so discouraged today

[quilterbcathy 0]

I've been working so hard to stay up and positive but the last few days have been rough. Three activities didn't happen because I didn't have enough help. My part time assistant (2 mornings paid, 3 pm's volunteer) - is sweet, knows how to do everything, but is young (21) and learning disabled and tires because of a congenital hip defect. So often speaks inappropriately to the residents and sometimes forgets their dietary needs at snack time... and attempts to re-adjust people in their chairs (hasn't been inserviced and isn't a CNA)... she's been told often not to but forgets with her learning disability. Needs supervision but I am told she is a "gem" and we don't need anymore hours... I had two days of training here and otherwise she's about the only one who lets me in on the daily routine other than when I am called to meetings. So today at my request I went to a sister facility to train under their AD, who was 1/2 hour late (went once before but my DON called her and said my assistant didn't show up, the AD training me interpretted that as I was to go back, which I did only to be told that I shouldn't have assumed that)...thought she forgot so I called my facility and I got hung up on accidently... went into the bathroom and had a good cry... wiped my eyes with that good old coarse brown paper towel and went back to find the AD had finally gotten back to see me. She was nice but by then all I wanted to do was to call and tell them I would not be back. Honestly, I live in a nearby farm community and I could work at the grocery store for the same pay and be closer to the kids and home... even though I love activities and the people...

Sorry to be so long winded but I am seriously tonight wondering if I should hit the classifieds again or try back at my old place who valued what I did... they said I could come back...but it would not be my old job as it's been filled, probably would have to wash toilets or something... :-( I just don't know how I can get some help and training. I'm not even certified yet, am supposed to go to school but that hasn't come up again. Other new staff are getting intense training and I feel just plain forgotten...really don't want to screw up with state survey coming soon...

Cathy

Edited January 20, 2007 by quilterbcathy

[Guest Lo]

Not for one minute do I want to minimize the awful feeling of displacement that you are feeling right now, but I think that it is temporary. My feeling is (without even knowing you and all the "nuances" and issues, ) that it can always be an emotional rollercoaster within the 1st 3 months of a new job. Get past that, then make a decision. Just HANG IN THERE, a year from now, the horror of this "BAD DAY" will be a "BLUR"

[quilterbcathy 0]

Thanks Lo, I already feel better. Sometimes I just really miss the old place.

Cathy

[Diana 0]

I know just where you are coming from! My first job as an AD - the "Bad Day" lasted a good 9 months, till we moved to a different town - come to find out it really was just the facility!

 

Hang in there - we'll be praying for you! Till you get the hang of the job and get a little heartfelt training, have patience and carry a box of Kleenex - it'll help instead of the paper towels!

[Guest Guest_Mary]

Cathy I also know how you must have felt. I have only been an A.D. for a year and a 1/2 I really hated the place the fist 4 months but I just did what I love and the rest came later now I love the place and my residents love me Good luck remember why you got into this feild Mary

[Guest Guest_cyndi]

In reply to your discouraged day, i have baen an activity director for over ten years. i am no to the point where i need to move on, first of all i work in a hospital long term facility. Therefore, the patients are only there for a short time, ie max of two weeks. i just get to know them and they are gone or they don't want to do anything.

[quilterbcathy 0]

Thanks. I'm still struggling today, but tonight am going to try to write down my concerns in a way that I can present it to my boss. Will try to put it in a way that shows what really needs to happen to make this place what it should be for the residents and to pass state survey, point by point. I've got some documentation to back me up. My old boss, God bless her, just sailed sweetly through survey and is willing to help me out when they are dragging their feet. And she is now officially the competition but is willing anyway. Other than that... we'll see. Thanks so much for understanding. I cancelled an outing for Friday because I am just too overwhelmed to take it on yet (boss doesn't know that yet but two highers up are ok with it). Just too complicated logistically with everything else I'm learning. Today I began with a stack of assessments and quarterly's that needed to be caught up on. I barely know the residents yet, but try I will to make it right.

Cathy

[Guest Guest_Vicky]

Cathy:

I can SO relate! I trained in another facility where I was the "coordinator," but I had to be part-time, the other two (who had been there for several years) were full-time. After working for 9 mos. & being told no, I was not going to be made full-time (I was answering phones 3-4 nights a week there to try to make ends meet and yes, I STILL make less money than I did as secretary), I looked into and was given a director's job at a smaller facility. Have been there 5 mos., got two days training w/the cna who had been filling in for a month, and am on my own otherwise. Have NO assistant at all, but for a volunteer who I go pick up (w/w.c.) for 4 half-days a week. She is helpful at Xs, but seems somewhat developmentally disabled, has short attention span, leaves res. in middle of helping them, gets mixed up herself trying to run games, etc., & spends at least half of time socializing w/employees. I work at least an hour late every day, and still can't keep up, running all activities, attending meetings, and trying to do assessments, etc. Suspect it's partly that I am in wrong facility, but am really considering looking for secretarial work again. I get so frustrated, not to mention exhausted. I miss the gals who I worked (and shared) with at last facility. WHY ARE ACTIVITIES PERSONNEL GIVEN SO LITTLE RESPECT & PAY so often??

[BartMan 0]

I said a little prayer for you Cathy , I pray it gets better for you soon. I can remember my first couple weeks on this same job I have now. That was quite a ways back , but I can remember how tough it was for me. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeez how things have gotten so much better since then. I remember wanting to quit and just go back to construction work. And without a great network of friends I probably would have. You hang in there girl and be proud to be who you are. Respect yourself and hold you head high !!!!! Activity Professionals Rock !! And you are one of them !! We are a rare breed indeed my friend. That's why I say Respect Yourself when others don't !! BartMan

[Guest Guest_Pennie]

Hi

I have been in your shoes years ago. My first job as an AD was at a 235 bed facility. I was the only 1 in activities & had no one to train/help me. My 2nd facility was about the same size but came with 2 f/t ass't. Which 1 of them refused to work or do anything that I asked of her. Not to mention that some of the volunteers were like the one's all of you are talking about. The 1st job I just about broke my back trying to do it all! I worked 50 plus hours a week took work home etc. Finally after speaking to a State Survey lady, when they where at the facility doing a survey, about why all of the required paperwork etc was not completed. I explained to her that I was doing my best, the hours, the 1:1's etc. She pointed out to me that sometimes you need to get a deficiency in order to make a point to the powers that be that you need help. Now granted she was a rare lady state surveyor who I was able to talk so bluntly with. But after they left I relazied that she was so right. Why should they hire someone to help me when as far as they could tell all of the work was getting done! I took the deficiency, cut back on my hours & kept up best as I could. I explained all of this to the Administrator when aksed (this was not our 1st discussion about me needing help or about the deficiency) but in the end I did a f/t ass't. I also built up a great volunteer list. It was a risk I could have gotten fired but I was at the point that no matter what happen it just didn't matter!

The 2nd job I ended up firing the girl who refused to work, spoke w/ the Admin about volunteer problem & explained how much time was required on them. It was actually taking away from the res. & I felt like a baby-sitting service. I had to let the volunteers go but it was so much nicer for the moral of the office & alot more got done. I then went on to recruit new volunteers. Everything worked out in the end.

So the moral is most of the time it works out but you can't let people walk all over you. They only do to you what they will allow. If they do treat you badly & won't respect you & your postion then it is time to move on to another facility. There are a lot of adminstrators out there who respect & value what we do for the facility & res. so hang in there. Also the new regs should be coming into play for alot of us now. Especially when survey somes around & the deficiency are written up

[act4life 0]

I understand what cathy is going through When I started my job before this one they did not tell me that the old AD was still working in activities as my assist. I was so mad when she told me who she was. I went to my boss and asked why didn't you tell me about all this. All she said was I new you could do the job and be able to look past it. I was at that job for 4 years. But for my assist she was fired 6 months after i started. Then after 4 years I was told i wasnt working with others and she fired me. But not before I made a phone call to her boss, boy did it feel good. The new AD is'nt working out like they hope she would she was a friend of the boss. Know they both are on a 30 day. By the big boss No it's not right what was done to me but it made me find the job I have know and I make $5.00 more on the hour, I look at each day as if it is going to be my last day. By doing that I give 110% every day to my residents. It's ok to have bad days we all do. Just keep one thing in mind we are there for the residents to make them happy and want to come to activities. We all need help from the staff but will we get it maybe some day. We just need to keep trying our best to make the changes a little each day. One day everyone will be on the same team. Residents first paper work second. You will find the time to do both just hang in there. I did and I'm going into my 7 year as a AD and have went back to school. You can do it

[Vikki 0]

I am in my third month at the facility where I am now working. It has been a big adjustment and I can appreciate all of the stress and frustration you are feeling. I previously worked for a senior center that had activities during the day for independently living older adults. It was sort of like the YMCA, but for people 50 and over.

 

Now I am at an assisted living facility and while I have 83 residents to focus on instead of 300 members, they are not as high-functioning and require a lot of direction and facilitation when it comes to activities. I like a good challenge and this is affording me a great opportunity to be creative.

 

Apparently, the previous AD didn't interact very much with the residents and didn't get along with the assistant at all. It was sort of a shock to have people coming up to me and saying thanks for doing activities. There has been a lot of resentment among staff and residents when it comes to activities because of a lot of let downs (things being scheduled and not happening, not enough planning for things, not enough supplies, etc). I feel like the majority of my time should be spent interacting with the residents and consequently find it difficult to make time for the necessary paperwork (I have been sort of dropping the ball on that part, so managing that along with activities is my goal right now).

 

Initially, the rest of the staff, save for a few people, didn't want to be involved in activities even though it is a company policy that everyone is supposed to be part of the activity program. I think this is because there wasn't much follow through before and everything was put on the assistant.

 

I have been able to build some trust among both the staff and the residents by scaling back activities to the minimum that I know can be accomplished and still be within guidelines. The second thing is I make sure the activities happen (this is still daunting because we have three separate buildings and I am running all over the place all day long. I give the residents my full attention and because some people take up more time I have been late getting to other buildings for the following activities, so I need to find a different way to fix this). They used to have stuff on the calendar, but much of it didn't even happen. So just by being there and facilitating things it made a big difference.

 

Another thing is I spend one hour a week with the staff during lunch. I help serve, take care of drinks, wash dishes, etc. And I also try to take time once a week to help the staff with small things like folding napkins, fixing the menus for the next meal, refilling salt and pepper shakers or taking meals to the rooms of people who don't come to the dining room. This has built trust with the staff and now I find them to be more participatory when it comes to certain activities. I also take time to get to know staff members and find out their interests, hobbies, etc. One lady likes trivia and crossword puzzles, so I worked with her department head to find time in the schedule when it is slow enough for her to come and lead a trivia game. Staff in another building are doing more to go and get residents from their rooms to come to activities or assist them with getting ready for outings.

 

During the times when I am not there and an activity is to be planned I make sure they are low-key and easily managable. We have a current events group, a gaming time, a movie, an afternoon social and a resident-led exercise activity. Right now I am just asking the staff to go around and get residents to come to the program at the designated time. I leave materials in a convenient place marked with directions on them and work with the leads to ensure that someone will be assigned for things that need a little more direction. This is when that lady does the trivia game and I know it's something she enjoys so I can be assured it will go on as planned. Another thing that seems to work when I am not there is having entertainment because all that has to be done is show the entertainer where to set up and go round up residents to attend. As I get farther along I will try to implement more involved things once I know the staff feels comfortable and willing to do them.

 

With your assistant, it might be helpful to write up a schedule of expected duties. If there is structure and she knows what is to happen each week during her hours when she is there and what ongoing or recurring responsibilities she has it could give her enough direction to stay focused. I have an assistant for 16 hours and we worked out her schedule so that on Mondays she comes in and helps round up residents for the shopping trip, she attends the shopping trip with us and assists residents, then when we come back we have an hour to plan or work on bulletin boards, gather materials and stuff. Then she does a craft project and later hosts Bingo. The next day she teaches a group class and then helps round residents up for a joy ride. On Fridays she helps get residents ready for the out to lunch trip, accompanies us on the lunch trip, leads an activity of her choosing when we get back and helps get people to attend the afternoon karaoke social. So that way her schedule is known each week and we have a couple of hours leeway to do other things like work on her goals and brainstorm on other program ideas.

 

I would just play to her strengths, find out what she enjoys doing most and make a couple of those things her responsibility during the time she has there. Then plan the other activities according to a schedule you find most managable that you know can be accomplished and that also works for the residents. Network with the staff, give them encouragement and when you see them doing something good point it out to them and then tell their manager what a great job they did. They will appreciate it and be more receptive to helping out which will take some pressure off you. If there are events to be done when you aren't there, get with the department heads and find out who is on the schedule and what times are slowest for them and plan around that. Keep it simple! I think once you get into a more established routine things will fall into place!

[quilterbcathy 0]

Thank you! I'll try and work with her a little better. She's a sweet kid. I did write a note to my boss asking for more help, I think he's pretty much blowing it off. Wouldn't surprise me now after reading what you've all written. I sort of spelled out my concerns and offered some ideas. Oh well, I took a risk writing it, I guess! Just call me "brave chicken scaredy pants". Ha! If he's mad he's mad. If he ignores it so be it. I am called the radical in the family because now and then I take a stand, for better or for worse (we are all pretty easy going really).Today was better. If he doesn't fire me (I doubt it), I will sure be glad to get past these first few months!

Cathy