Time Management

[Littleblackdog, ADN, BSN, RN]

I need some good advice, please. I worked in a hospital setting (floor and MSICU) for 34 years, retired and went back to work in long term care. My floor/hall is a mix of 28 residents with differing degrees of dementia (though a few have no dementia at all) and there is one other RN working the floor, who has the same number of residents/patients. My hall is known in the facility as being the hardest one with regard to med pass, etc. and that is not just my opinion, I have heard it from many others. I feel like kind of a loser because I just cannot get the meds out in a timely manner, it's kind of well known in long term care that some meds have to be combined (hot BP or cardiac meds, but other things like vitamins, etc.) There are also a few treatments to be done and charting (by hand, no computer) on about 6 people that are "skilled" daily. I am never out until around 09:30 pm, and if someone has to be go the hospital, Lord forbid! More handwritten (sometime redundant) paperwork and of course charting. Have 28 people to give meds to sometimes three times a day ( not everyone gets them that often of course) is just overwhelming. Been doing this 2 years and feeling more overwhelmed because now the nurses have to obtain once a shift vitals on all 28 of their residents. I want to suggest to the DON that the CNAS might have more time to do this, as most of them, even the great ones, and we do have some, seem to find time to sit in the break room and look at their phones and laugh and holler and carry on and I have to go back there every so often and ask them to please come out where they can see and hear the call lights. My DON is not terribly supportive of this, she is always short staff and afraid I think of loosing people. I have rambled a good bit here and have described more than one issue, looks like. The CNAS are all adults, should I have to keep going to ask them to come out and see/hear the call lights? And make rounds? The usual reply is: :If the lights aren't going off, my people are fine." I have tried to suggest that making round can prevent falls and should be done any how as some of our folks cannot call for themselves but it seems to fall on deaf ears. My co-worker has a "live and let live" philosophy most of the time about this whole thing