cheleb61

When I lived in New Jersey, every facility that I worked in required that the unit manager to be an RN. When I moved to Florida, I was shocked that LPNs could be unit managers and where I live it doesn't matter if they are going to school for their RN or not. That being said, I have 2 wonderful LPNs as the unit managers where I work. They are both extremely competent in their nursing skills and they both know how to manage their staff in a professional manner. When there is a problem with an RN, the ADON or DON gets involved. It sounds to me that the unit manager the original poster is describing has a big head and is really letting the title get to her. I don't think that she should be unit manager with only 2 years experience.

I know glucometer cleaning is an issue. Make sure you are following the manufacturer's guidelines and using the proper cleaning product. Also make sure that the barrier is used and the glucometer is allowed to dry for at least 2 minutes before bing used again. A facility in my area just got a tag for not completing a dental assessment. There's always a potential for tags related to falls. Be sure that your fall risk assessments are correct and that your interventions are in place. Unnecessary meds is one that quite a few facilities have gotten hit on. Be sure that there is proper documentation about using PRN meds and their effectiveness after being given. If you feel you have a problem in a certain area include it in your QA/PI. Sometimes that helps to avoid a tag or decrease the level of the tag. It shows that you are aware of the problem and are doing something about it.

I would check your state's requirements for an infection control nurse. I know in Florida, you can be an LPN in the infection control position. I think this position is one that an LPN can do but don't you want to work on the floor and work on your skills? It's very helpful when going to school to have some of your skills down pat.

If you don't mind me asking, what state university did you go to?

I can't believe they have you taking care of so many residents. That is absolutely insane. Do not feel like you are incompetent. Bruises of unknown origin happen a lot, unfortunately. Especially if anti-coagulants are involved. Your DON should not have made you feel intimidated or like you missed something because you didn't see the bruise. It is standard procedure to interview every associate that cared for the resident for the 72 hours prior to the discovery of the bruise. Remember that you are one person and you can only do so much.

We have lifts in our facility and it is policy that two people must be present when the lifts are in use. I have only had once incident (that comes to mind) where the resident slipped from the sit to stand lift. This incident was not from faulty equipment but from associate error as she was by herself using the lift to transfer the resident. We seem to have our ups and downs with falls. Sometimes we have alot, sometimes we have none. And also the more confused the residents are the higher the chance they will fall.

Check out the Advance for LPN's website. I believe they advertise a wound care certification course in their magazine so they probably have that info on their website.

That sounds reasonable to me. We only have to chart weekly because that is what corporate has said we must do.

In my facility we have a daily flow sheet for each resident on a Restorative program. The RNA documents the # of minutes each exrecise was performed. There is also a comments section where they are required to write how the person did the exercise, how many feet walked, etc. The form has a column for each day (Sun-Sat) and rows for different programs (PROM, AROM, Ambulation, Dining, etc). The Restorative Nurse has to do a weekly sumary on every resident in the program and a monthly summary on all Restorative Dining residents. Our charts actually have a Restorative section in them. I was in charge of the Restorative program so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

I moved from NJ to FL 2 1/2 years ago and transferred my license here. The process took about 3 months but only because they lost one page of my application. Once they got the missing page, it only took a few weeks before I had my license. Like the previous poster said, log ont o myflorida.com and all the info you will need is there.

That's great!! Sometimes it takes something serious to make people wake up and smell the coffee!!!

Do you have a regional/corporate nursing/clinical manager that you can talk to about this?

We have someone in charge of our Christmas party every year. They have bake sales and cookouts throughout the year to fund our party. They also do 50/50 raffles. Last year they gave away a laptop computer, a Nintendo Wii, luggage set, flat screen tv, ipod, and many other awesome prizes. As far as the activities for the residents go...is there any kind of resident council that you can meet with? Ask them what kind of activities they would be interested in. Suggest crafts, cooking, or even a walk outside when it is nice. Get together with the rehab department and/or Restorative department and in an attempt to assist with exercises for the resident, organize an exercise group for them. Bowling is a great exercise/activity they can do. Trivia is a great activity for the alert residents too!! Hope that helps!!

Does your facility have any policies about yearly physicals? At my facility, all employees have to an annual physical and they have to be able to do certain things, like lift a certain amount of weight etc. to maintain employment.

I agree. Get the guides on ebay instead of buying them from the company. They are so expensive!!