Working With Lazy Nurses

By taking the job, your goal is either get the "lazy" nurses to change their work ethic or replace them with nurses that a motivated to do a good job. The problem is the nursing shortage. The only motivation for a lazy nurse to change their attitude is the potential to lose their job and be unable to find another job. The problem is that they would probably not have a difficult time finding another SNF job if they are fired. They will "ride out" a job until they are fired and continue to job hop until they are fired by every facility in their area.

The only way to hire quality nurses is to pay them more than other hospitals/SNF in the area. In addition, you would need to replace all the lazy nurses with motivated nurses quickly. How long would a quality nurse last if they are the only one doing their job properly (exact position you are currently in)? They will quit quickly and find someplace better and you are back to square one.

Steven85 said:

There is not really going to be that much of a pay difference. I am already stressed to the max. Any thoughts on if I should take the position?

It doesn't really sound like a good idea. Some kind of change is necessary if you're stressed to the max, but this may not be the right change.

Steven85 said:

The only reason I want to take it is to turn it into a building that patients will want to live in, and nurse will want to come to work and work hard.

Chances seem good that at least 1 of the previous 5 might have felt similarly.

I would be cautious of accepting a DON position in a facility that has had 5 of them in 2 years- especially without prior DON experience. That is a facility that is setting them up to fail. Many times DONs don't have as much leeway with resources in SNFs as they may seem to have and the almighty dollar is the bottom line for the administrators and owners. 

If you were to become DON of the sister facility, it would look good on your resume. You would need to commit a year to the position. 

Remember, five other nurses chose to leave .. fast.

Review the job description. Shadow the facility for a day. Get a feel for what's going on.