Venting

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I just need to vent, no one even has to respond, I just need one moment....:)

Im a new nurse and having been working at a LTC for the last two months. For the last 3 weeks I have been assigned to a floor where when the charge nurse leaves for school, Ill be the charge nurse. In the mean time im doing meds unless she has a day off. Today they floated me to the original floor i had been working on. I would be doing meds while the nurse who was already there would be in charge. Which would have been fine had this not been her first time being the charge nurse. Why this happened,I have no idea. So I had to do all of my own work, helps the cna's bcuz they automatically came to me instead of the nurse in charge, teach the nurse how to pick up orders, write a note, all paperwork,how to document on a residents condition, help her with treatments( the floor has about 10 du's out of 36 residents, 4 residents having multiple stage IV's), explain what each treatment is and how to do it and what supplies to use, trach care, monthlys. Then at 130( shift is over at 2) a cna comes to me and says that a volunteer took a wheelchair bound resident off the floor , the resident put her foot on the floor as if to stop the chair, it bent backward, and the volunteer just kept forcing the chair forward. So i had to find the resident on one of out many recreation floors to examine her, the do documentation. I come back, I see the nurse has just started doing her paperwork. I had already done half it myself for her earlier in the day. I advised her to do the rest earlier in the day so she wont get stuck, I also told her how to do this as well as her other tasks with time managment. She didnt heed my advice. So i stayed an hour later to help her do the rest of her work. All this with a terrible migraine, and dizzy spells thanks to my uncontrolled HTN. Now i know she was appreciative of the help, and I know how hard it all was for her being new to the position, but damnit I want some recognition. ::exhale:: Okay I feel better. Thank you for the therapy.....:)

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Specializes in Family.
I just need to vent, no one even has to respond, I just need one moment....:)

Im a new nurse and having been working at a LTC for the last two months. For the last 3 weeks I have been assigned to a floor where when the charge nurse leaves for school, Ill be the charge nurse. In the mean time im doing meds unless she has a day off. Today they floated me to the original floor i had been working on. I would be doing meds while the nurse who was already there would be in charge. Which would have been fine had this not been her first time being the charge nurse. Why this happened,I have no idea. So I had to do all of my own work, helps the cna's bcuz they automatically came to me instead of the nurse in charge, teach the nurse how to pick up orders, write a note, all paperwork,how to document on a residents condition, help her with treatments( the floor has about 10 du's out of 36 residents, 4 residents having multiple stage IV's), explain what each treatment is and how to do it and what supplies to use, trach care, monthlys. Then at 130( shift is over at 2) a cna comes to me and says that a volunteer took a wheelchair bound resident off the floor , the resident put her foot on the floor as if to stop the chair, it bent backward, and the volunteer just kept forcing the chair forward. So i had to find the resident on one of out many recreation floors to examine her, the do documentation. I come back, I see the nurse has just started doing her paperwork. I had already done half it myself for her earlier in the day. I advised her to do the rest earlier in the day so she wont get stuck, I also told her how to do this as well as her other tasks with time managment. She didnt heed my advice. So i stayed an hour later to help her do the rest of her work. All this with a terrible migraine, and dizzy spells thanks to my uncontrolled HTN. Now i know she was appreciative of the help, and I know how hard it all was for her being new to the position, but damnit I want some recognition. ::exhale:: Okay I feel better. Thank you for the therapy.....:)

Sorry Sue! I hope things go better for you!

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

Here's to a better day tommorrow. :beer:

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

Hey sideline note.. After I posted the 1st reply, I noticed this "warned 0%" down by my name. Can everyone else see this too? Why would this come up?

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Specializes in OB, ortho/neuro, home care, office.

No I can't see anything about 'warned'. Must have been a glitch. I hope your next work day is better

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We do eat our young, don't we? I've been in LTC for 11 years, mostly as DON. I remain constantly frustrated with the working environment of our staff....except for the saving grace of the gratitude and love that you receive in return from your residents and their families. It is a very thankless job very often and it is easy to burn out.

Please do make the effort to talk to your manager in a non-threatening way and offer to assist her in implementing a plan to try to make things better. Be prepared to offer some ideas.

There are no easy jobs in the profession you have chosen, as I'm sure you realize. Do your very best every day and always remember your priorities and honor them.

Best of luck to you and God Bless You....

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