[squeakykitty]

Originally Posted by OldMareLPN

......It is quite possible I am not made to be a LTC nurse. Perhaps my standards are too inflexible, and I refuse to put the patient less than number one. So be it, I will continue to make my contribution as the doors open and as I am led to.

I would think that this means that you would be an excellent LTC nurse.

[GoLytely]

Originally Posted by Rexie68

I don't know about other places, but where I live, they're pumping out LPNs left and right. I can't imagine that the nurses who quit won't be replaced, because right now LPNs are begging for jobs. I just hang in there and do my best, hoping that I make a difference for the positive.

I've always said the nursing schools around here are like a faucet and no one knows when to shut it off. They are churning out nurses faster than you can turn around. The local LPN program in the hick town where I went to school has recently started graduating two classes a year. The nursing homes don't care that LPNs keep going through the turnstiles like crowds at a baseball game.

Everybody and their brother is a nurse nowadays.

And guess where everyone goes when one of the local factories shuts down and moves overseas?
Ryan's restaurant just shut down and 60 people lost their jobs. I'd be willing to bet where a bunch of them are going...

[Rexie68]

Originally Posted by motorcycle mama

I've always said the nursing schools around here are like a faucet and no one knows when to shut it off. They are churning out nurses faster than you can turn around. The local LPN program in the hick town where I went to school has recently started graduating two classes a year. The nursing homes don't care that LPNs keep going through the turnstiles like crowds at a baseball game.

Everybody and their brother is a nurse nowadays.

And guess where everyone goes when one of the local factories shuts down and moves overseas?
Ryan's restaurant just shut down and 60 people lost their jobs. I'd be willing to bet where a bunch of them are going...

That's the same thing they're doing here. Two new LPN programs just started, with classes twice a year. Many state programs to train laid off employees will pay for the classes (which, I might add, cost just as much as an RN program.....last I heard they were over $20,000) and then they have no place to work (IF they pass boards, which is a whole 'nother story). We have one nursing home in town that has a unit staffed with only LPNs....no CNAs. Great idea, but they pay CNA wages. Anyway, when we have new grads giving OJ to a resident with a CS of 432 because she thought that's what she was supposed to do to bring it down (?!?) and trying to convince me that a TIA and an MI are the same thing, I know we're not getting quality nurses. (yes, those things both happened...

[Lexxie]

Originally Posted by iceyspots

if enough nurses speak up by not working at these places they will eventually have to cave in somehow!

Ahhh but that's where the "faucet of new nurses" comes into play. There's always going to be someone to replace those who complain...

A few months ago, I wrote my SBON in regards to the staffing at my facility. This past Christmas, they left one lone LPN to pass meds to 60 residents and the charge nurse to "help if she could" on 3-11 shift. The sad thing is, that management knew they'd need an LPN for at least 6 months, to cover the nurse who was going to be out on maternity leave. Long story short, the only thing the BON did is give me phone #'s of people to contact in Harrisburg, if I felt there were unsafe conditions happening.

Thanks for the support, dear BON!

[ingelein]

Originally Posted by Lexxie

Ahhh but that's where the "faucet of new nurses" comes into play. There's always going to be someone to replace those who complain...

A few months ago, I wrote my SBON in regards to the staffing at my facility. This past Christmas, they left one lone LPN to pass meds to 60 residents and the charge nurse to "help if she could" on 3-11 shift. The sad thing is, that management knew they'd need an LPN for at least 6 months, to cover the nurse who was going to be out on maternity leave. Long story short, the only thing the BON did is give me phone #'s of people to contact in Harrisburg, if I felt there were unsafe conditions happening.

Thanks for the support, dear BON!

The BONs only deal with licensing and regulation of professionals, nurses, etc. they dont regulate the facilities themselves,here are the state regulating and inspection entities for the nation.

http://www.hpm.umn.edu/NHRegsPlus/index.htm

http://www.nccnhr.org/uploads/Harrin...sedJan2008.pdf

Contact Info for all the states are in these websites.

[Lexxie]

Originally Posted by ingelein

The BONs only deal with licensing and regulation of professionals, nurses, etc. they dont regulate the facilities themselves,here are the state regulating and inspection entities for the nation.

http://www.hpm.umn.edu/NHRegsPlus/index.htm

http://www.nccnhr.org/uploads/Harrin...sedJan2008.pdf

Contact Info for all the states are in these websites.

Thanks for the links. I was just so frustrated that I had hoped the BON would do something

[ChanceORiley27]

I agree - we're busy and understaffed, but WOW... Please - run screaming in the other direction. Do not place yourself in a position to put you're livelihood in jeopardy. I know it's hard to leave the residents that you've come to know and love, but there are other residents out there that will benefit from your care. Find a different job.