My nursing job is so not right!
Okay, where do I start here? I need some advice as well as to vent! I started working at this nursing home 6 months ago as a night shift LPN. Everything was fine. The staff is terrific for the most part and the pt load is ridiculous (60-75) per nurse but I'm used to it even though I'm not completely comfortable with that. Considering the fact that more and more residents are acute care on medicare or medicaid and only their to recover brings up the percentage of full codes indefinitely. Okay, whatever right? Well, here is the part that is so illegal it stinks! Our DON has religiously forced nurses to "re-write" nursing notes to be worded better. In other words, so they don't get in trouble. Everyone has done it there and it's terribly uncomfortable. Now, I've never lied about anything on my own notes, I have re-worded them in say........a more timely manner or in a more suitable chronilogical order, but not lied. I'm a good nurse that provides safe care and I'm not lazy, I actually do my rounds....go figure with this many pt's right? Well, I do. Anyway..........We have had an incident where one of the pt's was observed to have a very large bruise on her hip and ankle and 5th toe, x-ray revealed (+) fractures. I was not on duty when this was reporeted although somehow because of my good nurse note taking I'm one of the nurses who was called into the DON's office to answer questions to public health on my day off and mind you in the afternoon when I was suppossed to be sleeping!!!! I had nothing to hide so everything went fine. But I felt that the nurse who had reported it should have been called in to answer questions. I later found out that the am nurse also had to answer to public health. It was an uncomfortable situation anyways though. This place also "lost" a resident. Let me explain. The family of the pt whom was not the POA did not sign out the pt and no one even noticed he was gone till later that evening or afternoon, whatever it was, I was not working that day. But the family dropped the pt off at the bank and believed the pt that he was going to take the bus back, yeah right, and now I've had to endure 3 endless meetings on the subject of census and how it's going to cost the facility $50,000 in fines and it may affect admissions of new pts and re-admits from the hospitals because of this incident. I feel I'm working for a bunch of idiots. Totally unprofessional and at the same time.....I've been looking for a new job and guess what? More idiots. I applied and was hired by Care Centers, yeah you know the one, and I went to orientation with HR and was then sent to the nurse scheduler who surprised me that full-time was 32 hrs a week, fine, but I wanted 5 days a week (for the money) We talked to the DON who then said not to worry that they would iron something out for me fine. I never once said I didn't want the job if it was only 32 hrs a week. I already gave my 2 wk notice to my present (idiot) job and was looking forward to starting in 2 wks at the new job. Well guess what? Your not going to believe this crap. I just happened to call the morning I was to meet with the medical director for a physical and I'm told that my position was filled by someone else! What?!!! The DON told me that she tried calling me several times (which she did not) and left a message that they could not give me 40 hrs, only 32, and since they did not hear from me they went ahead and hired someone else! They even mailed me a check for my orientation! And they didn't know I wanted the job? I was livid! I was now in the position of having to stay with the idiots I work with. I did work it to my advantage with the idiot nursing home where I got a $2/hr raise and put on days where I wanted to be but I'm floating which I hate. In other words, I get what all the other nurses don't want. The DON from Care Centers who is new apoligized and said she would call around for me but guess what? I had to track her down again and she told me there were only part-time positioins available. This is so not fair. What can I do about it? Nothing I guess right? I want to quit my current job so bad but I need another job and no one is hiring for days where I live. Any suggestions? Should I try to talk to the big chief at Care Centers? If I do, and I have to work with the DON who messed me up it's not going to be comfortable. Help!!!