Sounds like you must work at the place where I use to work! They use to tell me to clock out on time. I just couldn't get it all completed by 11:30 especially the paperwork. Sometimes I'd be there until 12:30 or 1am. They'd write me up. I told them either I leave some things undone and clock out at 11:30 or I stay and complete everything and get overtime! It's frustrating. I'd go home every night feeling I had left something undone or hadn't given enough time to a patient who needed it. also frustrating, was some nurses who couldn't care less, did a half ass job, chatted on the phone while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off and left at 11:30 on the dot! In places like this, it's a no win situation. Heaven forbid a patient to go bad or get a new admission ( with 23 pages of paper work to complete) then you were really behind. We were always short staffed too, so the nurses had to assume some of the CNAs duties as well. It was a madhouse-like that old game Beat the Clock. It's the worst place I've ever worked and I worked alot of places in my 27 yrs. as a nurse. I stayed as long as I did because I felt so sorry for the patients. Nurses and CNAs came and went like flies. and no wonder. Shortly after I left, instead of putting money to good use hiring adequate staff and giving them incentatives to stay, they put big screen tvs in all the patients' rooms. Now, understand, this place was a disaster. It almost failed accreditation every year. One hall, the roof leaked constantly and a large plastic trash can sit on the nursing desk to catch the leak whenever it rained. I cannot begin to tell you the things that went on there. Supplies were never on hand-nurses had to be resourceful. I stayed as long as I could but I just couldn't take it anymore. A few dedicated nurses cannot make a difference in a place like this. Making money was the name of the game there, not patient care.So after all this, I'm afraid I do not have an answer for you. With all the hoopla about the nursing shortage, I feel companies should invest time and money in trying to keep good nurses and CNAs . This would be so beneficial to everyone instead of spending all that money to attract students to nursing when they will have to work in environments like this one and won't stay in nursing for long.

Ladies, what a coincidence I worked there too! I am a relatively new nurse, and I am having the hardest time adjusting. I just get so angry with the way things are ran in LTC. Everything is about the money and not the patient. I thought it was just me being naive. I can never get everything done and still feel as though I was being a good nurse and a good person. I feel burnt out with LTC. I pray alot too. I pray for myself and for my patients. It really does upset me that the administration only see dollars and not the good nurses that they turn off and lose. That is why there is such a high turn over rate.

I havent practiced in 11 years. Thought I had retired. But decided that I missed Nursing too much and went out and got a job. It's in long term care because I wouldn't work anywhere else. After reading all of the replys I had to stop and think. It realy hasn't changed much. Seems like we still have the same issues. Too many patients,too few staff. Nursing homes that are no better than warehouses for the elderly and staff that just go through the motions. I think that we'll always have these problems as long as we consider nursing to be a job and a pay check. I believe that we need a change in our belief system. We need to remember that since the time of Nightengal we are called to nursing. Just as a minister is called to a church, or a Priest to his congregation. Nursing is a profession that emenates from a higher power. We don't choose nursing. It chooses us. If you are only in it for the paycheck then it won't last. Nursing can't be what you do . It must be who you are....Aloha ...

I am not a lpn but I do understand the complants.I have worked in some that were awesome.Sometimes we were short on supplies but not often.Those had a low turnover rate and high census.We even had perfects with state and behaved as normal without massive ot.I have found the private owned facilities are usually the best to work for.They are usually happy with whatever profit they make.But a coop. god forbidthey don't make at least a 50% profit.They are the ones that care the least.And they are the worst to work for.Not every situtation is the same(pt. wise).