My situation: I started a LTC prn position as RN this week. I have never worked in a nursing home as a nurse before, and I told the hiring manager this. She said I'd get as much orientation as I needed. (I didn't expect much more than a week.) I do have prior hospital experience.
Well, on my second day, when I was just supposed to be doing my first med pass, (I don't know any of the residents,none of the employees, how to use the phone, where anything is, including charts, resources, etc.) they had a call off and instead of the nurse manager working one of the wings, like she was supposed to, she did chart review somewhere in the facility while my preceptor was taken to another unit and I was left to fend for myself. Needless to say, I was trying to do the best I could, but I did make a lot of mistakes based on not knowing where things were and also not knowing policy, etc. Even the d.o.n. came up to say she was sorry, but since no one offered to help me, I don't see why she bothered.
Anyway, I get the impression that the staff here is overworked and not supported well by management. I told them I may not be back, and they said that they would understand if that was the case. Since they hired me on the spot, I assume they're pretty desperate for help.
I am supposed to go tomorrow morning for another orientation day but truthfully, I'm angry and worried about losing my license at this kind of place. Am I over reacting? Or should I follow my gut?
Sorry this is so long, but I started this prn job to try and find an area in nursing to call "home", and I don't think this is it!
anyway, i get the impression that the staff here is overworked and not supported well by management. i told them i may not be back, and they said that they would understand if that was the case. since they hired me on the spot, i assume they're pretty desperate for help.
i am supposed to go tomorrow morning for another orientation day but truthfully, i'm angry and worried about losing my license at this kind of place. am i over reacting? or should i follow my gut?
sorry this is so long, but i started this prn job to try and find an area in nursing to call "home", and i don't think this is it!
please reply back asap, anyone with advice!!!
hello luckyduck7! i hope you are feeling much much better now? i just started working in a longterm care facility for less than a month, and i felt that i need longgggger orientation even i am scheduled to do an orientation for a month! yeah, i don't blame you if you didn't show up for that job, because ltc is hard, and i have moment where i feel like i want to quit, but i feel that if i quit now, it will look bad on my work record, and my next employer will think i a quitter....i see a lot of things there like nurses arguing, cna's are rude...but what catches my attention are the residents, they're so old and sad... it takes me a while to know their names,their habits and etc., i am in my 3rd week now with them, and i see the residents faces light up when they see me.these old folks needs nurses with positive attitude i think. yeah, i also see the nurses who work there looked pretty burned out too. i always wanted to do something else in other nursing dept. such as medical-surgical, or maybe icu.. but for now, maybe i will stick here for a while.
I was in a similar situation many years ago. Although I had worked in LTC for a few years, I took this job working night shift in, what I thought was, a great facility. It was awful. We started getting the residents up at 4 am. We had to have them all up, washed and breakfasted by the time the day crew came in at 8. Four of us for, I think, 40 highly dependent residents. Absolutely inhumane. I had no qualms about telling the MAtron, when she arrived at 8:30 that I would not be returning for my 2nd shift and my reasons. Had there been a regulatory body for LTC, at the time, I would have called them too
allantiques4me
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