About 2 weeks ago, our DON decided 3rd shift staffing to be cut to the bare minimum, but we still have the same workload - getting 21 residents up and dressed before 7am. We start at 3am prepping and half dressing 18 of our hoyer lifts and 2 person transfers, and try to get to the other 3 sometime before 7am. We have now two aides instead of three. Facility policy - 2 aides at all times when turning and tranferring x2 residents. We cannot get anyone up until 5am, let's see,
120 minutes/ 21 residents = 5.71 minutes to get each person changed/or toileted, up in chair and groomed. 75% of our residents are total cares.
So I have been working my A** off lately, plus on weekends I work with staff unfamiliar to my unit, but of course everyhting is supposed to be perfect, regardless.
Anyway last night, one of our on-call girls was really nice and decided to come in at 3am until 7am, because she knows 3rd shift has a terrible workload. Since I had the extra help and it was Sunday morning, I decided to dress every resident (I usually dress half, and never have enough time to get them all out of bed in 2 hours time). Well one resident was really sick and lethargic, and I decided to leave her in a gown, becuase I figured first shift would probably let her go back to bed after breakfast, if she even ate anything. If it was up to me, I would not have even got her up in her wheelchair. So here I am, sweating and trying to dress another resident and make her look nice, and the nurse storms in, "Why didn't you get so and so dressed?" I wanted to punch her in the face. THE ONLY RESIDENT ON THE ENTIRE UNIT that wasn't dressed! And she had to complain??? I am really upset that she made it an issue, like I wasn't doing my job, or had not taken excellent care of (I dressed everybody really nice for Sunday) the residents!! That burns me!!! Stuff like this makes me want to quit on the spot. I really get upset when I get treated like that, yelled at for no reason. I try to hold my head up and remember that it is the residents that really appreciate us aides, but it is so discouraging when you try to do a good job, and get dogged out anyway!!! Thanx for listening.