my wonderful day

[nursetries2hard]

I work in a LTACH, which can have its very rough moments, where 5 patients to me feels like having 37 in the nursing home I used to work at. I had 5 patients today, I also had an agenda on my mind for today, because I learned yesterday what I would need to accomplish. I come in 2 CNA's our side of the hospital, i'm unsure why but the one CNA which i happen to really like, cause he busts his butt to get his job done has to go to the other side. So I'm stuck with miss I'm too old to move and I have 11 patients to take care of. Of course she also has her nurses helping her out (I'm in this mess), I get done with everything and I ask her if she had given one of my pts a bath, she very curtly tells me 'she's not giving any baths, shes got too much to do', now normally this wouldn't bother me if it was actually true and she wasn't sitting at the nurses station runnin her jaw. But she would take prolonged breaks, which I deem completely unacceptable when I haven't had a bathroom break since the time I clocked in. mind you going on 8hrs (hello UTI). Me being a person whose mouth has gotten her in trouble before, clamps my lips because I was going to tear into her, but I didn't instead I walk away. I'm not a person who likes to start trouble, I let my mouth run and usually its not very nice. Day passes as I'm running my butt off trying to get things completed..you know doing my job that I went to school for, she's sitting at the nurses station yacking away... if her mouth got stapled shut I'd probably start clapping.

I had taken care of a pt who used to never call out. Well another nurse was taking care of her today and she was hollaring, I go in and check on her and see whats going on, she says she's in pain, I reposition her and I go let her nurse know. The nurse was on a split, which means she has patients on both halls. I walk to the other hall to let her know and she states she already gave her pain medication. I was like ok cool. The unit secretary was like you should go back and see what her pain level is, and I hear the nurse whisper 'and where's it at' to the unit secretary and I see a smile on her face, and the unit secretary becomes the parot. I wanted to retort with 'I sure hope the nurse did that before she gave pain medication.' This nurse in herself is a panicky person and it irritates me, I want to shove a xanax down her throat and tell her to chill out. Everythings an emergency. I don't like this nurse.

I don't like this CNA either. Its closer to 1800 and I ask the CNA 'are you getting the accu checks?' She rips my head off says she didn't get them, she has too much to do and too many patients to care for. Later she tells me she didn't get my peoples vital signs... night shift is almost here and I'm already a little beyond livid and running behind. She's had too much to do? too much to do? I wish I got paid to talk I'd be a very rich woman. I told the charge nurse the gist of the matter and she defended her saying 'oh she has the entire hall and all the patients to care for.' Really? I love my charge nurse which is why I didn't pursue matters but seriously, get off your lazy bum and get to work, break your back and do something. I have no softness for CNA's. Don't mistake me for a softy, or timid, because I'm not. I really don't want to start anything at the place that allows me to win the bread and pay my bills, I don't want to have tension either. I just want to do my job and go home. When I go home, i can go home satisfied knowing that my patients were taken care of to the best of my ability. Have to say this for her though, she at least kept their peri area clean, that's something. God must have been hard work...

1850 I hear one of the patients calling out, i go check on who it is, and I see my lady, with her legs hanging out of bed, crying. I ask her whats' wrong, she states she has to go to the bathroom, I lay her back down try to get her on the bedpan but she's already had a bm in the bed and of course the CNA's have no idea how to lay the pads underneath them so when they do have an accident you don't have to change the entire bed. I help her onto the bedside commode so she can continue to evacuate her bowels and turn on the call light in the hopes someone will answer it and bring me some fresh linens while I try and take care of her and the mess... 10 mins pass by no one answers the call light and no one bothers to check on it (shift change). I'm livid, on the verge of bawling my eyes out cause I'm so mad and I come out the room, leaving the call light on, and I go get my new linen. Of course the night CNAs would say they didn't have her, and of course the Charge nurse would say well there's only one night CNA, so I bite my tongue and say as nicely as possible {if you can make this sound as ****** off and as nice as possible} 'oh that's alright I'll clean her up and make her bed'. I clean her up, she's ready to eat dinner now and wants to sit in her wheel chair. I get her in her wheel chair give her her meal, and find out there's no bags for the linen. I say to myself **** it and put it on the trash can night aids can deal with it. I put the bottom sheet on the bed and say to myself the night cna can do the rest of her bed. I give report, clock out and go home and I still have not cried in frustration yet...but really happy I have 4 wonderful beautiful days off for work. Please let them call me to come in tomorrow, I will happily rejoice in ignoring their call. This was my wonderful day, I could use a drink now.

[i think I am what they call 'passive aggressive'. Thank god I have 4 days off from hell.]

[grouchybuthappy]

:nurse::nurse:This is one of the many reasons i moved on to critical care. I am completely in charge of my glucs, adl's, meds, ice water etc. Good luck!:clown:

[luvtwilight]

This reminds me why I stay in home health! :hug:

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

To the OP-why is the CNA (who was yacking her jaw and not helpful) able to remain employed????????

[cecilsgirl]

WOW!! WHAT A DAY! On this site there is not one day that goes by ( or at least it seems like it) that Nurses who work in LTC or similair settings have these nightmare jobs, I have said it before, something has got to change, the pt/nurse ratio, for starts , but then much , much more needs to change. I don't know how it will, but someone out there must know a place to start. Will it lay with the families to take this stuff to congress or what?-And I am NOT kidding-- can someone offer some kind of solution to this mess? help! To the poster, so sorry you have been through this!!, This is NOT what you signed up for, no!!!!! None of us did!