Nursing Addictions

Kind of a downer subject to start the new year with, but several things have happened that have brought the subject front and center.

A nurse and a CNA I know had to check themselves into rehab to avoid a trip to jail. I've had several complaints lately that involved CNA's taking smoke breaks at inappropriate times. And another CNA confessed her meth addiction to me and then asked me not to "think less" of her.

Jeez.

I am lucky that I don't have an addictive personality. But why does it seem so prevalent in our profession? Is it that we give so much of ourselves to our residents that we need to replace what we've lost with a chemical?

I jokingly suggested to my meth infused co-worker that she take up running. She could use a positive outlet for her negative emotions. She laughed at me and said it's time for her to "grow up" and that the last time she ran was in eighth grade. She'll just start drinking again instead.

Jeez, again.

I have been told by more than one source that if they drug tested our facility there would be about five employees left. Three, if it's a weekend and they were testing for alcohol, too. All of the aforementioned people are reasonably good employees and care about their residents.

Maybe there's no solution. Maybe we really do need to replace what we give with something else. Me, I'm taking up running this year. Maybe next year I'll be able to run a couple races. Maybe in two years I'll run a half marathon.

I'll let you know if I get addicted.

First Christmas in a new "home".

One of the ladies needed a sympathetic ear to bend the other night. She was talking about not being able to do the baking she always did for the holidays, not being able to go out to see her sister on Christmas, and just the general funk she was feeling about being a "cripple". I agreed with her that the first Christmas in a nursing center is a tough one. All the things that you used to have are gone and you're left with what will fit in a space the size of a small bedroom.

We can help them by encouraging them to attend the activities that they can. Take them to the dining room for supper. Bring them to the sun room or outside if the weather is warm enough. The bright side is that our facility seems to do a great job bringing people in to sing, dance, and otherwise entertain the residents. We also do an angel tree so each employee buys a secret Santa gift for a resident. Extra hugs and smiles go a long way, too.

Another way we can help is by taking care of ourselves. Getting enough rest, eating our veggies, and not drinking too much are all good ideas. Tired, over-sugared, and hung-over Nursing Assistants are not able to lift their own spirits much less those of their resident's.

This is my last blog post until after the New Year. Everyone have a safe and happy holiday, whichever one(s) you celebrate. See you on the other side.

Why not?

I wear gloves when I'm administering eye drops, nose spray or ear drops. Aside from the fact that it's what we're supposed to do, I don't like getting that stuff on my hands and sometimes the bottles leak.

I currently have a resident who's family member points out to me that they never use gloves to administer eye drops every time I put mine on. Every time I explain why I wear them. This adds up to ten times a week.

Next time they tell me that they never wear gloves, I'm going to ask them "Why not?" Change it up a bit. Maybe they'll get the point after the tenth explanation. Or, maybe not.

Head Shakers

Sometimes you hear things that just make you smile and shake your head.

"You know what's wrong with her?" Mrs. A asked me, pointing to her roommate.

"No. Do you?"

"Yeah. Nothing. That's what's wrong with her. Nothing at all."

***

"Oh, don't take that out," Mrs. C said to the CNA taking out her hearing aid after she'd been put to bed for the night. "I might miss something."

***

"Now, girl. You know I just vomited in there," Mrs. D said to me. After I had given her all her pills and was taking out her trash because it was full.

It would have helped me more if I had known this before I filled her with more medicine.

Shortly after I left the room, I found out why she had vomited. The CNA comes running out of the room with a tube of lotion. "Nurse E! Mrs. D said she ate some of this. She said she thought it was ice cream!" (We have a case of the stomach flu making the rounds of staff and residents. I assumed she was just getting ready to take her turn. The resident was OK and had no other adverse reactions. She had only licked the top of the tube. Lessons learned: Never assume and don't leave things that are not food on the resident's tray table at suppertime.)

I'm not looking forward to Monday.

The owner is coming to "talk" to us.

The last two times the owner came to talk to us, he fired people.

This may fall right in with the staff cutbacks. Hell, if you fire the DON or the Administrator, you save a lot of money on salary.

Sorry, I'm feeling cynical today.

Ultimately, my loyalty is to the residents. They are why I go to work everyday. Five years from now, the care I give them will still matter. Unless he's closing the facility, anything he says or does will be water under the bridge.

Work as Therapy

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.

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.