Without giving any details, let's just say that three of my coworkers (all related to each other) have suffered catastrophic changes in their lives recently. Two of them have not been back to work yet, due to health reasons. One has come back just because she had to, but she probably would have stayed home if she could.
When we were talking about this on break the other night, one of the nurses was talking about how the gal who came back to work should have stayed home. My response was, no, she needed to come back to work because she was really going to need the money. The nurse said she needed the time off for grieving, that she was due three days off. (We don't get paid for this.)
At that point, I stopped talking. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that I was right. Having three days off doesn't make the pain go away. This was not a situation where she would have to handle any legal issues due to the death. Sitting at home is not going to make her feel better or pay her bills. On the other hand, working will ensure that she has a full paycheck and taking care of the residents will help her feel needed instead of helpless. Also, some of the resident's who are "with it" know what she is going through and would likely offer her support. There's more to gain by coming to work than not.
I've always felt that work was a refuge when things weren't going well at home. I think this is especially true in the Nursing Center environment. Staying busy and feeling needed go a long way toward taking your mind off your troubles. And not having to stress about a short paycheck is just an added bonus.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Watching them burn out or fade away
I am generally assigned to the same hall. Once a week or so, I get bumped to another hall, so I don't see those resident's regularly.
Boy, you really notice changes when you only see them once a week.
Ms. X has been at the nursing center since before I started working there. She wasn't in good shape when I started, but she has been slowly declining until recently. Now she's taking a nose dive. Unfortunately, she knows it and is becoming more and more demanding. I used to be able to appease her 90% of the time (something I took pride in). If I can get her comfortable and happy for 50% of the time now, I'm doing better than average. She's going to burn out v/s fade away.
The resident that I wrote about being in the room when they passed, faded away. It was a quiet thing. Ms. X is going to be asking for everything she can think of until she can no longer speak. I had another resident go this way and I've been drawing parallels since last night.
Whether they burn out or fade away, it's still hard to watch them go.
Boy, you really notice changes when you only see them once a week.
Ms. X has been at the nursing center since before I started working there. She wasn't in good shape when I started, but she has been slowly declining until recently. Now she's taking a nose dive. Unfortunately, she knows it and is becoming more and more demanding. I used to be able to appease her 90% of the time (something I took pride in). If I can get her comfortable and happy for 50% of the time now, I'm doing better than average. She's going to burn out v/s fade away.
The resident that I wrote about being in the room when they passed, faded away. It was a quiet thing. Ms. X is going to be asking for everything she can think of until she can no longer speak. I had another resident go this way and I've been drawing parallels since last night.
Whether they burn out or fade away, it's still hard to watch them go.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Staff Cutbacks
We've had three med aides on my shift for several months now. Now they're making noise about cutting us back to two again. I've noticed that even though I've offered to let someone in Administration shadow me for a shift when I have to do this, none of them want to do it. Never mind the fact that it's a lot more running. In order to finish even close to on time, I have to start thirty minutes early and do "illegal" things to cheat to get done.
Grr.
That said, they are also saying that they want to increase the number of CNA's to almost double what we normally have. AMEN. I'll run my legs off and figure out how to be more efficient if it means that my residents will always be clean, dry, comfortable, and relatively happy. No one else seems to be on my side, but I'm pretty sure that at least some of them secretly agree with me. And the more happy residents we have, the more residents we will have. And State inspections should go much better.
There is a huge upside to this. If they actually give us more CNA's. If all they're doing is blowing smoke up my scrubs, then we're going to be worse off than we are now.
Grr.
That said, they are also saying that they want to increase the number of CNA's to almost double what we normally have. AMEN. I'll run my legs off and figure out how to be more efficient if it means that my residents will always be clean, dry, comfortable, and relatively happy. No one else seems to be on my side, but I'm pretty sure that at least some of them secretly agree with me. And the more happy residents we have, the more residents we will have. And State inspections should go much better.
There is a huge upside to this. If they actually give us more CNA's. If all they're doing is blowing smoke up my scrubs, then we're going to be worse off than we are now.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thoughts X 3
Sorry I missed last week. I tried several times to put something down, but it just wasn't happening. I was going to write about my experience of being in the room as one of my residents crossed over, but the truth is that there was nothing to say about it. I was sad, but not unduly so. We were aware that the resident was going to pass, so it wasn't an emergency or a surprise. They went quietly; just a couple gasps as their soul left their body. The family was there and so was their Pastor. We were praying as they left this world. Really, as first experiences go, it was unremarkable. Frankly, watching them pass was much easier than the previous week had been, watching them struggle for breath.
On a separate note, there are some people who just shouldn't be working in a Nursing Center. I think you need to be soft, forgiving and willing to absorb a little abuse. These loud, brassy, hard-edged types really should be working in a mental hospital or a prison. There's no place for that in a Nursing Center. But in an environment where we're desperate for help, I guess we can't be too choosy. I do sometimes get tired of trying to smooth over the ruffled feathers, though.
Final thought. We were asked to do a time-study for our position and shift. Because I like to do these kinds of things, I just did one for all of us. We all signed it, so they would know we all approved it. Still, this smacks of them wanting to reduce staff. While I admit it isn't impossible to work with two med aides, it's significantly more difficult. It also means that I don't get to take a lunch break most days. I'm hoping that this is not the case. The DON said it was so that she could update job descriptions. I guess I'll wait and see.
On a separate note, there are some people who just shouldn't be working in a Nursing Center. I think you need to be soft, forgiving and willing to absorb a little abuse. These loud, brassy, hard-edged types really should be working in a mental hospital or a prison. There's no place for that in a Nursing Center. But in an environment where we're desperate for help, I guess we can't be too choosy. I do sometimes get tired of trying to smooth over the ruffled feathers, though.
Final thought. We were asked to do a time-study for our position and shift. Because I like to do these kinds of things, I just did one for all of us. We all signed it, so they would know we all approved it. Still, this smacks of them wanting to reduce staff. While I admit it isn't impossible to work with two med aides, it's significantly more difficult. It also means that I don't get to take a lunch break most days. I'm hoping that this is not the case. The DON said it was so that she could update job descriptions. I guess I'll wait and see.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Boxes
We do like to put things in boxes, don't we? It doesn't much matter what it is, if there's a place for it, we're going to put it there. If there's not a place for it, we'll make a place for it and shove it in there.
One of those lovely surveys came out recently that said Oklahoma nursing centers were among the ten worst in the country. Wow. That makes me feel proud. So, by association, am I among the worst ten percent of the aides in the country? I hope that's not true. When my residents tell me they're glad I'm working, does that mean that I'm merely the best of the worst?
Another question is how will this affect me in the future? If we decide to move out of state, will other nursing centers look down on me based on where I was trained? Would I be unable to get a job in, say Oregon, because of where I come from?
I don't like being put in a box. On the other hand, I do it to other people and things all the time. It's so easy to be judge, jury and executioner, but I don't like being on the receiving end.
One of those lovely surveys came out recently that said Oklahoma nursing centers were among the ten worst in the country. Wow. That makes me feel proud. So, by association, am I among the worst ten percent of the aides in the country? I hope that's not true. When my residents tell me they're glad I'm working, does that mean that I'm merely the best of the worst?
Another question is how will this affect me in the future? If we decide to move out of state, will other nursing centers look down on me based on where I was trained? Would I be unable to get a job in, say Oregon, because of where I come from?
I don't like being put in a box. On the other hand, I do it to other people and things all the time. It's so easy to be judge, jury and executioner, but I don't like being on the receiving end.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
This, that and the other.
Ironic item of the week:
I have a resident with dementia who has a tube of perfumed lotion called "Reality" sitting on their bedside table. Honest. I can't make this stuff up.
Two firsts:
I had a resident nearly splash my shoes with vomit. I literally had to jump out of the way.
I was in the room when one of my residents passed away. I haven't had time to sort my feelings out on it, but I'll be blogging about it eventually.
Questions of the week:
Why is it so hard to come to work? Seriously. And where do these people get the money to survive? If I don't work all my shifts, I'm screwed financially. How can you miss two or three shifts a pay period and still get by? How can you miss one shift? (And no, we don't get sick pay.)
I have a resident with dementia who has a tube of perfumed lotion called "Reality" sitting on their bedside table. Honest. I can't make this stuff up.
Two firsts:
I had a resident nearly splash my shoes with vomit. I literally had to jump out of the way.
I was in the room when one of my residents passed away. I haven't had time to sort my feelings out on it, but I'll be blogging about it eventually.
Questions of the week:
Why is it so hard to come to work? Seriously. And where do these people get the money to survive? If I don't work all my shifts, I'm screwed financially. How can you miss two or three shifts a pay period and still get by? How can you miss one shift? (And no, we don't get sick pay.)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Pillow v/s Shield
So, as usual, we have new nurses. It takes a good four to six weeks to learn your residents. The pictures in the treatment books are nice, but sometimes it can be difficult to tell one from another. Especially if there has been a great physical change in a resident since the photo was taken.
Well, Nurse Noob tries to administer a breathing treatment to Resident A. Unfortunately, the breathing treatment was for Resident B. Resident A is cognitive and doesn't have a nebulizer anyway, so the error was caught before it went too far.
Can I say that I got an earful? Can I also say that Resident A is deaf and speaks loudly? And furthermore, Nurse Noob is in the hallway, just a door down, probably dying of embarrassment.
I probably should have said something in her defense. Instead, I decided that my responsibility was to the resident. So, I nodded and agreed and listened sympathetically. I don't remember if I went so far as to apologize for Nurse Noob. I may have. In any event, I figured I'm paid to be a pillow for the residents, not a shield for the nurses. I may come to regret this course of action. But I'm confident she'll eventually get her resident's straight and Resident A will eventually forgive and forget her error. Eventually, all will be well.
Well, Nurse Noob tries to administer a breathing treatment to Resident A. Unfortunately, the breathing treatment was for Resident B. Resident A is cognitive and doesn't have a nebulizer anyway, so the error was caught before it went too far.
Can I say that I got an earful? Can I also say that Resident A is deaf and speaks loudly? And furthermore, Nurse Noob is in the hallway, just a door down, probably dying of embarrassment.
I probably should have said something in her defense. Instead, I decided that my responsibility was to the resident. So, I nodded and agreed and listened sympathetically. I don't remember if I went so far as to apologize for Nurse Noob. I may have. In any event, I figured I'm paid to be a pillow for the residents, not a shield for the nurses. I may come to regret this course of action. But I'm confident she'll eventually get her resident's straight and Resident A will eventually forgive and forget her error. Eventually, all will be well.
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