Seraphine
Member
Hello...I guess most of you have read my introduction, so you are aware of the general idea. I'll just delve a little deeper into one aspect of what i mentioned.
I started working at this senior home in April. It's a very new concept in North America, even though the company has been open for over twenty years, people still have a hard time wrapping their heads around it.
It's very simple really...it's just hard to believe that a home would run that way. They are a social model, not a medical model. So it looks like someone's home, it's big and beautifully decorated. The residents are given freedom of choice with everything...food, what time they get up, whether they take their meds or not etc. It's an amazing place to work and i love it. Prior to this, i was working mostly in the customer service field but i was miserable. I had recently made the decision to pursue Nursing but had trouble getting into the program. I was placed on a waiting list because there were over 500 applicants, more than any year in the history of Nursing at the college i applied to. The reason being, there is a HUGE shortage of Nurses right now.
Anyway, I digress (i do a lot of that...), i'm under a lot of pressure at work. I do the med pass, which for people who don't know what that means, i give the medication to the residents. I work day shift so i give medication in the morning and afternoon. The day shift is a lot more intense than afternoon shift, i've done both.
Because of all the things that have piled into my corner lately, more recently the newest member of the home i work in...my grandmother, I have been under lots of stress. At first it was very difficult, i admit. I went with my father to bring her to the home. She was upset when she realized what was happening and after i told my father to leave she told me to get out of her room, she never wanted to see me again. That entire week was better though. She moved in on the Sunday and Monday through to the next Sunday she was in a good mood, she was active with the other residents, participating in activities and socializing. She was happy to see me every time i approached her, although she did say she was very angry at my father and mother for placing her. I did my best to redirect her and took it all in stride. The Monday after her first week, i went to her room one morning to say hello and she told me to get out, that she asked me not to home here and she never wanted to see me again. Ever since (it's been about three weeks) it's been like that. She ignores me when she sees me even if i say hi. I gave up and just decided to be happy with the fact that she was safe and happy, she had stimulation and was flourishing. I thought i was doing fine. But apparently my body and mind were betraying me.
My boss approached me one day for a chat, which terrified me. She told me that she felt the situation with my grandmother was distracting me. She told me that several people had found pills in some residents rooms, basically saying that i wasn't paying attention and they either did not take the pills or took them out of their mouths after i left. I was mortified.
I told her first of all, that there are other people that give medication besides me, so how did she know for sure it was me. I am the first one to admit when i've done something wrong, i'm open to constructive criticism especially when i've only been doing something for 4 months with no prior experience. However, there was no proof that these incidents involved me. The next day she told me that i left a bottle of cough syrup outside one of the residents rooms....definitely me....i know that. She told me that she would be taking one day off my schedule and that i need to focus. My boss is an amazing person, i look to her as a mentor because she is a RN and she has been for 15 years, she knows her stuff.
Now i need to figure out a way to balance all of this because this job means everything to me. I have finally found something that i can call a career...that isn't just a way to earn money to pay bills for me.
I spoke to my boss and also the Director of the home about possibly being transfered to the same home, but in the next town...which would actually be closer for me. That is another issue. I travel three hours a day to get to work, if i transfered to the other home, i'd be travelling less than an hour a day to get there.
It is a possibilty (my boss was less enthusiastic than the Director because she likes having me there). I would have to go through another interview and make sure my performance is stellar when that happens.
The thing is....i want to know, am i being weak by looking in that direction? Am i giving up and not trying to stabilize my situation where I am?
I want to be happy and comfortable but I also want to be strong. I don't want anyone thinking that i can't do this.
What do you all think?
I started working at this senior home in April. It's a very new concept in North America, even though the company has been open for over twenty years, people still have a hard time wrapping their heads around it.
It's very simple really...it's just hard to believe that a home would run that way. They are a social model, not a medical model. So it looks like someone's home, it's big and beautifully decorated. The residents are given freedom of choice with everything...food, what time they get up, whether they take their meds or not etc. It's an amazing place to work and i love it. Prior to this, i was working mostly in the customer service field but i was miserable. I had recently made the decision to pursue Nursing but had trouble getting into the program. I was placed on a waiting list because there were over 500 applicants, more than any year in the history of Nursing at the college i applied to. The reason being, there is a HUGE shortage of Nurses right now.
Anyway, I digress (i do a lot of that...), i'm under a lot of pressure at work. I do the med pass, which for people who don't know what that means, i give the medication to the residents. I work day shift so i give medication in the morning and afternoon. The day shift is a lot more intense than afternoon shift, i've done both.
Because of all the things that have piled into my corner lately, more recently the newest member of the home i work in...my grandmother, I have been under lots of stress. At first it was very difficult, i admit. I went with my father to bring her to the home. She was upset when she realized what was happening and after i told my father to leave she told me to get out of her room, she never wanted to see me again. That entire week was better though. She moved in on the Sunday and Monday through to the next Sunday she was in a good mood, she was active with the other residents, participating in activities and socializing. She was happy to see me every time i approached her, although she did say she was very angry at my father and mother for placing her. I did my best to redirect her and took it all in stride. The Monday after her first week, i went to her room one morning to say hello and she told me to get out, that she asked me not to home here and she never wanted to see me again. Ever since (it's been about three weeks) it's been like that. She ignores me when she sees me even if i say hi. I gave up and just decided to be happy with the fact that she was safe and happy, she had stimulation and was flourishing. I thought i was doing fine. But apparently my body and mind were betraying me.
My boss approached me one day for a chat, which terrified me. She told me that she felt the situation with my grandmother was distracting me. She told me that several people had found pills in some residents rooms, basically saying that i wasn't paying attention and they either did not take the pills or took them out of their mouths after i left. I was mortified.
I told her first of all, that there are other people that give medication besides me, so how did she know for sure it was me. I am the first one to admit when i've done something wrong, i'm open to constructive criticism especially when i've only been doing something for 4 months with no prior experience. However, there was no proof that these incidents involved me. The next day she told me that i left a bottle of cough syrup outside one of the residents rooms....definitely me....i know that. She told me that she would be taking one day off my schedule and that i need to focus. My boss is an amazing person, i look to her as a mentor because she is a RN and she has been for 15 years, she knows her stuff.
Now i need to figure out a way to balance all of this because this job means everything to me. I have finally found something that i can call a career...that isn't just a way to earn money to pay bills for me.
I spoke to my boss and also the Director of the home about possibly being transfered to the same home, but in the next town...which would actually be closer for me. That is another issue. I travel three hours a day to get to work, if i transfered to the other home, i'd be travelling less than an hour a day to get there.
It is a possibilty (my boss was less enthusiastic than the Director because she likes having me there). I would have to go through another interview and make sure my performance is stellar when that happens.
The thing is....i want to know, am i being weak by looking in that direction? Am i giving up and not trying to stabilize my situation where I am?
I want to be happy and comfortable but I also want to be strong. I don't want anyone thinking that i can't do this.
What do you all think?
