Sleeping techs

[yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN]

I've never posted here, but know this is an awesome place for objective views, so here goes:

I work 0700-1500 shift at a very small (6 bed) Type B assisted living facility.

I arrived about 30 minutes early for work Friday & found both over-night techs asleep outside a patient room and they were wrapped in blankets on a sofa.. This was not a simple incident of nodding off while charting. ---This type assisted living facility has residents that do NOT require skilled care 24 hours a day. We have a nurse on 0700-1500 and 1500-2300 shift. Night shift is staffed by techs only, with RN support available in case of emergencies.

Their documentation had been written out through end of shift & they had left blanks to fill in relevant information: "patient turned x ______; voided _____cc's clear yellow urine this reporting period . Repositioned Q 2 hours. Final shift check made @ 0630"

They were asleep @ 0630!---and who knows HOW long before that! We are new, so we only have 1 (ONE) patient--and they were right outside his room. One of the sleepers has already made a name for herself with subtle insubordiantion (complaining about routine for the facility once we're full --division of 6 showers between the 3 shifts--, complaining about taking V/S @ 0600...) She has been counseled about sleeping on duty the week prior, but argued that she 'was on her break' at the time of the incident.

Rather than wake them right then & there, I notified CNS (Central Nursing Supervisor) and phoned our unit nurse mgr.

CNS arrived & woke the 2 staff--informing them that the DON had been notified & they'd both need to stop by his office for counseling & to have the incident documented.

WELL--today, we had an impromptu meeting (minus the sleepers)--where the nurse manager curtly announced that she'd prefer that we wake sleepers, rather than report them, because "we are on the same team" and "shouldn't wish any harm to come to another's job". :kiss

We are brand new, so we only have 1 (ONE) patient

Am I missing something here? Sleeping on duty...'fill-in-the-blanks' documentation...one patient...wrapped up in a blanket?:deadhorse

Any input is appreciated! Thanks for allowing me to vent.

[SFCardiacRN]

Since you are new and the techs are not and the manager supported the techs...it is time to find a better job. Nurse managers that support friends in spite of legalities make horrible bosses. This job is a disaster waiting to happen.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

I 100% totally agree with SFCardiacRN.

[mandykal, ADN, RN]

Does the techs get paid for their break time or do they have to clock out?

But still that is so crazy! Sadly, only when disasters happen is when most people learn....

I once worked at a skilled rehab and employees get paid break time but there is obligations that they can't leave the building, and they aren't allow to sleep. A couple of CNA's were suspended for resting with their eyes closed during the 11-7 shift. Needless to say, the next time they'd probably be fired.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Had i gone to sleep as a nurse's aide, i would have woken up to find myself unemployed.

[yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN]

There must be 2 staff in the building @ all times. We eat our meals on the unit without clocking out. We aren't required to arrive 15 minutes early or stay late for report because a 'shift report log' is used.

I'm definitely appreciating the support & advice.

[yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN]

Clarification: I'm not a new staff member---the FACILITY is new.

We all began working the same day. I've been an LVN for nearly 14 years.

[danfif]

Sleeping on duty means immediate termination where I work, no if, ands or buts, you are history, toast, gonzoed! I will never understand how someone who is in the care of another persons health and well being can just curl up and go to sleep and have a clear mind about doing it..

Dan

[TazziRN, RN]

Are the techs certified by the state at all, like CNA's? If yes, this would be reportable. This is a patient safety issue.....not only is there no one awake should something happen to the resident, but the charting is forged. If the chart says the pt was turned 4 times during the night, yet develops decubs, there's obviously a discrepancy.

If it were me, I would NOT want to work in a facility where the loafers are supported by admin.

[DianeS, RN]

Where I work, even looking like you are sleeping on the job is immediate grounds for firing.

Do what your heart says, but I would be looking for another job. This is a patient safety issue and I don't think I could work for a place like this.

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

I agree,, get out. Depending on the res. they could have walked right by the sleepers, gone outside and gotten hit by a car or who knows what else. If you were able to enter the home, call 2 people, wait for someone to come in and wake them they had probly been asleep most of the night.

Sleep at my facility and your toast. Why is there 2 staff in that home for one res anyway? If they dont have full client load yet why arent people going to other homes to help and cover until that home is full? Makes no sense at all.

[tridil2000, MSN, RN]

I've never posted here, but know this is an awesome place for objective views, so here goes:

I work 0700-1500 shift at a very small (6 bed) Type B assisted living facility.

I arrived about 30 minutes early for work Friday & found both over-night techs asleep outside a patient room and they were wrapped in blankets on a sofa.. This was not a simple incident of nodding off while charting. ---This type assisted living facility has residents that do NOT require skilled care 24 hours a day. We have a nurse on 0700-1500 and 1500-2300 shift. Night shift is staffed by techs only, with RN support available in case of emergencies.

Their documentation had been written out through end of shift & they had left blanks to fill in relevant information: "patient turned x ______; voided _____cc's clear yellow urine this reporting period . Repositioned Q 2 hours. Final shift check made @ 0630"

They were asleep @ 0630!---and who knows HOW long before that! We are new, so we only have 1 (ONE) patient--and they were right outside his room. One of the sleepers has already made a name for herself with subtle insubordiantion (complaining about routine for the facility once we're full --division of 6 showers between the 3 shifts--, complaining about taking V/S @ 0600...) She has been counseled about sleeping on duty the week prior, but argued that she 'was on her break' at the time of the incident.

Rather than wake them right then & there, I notified CNS (Central Nursing Supervisor) and phoned our unit nurse mgr.

CNS arrived & woke the 2 staff--informing them that the DON had been notified & they'd both need to stop by his office for counseling & to have the incident documented.

WELL--today, we had an impromptu meeting (minus the sleepers)--where the nurse manager curtly announced that she'd prefer that we wake sleepers, rather than report them, because "we are on the same team" and "shouldn't wish any harm to come to another's job". :kiss

We are brand new, so we only have 1 (ONE) patient

Am I missing something here? Sleeping on duty...'fill-in-the-blanks' documentation...one patient...wrapped up in a blanket?:deadhorse

Any input is appreciated! Thanks for allowing me to vent.

they probably threatened a law suit.

take pics next time with your cell. save them and date them. then send them to your board of nursing!