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My last employer which includes the corp. office
looked and treated their MDS Nurse's as special as we are! However,
an exception was my direct facility...I was very spoiled, I will never find
another facility like it for this I am sure. The nurse that took my
place agrees with me she stated, "I was so lucky to find this facility".
The DON treated as equals with no one else to answer to except her and the
Administrator...and they always agreed with my arguments. I was able
to continue yearly with update seminars at no charge to me. I
miss that place and the people in it....would never have left if it wasn't for
the relocation my husband and I did to Prescott, Ariz.
The Nose
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 6:35 AM
Subject: RE: MDS nurse pros and cons-My
opinion
Have
you found that the only people who believe we are so pivotal , IS US !!
I was so annoyed by a previous administrator when she dropped my salary
by $6 a hour and told me she does not feel MDS nurses "are worth
anything". I was astonished. Our work drives almost
everything in LTC, QI, QM, CARE Planning, Fiscal Reimbursement on a
State and Federal Level, Survey, I can go on and on. I actually had to
defend my position to her, her view of "Us', was pretty low on the Totem pole
of responsibility and necessitate. She felt I was "too critical"
when I would validate the information placed by staff on the MDS, would find
errors, and request they be corrected. How could I be too critical ? I never
understand her premise, and was very happy to leave that place. Yes,
they did have problems with survey when the MDS did not match the resident or
the documentation, I wanted to scream "I told
you so" . That administrator had no issue
with pulling me from my MDS responsibilities to pass meds or do treatments
when someone would not show up, in her words, "everyone needs to help
out". That meant I was working way, way many hours, salaried of
course, and still not doing the job the way it should be
done. Anyone else with a similar dilemma
?
Good advice about the training. MDS is
the pivotal point for Long Term Care. It is an intricate assessment
process. Even after you have the training you will call sometimes
daily for clarification on various items as to code or not to code.
Make sure if you do take the job as MDS nurse the expectation is
clear. That you are not going to be pulled to the floor or have other
duties as assigned. Depending on the amount you will have to do
chasing the documentation and communication you will need will take up most
of your time. It is a difficult job at best. When everything is
set up to support you in this position it can be a rewarding job. But
that does not happen very often in this setting. Long Term Care is
very hard and is system after system. It is not like hospital nursing
where we throw labor at problems. In long term residents are
entered into many systems that must be monitored, daily, weekly, monthly and
yearly. If you have never worked long term care it will be an eye
opener. I've done it off and on for 21 years. I'm in the perfect
setting, it is only a 19 bed unit attached to a hospital and all the staff
show up everyday. I wish you luck but go in with your eyes wide
open. The amount of long term care regulations
surpassed the amount of regulations for nuclear enery 7 years
ago. We are the most heavily regulated industry in the world. "Little
known fact".
Personal opinion here only....
I would not take a position as a part-time
MDS nurse. On the other hand... nor would I take a position as
a full-time MDS nurse without training. The best thing you can do
for your own protection and sanity is contact www.AANAC.org and find the closest MDS
training class available to you. The MDS is the driving force for
reimbursement and survey if the MDS nurse is a newbie there could be major
problems.
Another observation is that in my 9 years
experience as an MDS Nurse/Case Manager I have never seen a
successful part-time MDS Nurse....not to say there are none I just have
not seen them.
Best advise is to hold on to what you are
doing...and take some classes...then seek employment.
The Nose
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 11:44
AM
Subject: MDS nurse pros and
cons
I joined this list last week to see what type of help I could
receive here if I started a new job at a nursing home ,as an MDS, nurse
part time. I work now as your know in a hospital, I am a
DON of the whole hospital,not a floor. It is
getting to be to much and working as a LNC recently.
So my question is:
Can you tell me what the pros and cons are of your job?
thank you for your time.
Lawfully yours,
Medical Legal Nurse,
LNC
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