[porcelina]

I have to add to this post. I have to answer to the post about hospital nurses are better equipped with dealing with patients. I work in LTC. I have a resident with an IV, vancomycin q 12 hours and invanz q 24 hours, we have peg tubes, admits, discharges, doctors in the facility giving new orders, psychiatric patients, and there are 58 residents and on night shift I am responsible for ALL of them. I have 2 cna's, 3 if I am lucky.

During the evening shift there are 2 nurses. We answer the phones, do the admits, send residents to the hospital if needed, we deal with family members calling and coming into the facility. We have residents walking out ALL doors whom we have to keep an eye on, we have charting to do on a medicare hall, which is an acute care wing. Please do not say that LTC nurses dont do anything and that hospital nurses are the only ones overworked. I do 12 and 16 hour shifts, am expected to be on top of every residents plan of care and expected to pitch in if we are short staffed. Tell me how I can get anything done in an 8 hour shift? Sorry to vent. This wasnt meant as a post to the last poster here, just went to the end and posted my gripe. Ok, I vented. Sorry if I am out of line, but please dont put down the LTC nurse, she/he is just as overworked as a hospital nurse.

[ERMonkey]

Everyone has their passion, and I say thank god for nurses who enjoy LTC. I know that one day I want to be in a level I trauma facility in the middle of it all. I could never do LTC, but that is what is so great about nursing...everyone can pick the speciality they want, and as long as they are happy that is all that matters. So thank you to those that do b/c you are needed just as much as everyone else.

And to start a new gripe...it seems like everyone bashes CNA's. I know I am a student nurse - CNA, (only 9 months till graduation ), and we are just as busy too. I had 21 patients in the ER the other day and was responsible to 3 nurses, did q2 hour vitals on everyone, all the EKG's, Blood draws, changing of patients, blood sugars, transport, and the day wouldnt be complete without a code in the middle of it all, but the point is everyone is busy and we all need to help eachother out and stop putting everyone else down. There is nothing we can do to improve the staffing shortage, but if we keep bashing eachother it will only get worse. I want to be a nurse for the patients, so i know i will never leave this field.

[hppygr8ful]

I know this post was not originally about addicted nurses and sort of got off track but as a nurse in recovery who BTW never diverted from the workplace. I have to state that current statistics show that 10-15% of all working nurses suffer from some form of addiction. This means that if you know 15 nurses chances are at least one of them has a problem. In my support group I meet nurses from all care settings and can tell you it happens everywhere. Acute,LTC,L&D, ER, homecare etc.

You do see more nurses with substance abuse problems in acute settings but that is just an example of the statistics. If you work in a large county hospital that employs 1000 nurses then there's a good likelyhood that 100 of them have a substance problem. If You work in a small ltc that has 10 RN's (Wouldn't that be nice) statistically there would only be 1. So when you look at the numbers it all comes out equal in the end. Impaired nursing is a very serious problem as is understaffing. Seat polishing nurses occur everywhere and we all face the same challanges when trying to provide safe and compassionate care for our patients and their loved ones. It is never acceptable to falsify a patient's record no matter what is happening on your unit. If the DON of the facility is not doing anything then you need to go over her head and let the medical director know. Just be sure you have kept records of your conversations with the DON. so you can back -up your complaints. Also be aware that legally a "Wistle Blower" can't be fired under federal laws so this is another reason to keep documentation to back up your complaints.I believe that most nurses work really hard and provide good care to their patients. That's what makes a "Bad Nurse" stick out like a sore thumb.

While I do not work in LTC my own personal experience with family members who have been in LTC one for Lou Gerigs and one for terminal brain cancer, That a lot of things were overlooked even when I as a nurse had to go in and
basically care for my loved one's. I understand what nurses face and I'm not complaining but when I mention to my Mother's nurse that while bathing her I noticed some skin breakdown (And I know her skin was intact on admission) I at least expect the nurse to look at it and document it. The next day the reddened area had become a stage 1. Nothing was done until I called her physician.

I work in in-patient psych and often have 20 or more psychotic dangerous patients with two aids. If I'm lucky I get a med nurse whose competant. So My situation is not so different from yours. Some days I go home knowing I did not do everything I could have for my patients. Other days I know I kicked A&& and took names and the patients got excellent care. That's the nature of the BIZ.

nuff said

Peace and Namaste

hppygr8ful

[kimmiejs]

Originally Posted by Nurse Karen

I know of 2 nurses in the facility where I work who change the accucheck numbers to lower numbers just so they wont have to call the doc. We have several residents who if their blood sugar is above 200 the doc has to be called. These nurses hate to talk to our medical director. This is falsifying medical records if I am not mistaken. The DON looks over it. Have any of you ever experienced such a thing in your line of nursing? Its very important that our residents are being monitored closely. I dont think its funny or amusing. These nurses tell me I am being too serious and shouldnt be so picky. I am sorry, but I didnt become a RN to make up things about our residents and not report it to the doc. Any one else with the same problem? or any suggestions?

At my facility we use EMAR for our medications. When we check a patient's blood sugar we have to scan their armband and have it entered into the system. If there are nurses that falsify accuchecks it makes me wonder what else they might falsify. Nurses like this are unprofessional and a danger to the patients they are caring for