You run out of time at the end of the day and your work is not done? I will work a 12 hour shift, and stay an hour late and things are still not finished (mostly the little treatments, like creams and skin preps).
I don't want to falsify documentation, but I know the bosses will be mad if I leave it blank or circle it. If you do circle it, what do you write on the back as a reason? "Ran out of time, too much work, too little staff" seems inappropriate! LOL
So what do you do?
I run my butt off the whole time I am at work.... no smoke breaks, no personal calls, no sitting idle at the nurses station. I take a 30 minute lunch because it is required by corporate and my sanity.
Seems like every new admit we get is another AC/HS blood sugar check with QID neb tx.
I have tried talking to my supervisors about this, but I am always brushed off. They always respond that I just need to "improve my skills". And no, I am not the only nurse who struggles with this at our facility. Actually, I am pretty much the only nurse who even looks at/signs the tx book. Sometimes I will give a treatment to a patient and they tell me that I am the only one who ever does it (not surprising). And everybody else skips doing things like changing foley catheters, so I have to catch up on that during my shift.
I just dont know what to do. Its the classic LTC situation of having too much work for too few staff. I feel so bad when I am rushing through my blood sugars, and the residents want me to chat or help them with a little chore or give a PRN med. I am just frantic to get out of the room and onto the next person because its pretty much impossible to finish 22 blood sugars in 1 hour (especially when half the people are across the building at bingo)
GRRRRRRR!!!!! SO frustrated!! I am really ready to get out of LTC and into a better work situation.
