Longing to get out of LTC

How long you been in ltc? Which other fields are you considering? My friend has been in ltc for too many years to be accepted in hospitals and cries about this. If you have the opportunity to leave, it sound like you need a break...bood luck

Oh My! Yes- I can totally relate to your discouragement. i have been in PC then LTC for a total of 4 years and I hate it. Our facility is not run the way it should be. I'm tired of the favoritism and certain things being swept under the rug. Another nurse who has only been there a year and a half was given a daylight position over me. It was never posted or discussed. I am livid.Also at our facility too much is expected out of one nurse. The average day is as follows: 1 LPN to approx 40 residents. this includes all med passes, txs, mood and behavior, MDS, charting, new orders, etc. We have one RN for the whole building. It isnt that Im not competent to handle the stress and responsibility, but I never get a pat on the back or a thank You. I too have been searching for a new job but in my area the only place that hires LPNS is LTC, so I am trying to put myself thru RN school while working FT. Not that I really wanted to be an RN, but it is my only way out!!!! If u need to vent feel free to send me a message..LOL

Evilolive- Doesnt sound like LTC is your calling. Your doing the best thing, just keep applying to other areas and eventually your ship will come in. In the mean time ignore all the negativity, take care of the residents and hopefully you will get a call from elsewhere telling you, you've been hired. Keep your head up in the mean time. LTC isnt a job its an adventure.

I too, am in LTC and have been in the past 12 years. First, as a CNA and then as an LPN. I can understand where everyone is coming from. I decided that once I got my RN - I would get out of LTC forever. I never thought that it would happen b/c I heard that once your in LTC it is hard to get out. I personally think that LTC take advantage of their nurses and we do not deserve that!! I just accepted a per-diem positions as an RN for the med/surg & step down unit at a hosp about 30 mins away from me. I can't believe that it has happened and I'm excited to start this new career.
Just keep applying to other places and perhap you can take a review course to help get your foot into a hosp setting. Good Luck! and hang in there. Also, if you need to vent please feel free to pm me. I understand not being able to talk to anyone at the job...my place was the same way.

Joanna

I read all your posts on this subject with great interest. There have been similar posts since I found this website. I am the DON at a 70 bed facility. Sometimes I get so tired of the stress that I just want to quit, but I am so attached to my staff and residents that I don't. The majority of my stress comes from other areas. I have an excellent staff. I try so hard to make their jobs as good as I can. I am afraid if I leave that the next DON will not pay attention to their needs so well. I have had some lousy DONs over the years. I'm so saint, but at least I do care. Anyway, I read your posts with this in mind. I want to know why you feel burned out, why you are unhappy in your jobs, etc., so I can try to make sure it is not the case in my facility. I have argued with corporate to get my aides and nurses a pay increase. I finally got enough staff to suit me...we are now staffed very good. You guys are generally not treated well it seems. My LPNs have 30ish pts to care for, but they have a treatment nurse and an RN on the floor to help them with IVs, PD, behavior problems, families, charting, and the umpteen problems that arise. I am on the floor often, they can always call me, give them time off if they are over tired, etc. I hope they know how important they are to me and to the residents.

To the original poster: are there any home health agencies in your area?

Many nurses who become burned-out by LTC usually love the change of pace that home health offers. Instead of managing 30 chronically sick residents at once, you will only care for the 1 single patient who is usually in stable condition (or else they wouldn't be at home). I have heard that home health is the best-kept secret in nursing.

Well Travel50 , I will tell you that I have on average 35-40 patients under my wing. I usually work 2-1030pm which includes two med passes. The first pass lasts about 1 1/2 hours and the second is about 2 hours, so there is half my shift. We do not have a tx nurse and the RN is never where u need her. If u call her she sighs and gives u attitude or an anatomy lesson before she will help or eval the res.If we have behavior problems, its my burden no one elses. No one gives me a helping hand.Out of the 4 hours Im not passing pills, an hour is spent in the dining room for supper.That leaves charting, txs, MDS, mood and behavior, Pain management and a lunch break which I rarely get.(Im a competent speedy nurse and hardly get done).So this is why I am burned out with LTC. Any other questions feel free to message me.

Travel50...

May I come to work for you? I would give anything for my DON to make rounds on our floor during our shifts. I can't count on one hand the times that she has come to even say hi. Work the floor when we are so short...not likely!!! I remember one day when I was the only nurse and was fortunate to have a great CNA and that was it for 40 people. I asked the DON to please stay and help as we were drowning. I was informed that she had already done her 8 hr shift. I didn't know whether to sit down and cry or slap the fire out of her. But, somehow we did it. The only reason that I stay, is as others say, I love my residents and I want to make sure that they get the excellent care that they deserve. Nothing makes my day brighter than a pat on my hand or cheek and I hear the words, "Honey, I love your dearly", from my residents.

Your staff is truly fortunate to have a very caring DON, as yourself. My hat is off to you