Writing lots of incident reports each night, is this normal for you in LTC?

[Elektra6]

All of a sudden I have been writing up loads of incident reports for bruises, skin tears and falls. Is this what goes on in LTC? Or shouldn't I have this many? I have been working here for 9 months and all of a sudden some residents have become more combative and are racking up the injuries! Would like some feedback about your experiences with incidents.

Thanks!

[dano3]

why are they falling & getting skin tears? Ltc is known for staff turn over, call in;s everyone is over worked residents do not get the extra time & care they deserve 10 total care residents to 1 cna is alot.if staff does not work together and cover sections during staff breaks, meal time there will be falls big ones are toileting.night shift needs to check on their residents,turn, and change incontient patients to prevent pressure sores.in my opinion most incidents can be preventive if everyone does their job and remembers we;re there to take care of the patients.i have worked occassionally at night. call lights going off,cna's watching tv,playing cards or sleeping.tell them to do their work and the nurses catch hell. that is why i left Ltc. you do have some great cna's but alot of lazy ones too. and that causes alot of incident reports.

[banditrn]

On my shift, 11-7, I only have 1 cna for up to 40 patients, and she's not lazy - in fact I can't point at any of our cna's as lazy - we just don't have enough of them, and that's the corporations fault.

That said, you can't be everywhere at once. What I object to is the AMOUNT of paperwork that it takes to document a fall!! I had a lady fall the other morning 15 minutes before the end of my shift (darn her :wink2: ) and all the paperwork took over two hours to complete.

[supernurse65]

full moon and weather changes ARE factors in behaviors. Believe me as a psych nurse the spring brings mania and the fall brings depression. severe weather changes bring psychosis.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I usually go weeks without writing up an incident report. I happen to work at an upscale facility that has very few skin issues, falls or other occurrences that would necessitate the preparation of incident reports.

[msnursekim]

Sounds like you are working in my fantasy facility! lol I have heard of places like this but have never really encountered one. Your residents must be really high functional. Don't be surprised when they start declining and you start having those awful incident reports to fill out! Enjoy the good times while they last...it doesn't matter if you are in a "upscale" facility or not, it all depends on the condition of your residents. Good Luck to you