I have a question about the third shift role in LTC.
Why does first shift veiw us as their personal "prep team" whose main purpose is to get everything ready for them?
I know all LTC facilities have third shift get some of the residents up early. We have two CNAs on my unit at night and they are each assinged four residents to get up in their assingments.
There are times when some of these residents are out. Maybe they're in the hospital, or visiting family, or whatever. When this happens, when one of our third shift "get ups" are out, our first shift aides insist that this means we should get someone else up in their palce.
Escuse me?!
Why on earth should we get an "alternate" resident up? One less resident for us is one less resident for everybody. What are the you doing extra? Is third shift's role to make life easy for day shift??
I'm so sick of my shift being treated like all we're doing is "prepping" for the people who do the "real" work.
So my girls should start getting people dressed at 4:00am.... why?
If an early get-up is in the hospital, it doesn't make extra work for 1st shift. It's a little bit of a break for everybody. Why should my girls have to do extra work simply to make life easy for day shift?
Next time we have to get someone extra up, I'm gouing to assign first shift some extra chores they can do with all that extra free time...
I currently work at a facility which has a similar mentality, except third shift is to get up not one, but 3 people (as in, fully dressed, toileted, and showered on shower days.) on top of doing your med pass which is on the smallest floor, a minimum of 21 residents. I had a run in with one of my CNA's not long ago because I had gotten up one of her residents and asked her to trade off with me. Her reply? "I didn't ask you, you volunteered so now you just have an extra work load"
Specializes in correctional, med/surg, postpartum, L&D,.
It's been a long time since I worked in a SNF, but it was against policy to get residents up before day shift. We didn't mind getting them dressed if they were already up, but to physically get them up and get them dressed was considered assault (I think) by the admin. because it was against their will. Breakfast was usually at 8 or so. Day shift got there at 6. Restorative aides got there at 5 to start the few baths that they could do. We pretty much had a skeleton crew at night anyway. At the very least, we'd have 6 or 7 dressed because they were already awake and wanted up.
It is very sad that there still seem to be so many facilities NOT putting resident rights first! This is their HOME! Let them get up, shower, and eat when and what they want! Lord I hope more homes get on board soon.
the state surveyors almost always question patients to determine if they are being made to follow strict schedules that are designed for staff convenience with little regard to how they affect the patients. like all issues regarding patient rights, this is a big deal.
I recently graduated in May and I am a Supervisor on nights....we are suppose to have 3 aides if fully staffed to each fllor (being two floors) with approx. 60 residents on each floor. If we are own one aide whatever floor has 3 aides that night will have one aide float upstairs at 6am to get up two residents; the other floor will get up two residents between the two aides. This is because the other aide wouldve already completed rounds at 5am so is able to go upstairs while the two aides are still completing rounds since they didnt have the extra hand and had more residents. It works out, if we have only 2 aides on each floor there are no get ups. Morning staff never complains because they understand how short staffed we usually are. If we are fully staffed there are 6 get ups on each floor which is nice but rarely happens. If someone is d/t leave the facility before 8am we will substitute a routine get up and get this resident up instead. The only issue I have with day shift is that they see how short we are once they arrive but do not help answer alarms if they are heard; that resident could be on the floor by the time one of us is able to reach it but they do not care...I find this so wrong.
nursehaley91, BSN, RN
74 Posts
I currently work at a facility which has a similar mentality, except third shift is to get up not one, but 3 people (as in, fully dressed, toileted, and showered on shower days.) on top of doing your med pass which is on the smallest floor, a minimum of 21 residents. I had a run in with one of my CNA's not long ago because I had gotten up one of her residents and asked her to trade off with me. Her reply? "I didn't ask you, you volunteered so now you just have an extra work load"