A BIG FAT WORK RANT

The nurse with no arms

Rant

The RN health service director hasn’t been in the building for the last 3 months. She hurt her back lifting a resident up out of his bed and to add salt to her wounds that same week her mother died of a pulmonary embolus. Her life literally turned upside down. So she has been out on L&I and on Family Leave. When it rains it pours!

I have been working extra hard trying to do her job and mine. I’m racking up on overtime *without complaints from management.* they’re happy that I’m willing to walk the extra mile. Although, all this work is starting to wear me down. When I go home I just flop and sink down onto the couch drinking my pinot grigio. To cut the edge off of my extended work days.

IT GETS WORSE

From bad to really bad, my relief nurse Chely, who works 3pm-9pm, pulls a NO CALL NO SHOW. I haven’t seen her in two weeks now. She just up and left and never came back. This is the second time she has pulled this infamous stunt but it’s her last. I told the administrator it was time to terminate her for this unprofessional behavior—not becoming of a nurse. The last time she did this she was gone for 5 days. She finally called and reported that she was having problems with her husband and had to get a restraining order. We were gracious and let her continue to work. So now, I’m assuming her ex boyfriend is causing trouble again. We decided to call the police and fill out a missing persons report. If she would have only called to let us know—we would understand. I have never missed a day of work since a started working full time in the year 1986. I tell my caregivers if I don’t show up for work, you better go to my house to make sure I’m alive.

So, now I’m runnnnnning around doing everything—(!) assessments, going out on referrals for new residents, ALL THE PAPERWORK FOR NEW ADMITS, care conferences, medications, treatments, handling family member situations—like Ruthie, my patient, her foster daughter won’t let Ruthie’s husband take her on out of the facility. She wants me to call the police if he steps foot into our building. I don’t like being in the middle. Adult protection services were notified. Foster daughter is trying to get a restraining order. This takes up so much of my time trying to de-fuse this family dynamic. “CANT WE ALL GET ALONG”-as Rodney King would say.

The other day, I bought a coffee cup and Pier Imports –it spoke to me and had my name written all over it. I liked what was scribed on it DON’T PANIC. My mascot cup keeps me going and I carry it with me on my rounds. I have three wings of residents. Our census is 58. We will be filled to capacity at 60.

I have brought in 9 new admits in the last 6 weeks. Our administrator has nominated me for corporate nurse of the year. I’m kicking ass but wearing myself out. I don’t need any recognitions what I need is another nurse on board.

So the administrator and I are interviewing for a new pm shift nurse. We had one interview already. She was qualified and pleasant but I just couldn’t get passed her attire: Big & Black Satanic necklace, wearing all black, big ass kicking knee high boots.

So we have more ads out hopefully there is a normal nurse out there somewhere.

The administrator did hire a RN consultant nurse to visit with me weekly to make sure I’m doing my job according the WAC which means Washington State administrative code. Our facility will be surveyed by the department of health in about 6 months or less—you just never really know when the come . I’m thankful for this but this woman is giving me so much more work to do. She wants to totally re-vamp everything—

In the meantime, everyone is pulling my arms in a tug-of-war fashion the administrator, the marketing lady, the kitchen manager, 24 caregivers, 100 xillion family members, the maintenance lady, they all want a piece of me. Now, after 3 months they have officially pulled my arms completely off.

rant over//

You may move right along now