assistants. I have been doing the job of 2 and 3 nurses because we are so short staffed. I work double shifts and our DON has asked me twice to work triple shifts. I guess when you give an inch, they'll try to take a mile. Recently we have found out that this nurse has been paid $2000 to "spy" on other employees. She has been given the title "supervisor" for whatever shift she works because we are not able to do our jobs "right." I personally have not been accused of not doing my job, but one of the other nurses is on probation for 3 months because of the lies the "tattle tell" has told on her. We have been to the administrator and tried taking up for the innocent nurse, but she won't listen. I have seen many things the "tattle tell" has done wrong but I'm not a tattle tell, but now I wish I had been. Some of us have gone to the administrator with some things she has done that should be told and we are just told, "everyone makes mistakes," or "you know how people exaggerate." We have given up saying anything to our administrator because it seems that this one nurse can do no wrong. I have been thinking about getting another job just because of this one nurse. I really love what I do and the residents, and I get along with all the other employees. I feel comfortable where I am, but I dread going to work when I know this one nurse is going to be there. I'm afraid she may try to tell things on me and I don't want to risk losing my license. I have had CNAs come to me and complain about her harrassing them. She follows them around or peeks around the corner at them while they are working to find out things on them. She never leaves work when her shift is over. She usually has to stay about 2 hours late to finish her work and probably to "spy" on the next shift. Everyone is really upset with her, but what can we do if the administrator won't listen to us? I recently went to the administrator and told her I was thinking about resigning because of all the things that have been going on. She told me that it would be the same anywhere I go. Which is probably true, but I don't think that they have an LPN that runs the facility like this one does.