Oh man, it is so hard to get the right nurse. We interviewed/met a bunch over the past month. Out of them all there was 2 that I really liked and 1 that I was on the fence (just couldn’t read her in our meeting). We hired my favorite (Michelle) but sadly Michelle is a school nurse and was only available for 2 weeks then had to return to her main job.
Second was Angela. Angela started on Wednesday and worked Wed-Fri last week. I like her, but she is not perfect. She is a little careless and that scares me a lot. The first few shifts that a nurse is here I am right by their side the entire time to be sure that I show them how things work, what to look for, listen for, etc. On the 3rd day (Friday) I backed off some. I was home, but in the other room most of the time to let her go mostly on her own. Around lunch time I heard the dreaded “Oh, no” coming from the play room. It was shortly followed by a “Marty, can you come quick?” Neither of those phrases are ones I like to hear. I ran to the play room to find that she had not been paying attention and had sat on Casey feed line. She scooted back to get a toy and took the line with her, hence pulling the tube right out of Casey’s stomach. UGH!!!! I was so mad. I yelled some about how she needs to be careful and pay more attention. I went on to tell her how important it is so always be aware of EVERYTHING when dealing with special needs kids. A small mistake can lead to huge trouble so quickly. She felt awful and apologized over and over again. I know she did not do it on purpose. However, it was an accident that could have and should have been avoided. We had Casey at home and in our care for over 3 years before I did that. This was her 3rd day!!!! I know accidents happen, but she has to be more careful. I did not send her home. I will give her another chance. If she remains to be careless and inattentive to these things I think we will have to start looking for yet another nurse.
My 3rd choice in nurses was Manuela. I could not get a read at all on her so she was on my maybe list. She was supposed to come for a shift last week (Tuesday) but called in sick on her first day. This was not a good sign, but these things happen. We had a nurse a while back that was supposed to start. She called in sick on day 1 then on day 2 she called the office and said the drive is just too much and she won’t be coming ever. Manuela’s day 2 is today. I was told she would be here from 8-4. At 8:30 she was still not here so I called the office. They told me there was a scheduling miscommunication and that she would be here at 9. Okay, I don’t have the details on this so I won’t hold it against her. She got here at 9 and seemed mad to be here, kind of a weird vibe. I went ahead and started showing her how things work around here. She doesn’t seem to agree/approve of how we do things. Everything that I show her for Casey she has given me a condescending look after I give her the instructions. She has already started with the tracheotomy questions (not knowing anything about the situation). After she asked about it and I said the simple, no we do not want that for her the benefit would not be worth it for us she gave me this look like she thought I was crazy. I then had to go on with more explanations that still were not enough for her. She forced me to get into the quality of life details and things that are really none of her business. I do not need to deal with this. My original maybe on her is quickly becoming a no. I could not read her before, but the vibe I am getting from her today just is not a good one at all.
I guess for now we just have Angela. I need to keep interviewing more to find someone to fill my other shifts. Manuela is not the person for the job. Just 3 more hours and her shift is done. I am looking forward to the end of this shift. I will be asking that she not come back.
Nancy is here tomorrow. We like Nancy; she was Casey’s backup nurse for the past 8-9 months. We just found out that tomorrow is her last day in home health so we lost her too. I need to find another really good nurse to split the week with Angela. If I like the other nurse better maybe I can give him/her the majority of the shifts and have Angela as a backup. Either way, I need to get some more nurses over to interview.