Does anyone like LTC?

[remched]

I am in my second month (new graduate) of working LTC. I have been going through the posts here, and frankly, I'm scared. I love the residents. All they want is someone to listen to them, even if it's 2 minutes. I work with some nurses that are real b's, and I find it appauling. They scream at residents, and claim it's b/c their hearing aids aren't in. The CNA's don't answer call bells in a timely manner (I KNOW they are busy too), but they are standing around talking when this is going on. I am trying to master my med passes safely, but am constantly worried that I'm putting my "license" at risk. I haven't even touched learning all the paperwork, but I figure it will come. Or at worst the Unit clerk that catches a mistake will let me know. PLEASE isn't there anyone out there that likes LTC? It is what I wanted from the beginning of nursing school. Sounds silly I guess.

[Midwest4me]

I enjoyed the residents; it was precious little time however that I got to spend with them. I left because of the high stress associated with LONG med passes, rude CNAs and DONs that could never understand that the job cannot CORRECTLY be done in 8 hours--at least not in any of the LTCs I ever worked. More often than not, I was nurse/CNA due to pathetically short staffing. I praise those nurses who DO stay with it; too many years of the various kinds of abuse burned me out.

[Cherybaby]

I started in LTC a LONG time ago (10 years, in fact) as a CNA in the grossest facility on the planet. One of the LPN's there told me I was "too smart" to be a CNA, and that I should think about becoming a nurse. 10 years later, I am now an LPN in that SAME facility, with new owners and a new DON who actually care about the residents and staff. It's like coming full circle. I love med passes. I love taking my time to chat, even briefly, with the residents. I love all my coworkers because they support one another. I have to admit, I am not crazy about the CNA's. A lot of them that are there were there 10 years ago when I was...and they either flip me nonsense for becoming "one of THEM" (a nurse) or, they stand around, doing nothing...like they did 10 years ago when I was racing around as a newbie trying to do all of their jobs.

Now, I get to tell them to get back to work.

There's a lot of satisfaction in that. But, there is even more in putting a smile on the face of a lonely patient who is living out his or her final years in a supportive and loving environment.

Find a facility that fits. LTC needs MORE good and devoted nurses.

[brendamyheart]

i have worked in ltc for over 14 years and i love it (most days...but it's the job that gets to me not the ltc atmosphere). i started as an aide, became a lpn and then rn. once i got my rn i had a moment when i felt that i should go to a hospital, be a "real nurse" and deal with critical patients and iv's etc...most know how people respond when you say you work in a nursing home..."oh, that's nice" as if you aren't really even a nurse. but it's important to re-evaluate how important ltc nursing is. speak to some hospital nurses and find out what they do when a problem arises. they readily have departments available to turn to whether it be respiratory therapists for someone in respiratory distress or wocn when a pressure ulcer is found or a problem occurs with an ostomy. doctors in house to turn to when something goes wrong. but what do you have in a nursing home? yourself, other nurses and a supervisor and cna's. i am, by no means, knocking hospital nurses-they're wonderful! however, ltc nurses need to have more respect from everyone in the medical community for the job that they do!

you have to be able to think critically when an emergency arises. you have to keep your assessment skills up to date and sharp. you definitely have to be able to multi-task. ltc is not just being a med nurse even if you feel that way sometimes. anyone can tell you that the residents that come to nursing homes today are much sicker and more critical than they have ever been in the past. the entire population in ltc has changed over the years. the advantage that ltc nurses have is that they are able to know their residents more than hospital nurses can due to the short stays in the hospital. this allows the ltc nurse to notice subtle changes in a person that might otherwise go unnoticed i.e. uti's, pneumonia, chf, etc...

i could go on all day about how special nurses are in any job atmosphere but i really feel that ltc nurses need more credit for what they do. so when someone asks where you work you should answer them proudly because what you do is so very important in so many aspects! it really takes a special person to do what you do!

well said!!! :bow:

[cschuess]

Thank you, I just feel that LTC nurses don't give themselves enough credit for what they do!

[mairehRN]

I've been doing LTC 12 years now as an RN, and about 6 years as a NA.

I love it. The only other job I'd ever want is OR nursing. I'd love to be a scrub, only thing, they use techs now. Shame. I love watching surgeries.

[mairehRN]

Amen! I was just having similiar thoughts on the topic and you pretty much said what I was thinking earlier today.