LTC is getting the best of me!

Specialties Geriatric

Published

i went on vacation and came back with about

Specializes in Registered Nurse.
I have your sympathy, I'm also a "Charge Nurse, Unit coordinator, Patient care coordinator, babysitter, ADON (don't have the title). My day starts at 8:00AM-4:30-5:30-6:30 sometimes 7:30PM. I am so so tired of being dumped on, by all the other nurses, administrator, DON, SS, therapies and dietary. It seems everything comes to my little office (closet) is what it use to be. Family and friends of resident expect me to give them all the answers as well as other staff. I reluctantly took on this job after the previous "charge nurse" burned out and went to acute care after 25 yrs of service she was charge for 10 of those years. Here I am in the same boat as she except we lost a excellant RN, and have not replaced her, so I have no backup. I do it all. We have usually a LPN & Med Tech or Nurse Tech on the day shift and me the only RN. Have average of 60-65 residents plus 6-10 on the special care unit Alizhemiers, which has either an LPN, or part-time RN. Neither know how to put an admission it the computer and are always looking to me for answers. I don't know how long I can hang in either. I have 5 yrs til retirement, I hope I can make to then, I really don't want to start over somewhere else. Just to let you know YOUR NOT ALONE!!

I don't know how you do it. Kudos to you! I want to jump ship! LOL. I probably will. For those of you who have done it and done it well for years, I have great respect. I don't have an office....let alone a closet for an office. LOL. I am right there conveniently located for our most attention seeking residents to yell out my name and find me every 5 mins.! The phone rings almost constantly. It is pretty impossible. Thanks for the feedback and empathy!

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I will NEVER work in a LTC facility again.

At this point, I'm not even sure that I'll work in a hospital! LOL

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Retirement is looking more wonderful with each passing day! But with each passing day I wonder how much longer I or rather my legs can hold out. Why is it that all the pt's who need the most attention or the ones who seem to be on the call bell every 20 min are always the last pt in the hallway! No matter what hall I work, it seems that's always the case. I've thought about getting one of those motorized scooters, seriously.

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I completely understand the frustration of LTC. Tomarrow is my last day working at a LTC facility and I almost want to scream with joy that after tomarrow I don't have to go back The staff that I work with could care less about their work and whether it gets done or not. Everyday that I leave work, I just want to drive my car off a bridge to keep from having to go back. Getting phone calls all hours of the day and night over very unimportant things, I have great respect for those who do LTC and love it but I will never do it again.

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.
I will NEVER work in a LTC facility again.

At this point, I'm not even sure that I'll work in a hospital! LOL

I know what you mean. :confused: :cool:

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.
Retirement is looking more wonderful with each passing day! But with each passing day I wonder how much longer I or rather my legs can hold out. Why is it that all the pt's who need the most attention or the ones who seem to be on the call bell every 20 min are always the last pt in the hallway! No matter what hall I work, it seems that's always the case. I've thought about getting one of those motorized scooters, seriously.

Scooters! Haha. Talk about your environmental safety risks! ;) bahaha

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.
I completely understand the frustration of LTC. Tomarrow is my last day working at a LTC facility and I almost want to scream with joy that after tomarrow I don't have to go back The staff that I work with could care less about their work and whether it gets done or not. Everyday that I leave work, I just want to drive my car off a bridge to keep from having to go back. Getting phone calls all hours of the day and night over very unimportant things, I have great respect for those who do LTC and love it but I will never do it again.

Ahh. Hugs to you. Sorry to here that it has come to this for you. LTC does need good people, but it can drive you crazy...I understand that. We have some that don't care too. Or some that pretend to and can act like they do and then sometimes it is obvious they don't. Or some that treat some residents well but not others, etc., etc. I don't know how long you were in LTC, but I am sure the residents were better off for having you there. Good luck!

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

JMHO, but ANY middle management job in nursing is HELL and not worth any amount of money for the stress involved.

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.
JMHO, but ANY middle management job in nursing is HELL and not worth any amount of money for the stress involved.

You are right IMO too! Funny, my husband was just saying last night that middle management gets "doodoo" from the people who work under them and the people that work over them!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC.

Well, they say the most stressed out people are the ones that have the responsibility but not the authority. You know what needs to get done but you know it won't because the guys in authority sit in meetings all day - they're not out there on the floor figuring out why everyone is calling in sick and going on stress leave. But I have stayed in LTC just because I am there for those residents - who is there to advocate for them? I also have to keep in mind how far my energy levels will take me. I am a mom of five kids and when I come home, fetch the kids from school, I have NOTHING left for them, I have to fall asleep in front of Oprah for two hours- just the time they need me. That's what really bugs me. How do you cope with that? :o

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

ER Nurses hate nursing homes

they send them to us to replace foley catheters

they send them over at 2 am and want us to call the GI lab in to reinsert a PEG tube and then call us back and yell at us for sending the pt back with a foley catheter as a gtube instead.

They code their patients and call 911 and send them to us to either pronounce or save, usually they all have DNRs on their charts.

They send the lil ole pt who had fallen 3 days ago at 2 am, after they finally got the xray report back saying the hip was broken.

thats just a start of a long laundry list against nursing homes in general

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ER Nurses hate nursing homes

they send them to us to replace foley catheters

they send them over at 2 am and want us to call the GI lab in to reinsert a PEG tube and then call us back and yell at us for sending the pt back with a foley catheter as a gtube instead.

They code their patients and call 911 and send them to us to either pronounce or save, usually they all have DNRs on their charts.

They send the lil ole pt who had fallen 3 days ago at 2 am, after they finally got the xray report back saying the hip was broken.

thats just a start of a long laundry list against nursing homes in general

wow. if that's the case, i'd be pretty aggravated too. gee tom, i'm glad you don't stereotype. maybe you should relax and have a cigar.

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