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roxi
(offline)
- Joined: Jul 2006
- Location:
- Posts: 7
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Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:07 pm
Hi, I'm a second year nursing student working as a PC, I only have few months experience as a PC and I don't have a cert.III. I usually work nights in a nursing home with another experienced PC and we have a RN oncall. Recently my partner was unable to come to work and I found out about this while I was waiting for her. I contacted the RN, she is also the nurse manager and she told me to try and get somebody else to work and if nobody is available to contact an agency. I was unable to find somebody to come and the nurse manager told me that I have to work alone that night, I explained that I am very unconfortable with that but didn't help. I was left all night with 20 low care and 20 high care residents, 2 of them were dying. It was the night from hell. I've never seen somebody dying and I didn't know what to do. Lucky, nothing happend that night, and all the residents were safe the next morning. Now, the nurse manager pretends that nothing happend and I'm very frustrated with the situation. I'm afraid that it can happen again and I don't think that I can do it. I'm not financially dependent on this job and my husband wants me to quit this job. I love the residents and I like my co-workers and I was pretty happy until now.
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KingAaron
(offline)
- Joined: May 2006
- Location: Adelaide
- Posts: 51
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Jul 06, 2006, 01:54 pm
Thats just crap managerment. What would of happend, if one of the residents on palitive care died, or required pain meds?, I am guessing you attended to all PAC by yourself over nite ?, which goes and breaks the ANF No Life No Injury policiey that we are ment to work by. Iam sorry but in my eyes, your nurse manager should of steped in and actully come onsite, for the shift. I have been in that situation before, where unable to fill another nite shift, and ive ben the only one one, and had the DOC / NUM / CNC / CC come in, mind you they have either sleepted, or stayed in there office doing paperwork, showing if there was a problem and or for the rounds. but there has been at least a RN on site.
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Darren
(offline)
- Joined: Mar 2005
- Location: Adelaide
- Posts: 179
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Jul 06, 2006, 02:26 pm
I have to agree with KingAaron. The NUM has put you, the residents and the facility at risk. The facility owes a duty of care to both staff and residents naad it could be argued that leaving one PC on duty for 40 residents breaches that duty. You mentioned that there was an RN on call, did you call the OnCall RN and what response did you get? My advice, make a formal complaint to the Director of Nursing. If you don't get a satisfactory response and a commitment to ensuring that you have backup should the situation happen again, I would find work elsewhere. There may even be grounds for a report to the Nurses Board. The situation you describe could well fall into unprofessional conduct by the NUM. Good luck and let us know how you get on Darren
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roxi
(offline)
- Joined: Jul 2006
- Location:
- Posts: 7
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Jul 06, 2006, 02:35 pm
The RN oncall was the nurse manager, she asked me to try and find somebody to work with me that night. When I called her later to tell that I cound't find anybody to work she said that I have to work alone that night.
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Darren
(offline)
- Joined: Mar 2005
- Location: Adelaide
- Posts: 179
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Jul 06, 2006, 03:05 pm
hmm, very poor support. One would think being on call means you are on call to help if needed too. I would still advise complaining to the DON, she/he may not be aware that that is the practice being engaged in by the NM.
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hayles
(offline)
- Joined: Mar 2007
- Location: Launceston
- Posts: 10
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Mar 21, 2007, 04:18 pm
I have had a few problems like this myself, I was volunteering/Work placement at an aged care home and was left in charge of 10 dementia residents on my own, I was worried something would go wrong and who I would have to report to as I had no idea, I had no idea that I would be left alone, the reason I was left alone was because there was a huge staff meeting because of the new development of the aged care home expanding and having new shifts etc with new staff starting the following week. In the other dementia house they left a volunteer, yeah she was studying cert III at the time, but I didn't think they would be allowed to do this, leaving volunteers in charge of a section like this. Also I was very upset and annoyed after applying for a job at this particular aged care home after they told me that I don't have enough experience with dementia residents (after me doing work experience 5 days a week 9-5 for 6 months, wasn't impressed). The reason I was so annoyed was because some of the employees they had and I presume they still have, had no idea what to do, this one girl I worked with didn't even know how to lift a resident or help with the resident to stand, change cloths, shower etc, I was so shocked that they hired someone who obviously has the qualifications without the relevant experience, I have a huge passion to work in the nursing industry and have loved working within the aged care industry. What should I have done with these two situations at the time? Thanks
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BlackBunny92
(offline)
- Joined: Mar 2008
- Location: Australia somewhere
- Posts: 2
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Mar 28, 2008, 08:42 pm
HI ROXI I Was just reading your post and i must comend u on caring for all those while by yourself it takes a lot of curradge, u handled it well i would of been a nervous reck but u do what u have to do with what u been given it wasnt fair of them to do that ot you thats alot on u i think u should seek support from your other collegues or talk to your boss, and i suggest u think about getting your cert 3 and have that behind u so u have a better understanding of things and a backup if u do decide to leave, there should always be others to take your partners shift, all i can say dont worry about anyone apart from your self just do your job the best u can i would say something to your boss or the rn that was on that day, they arnt supposed to leave students alone like that its not heard of
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