NEED HELP to rid the Nurseing Home Blues

Specialties Geriatric

Published

First off let me say that I already know their is a nurse shortage in the U.S. but may we need to get some nurses with motivation in the state of PA. We have a situation here in the nursing home I work in in Titusville,PA. We can't get a RN to apply for the night shift position.This position is for 11-7 mon. thru Fri. and every weekend off as part of a Baylor program. The benefits are pretty fair( better then some other programs)and I am at a loss as of why nobody is applying. I have talked with a couple of RN's who said that the deal sounds good but they are not applying because they would have to pass meds and do treatments insted of having an LPN do that and they just supervise. That really gets on my nerves. I mean I work 11-7 mon. thru Fri. and I have to pass meds and do Tx's plus my paperwork and I have to do rounds with my aide and you will never hear me complain. In fact I think this job is the best nursing job I have ever had. Maybe because I am just an LPN I don't know if their is a pride factor or if I am really missing something important so could an RN please enlighten me on this situation? I don't want to get a bad impression here of RN's.

John - I am an RN also in LTC. I work the day shift and I do meds, treatment, paperwork, etc. I don't really know what is up with the RN's you know, but I love doing what I do. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have been a superviosr and hated every minute of it. So, just for the record,not all RN's are like that. Please give us a chance.

I HAVE BEEN IN LTC NURSING FOR MOST OF MY 16 YEARS AS A NURSE. I HAVE BEEN A STAFF NURSE ALL THE WAY UP TO D.O.N. AND VARIOUS JOBS IN BETWEEN. I AM A R.N. AND I TO ENJOY ALL ASPECTS OF PATIENT CARE. I NEVER LOOK AT A NURSES TITLE WHEN WE ARE WORKING SIDE BY SIDE. WE ARE EQUALS WORKING FOR THE COMMON GOAL OF CARING FOR OUR RESIDENTS. I HAVE WORKED WITH MANY LPN'S WHO COULD WORK CIRCLES AROUND R.N.'S. SO DO NOT LOOSE HEART IN GERIATRIC NURSING. WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET. MY EXPERIENCE WITH NEGATIVE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN FROM MANY HOSPITAL NURSES THAT HAVE NOT WORKED LONG TERM CARE. SOME HAVE SAID THAT WE IN LTC HAVE IT MADE, THATS NOT NURSING ITS JUST WATCHING OVER OLD PEOPLE AND HOW HARD CAN THAT BE? MY ANSWER IS WALK IN OUR SHOES!! WE DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF IN HOUSE PHYSICANS MAKING ROUNDS. WE HAVE TO HAVE EXCELLENT ASSESSMENT SKILLS. WE ARE TRULY THE PHYSICANS EYES, EARS, ETC. FROM THE INFORMATION WE SUPPLY, MANY TIMES GUT FEELINGS, THEY PRESCRIBE MEDS, TESTS LABS.TX., ETC. SO PLEASE STOP AND REMEMBER, WALK IN OUR SHOES AND PASS MEDS TO 50+ PEOPLE, DO TX., CHART, TAKE ORDERS, ASSIST THE NURSE AIDES, CONSOL A GREIVING FAMILY, SEND A PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH A FRACTURED HIP AND---THATS ALL BEFORE LUNCH!! WE ARE ALL IMPORTANT TO OUR PATIENTS. LETS BE UNITED!!!

;) hey! i am an lpn with 11 years experience and all in ltc and i wouldn't have it any other way!! please hang in there ltc needs all the nurses we can get!!

:) I am an rn in long term care and i do treatments and exactly the same as the lpns i work with. There are even nights that an lpn is charge and i'm not, just so that we each stay familiar with the other cart.

Hmm...what part of PA is Titusville? I'm an RN working LTC along with an LVN - and like people who've posted before me, I don't let a set of initials get in the way of getting the job done. I'm happy where I'm at here in Northern CA., but have family in PA - who knows...maybe one day I'll move back to that state and apply for the job...lol.

Hi

Like all the rest I too have spent majority of my career in nursing in LTC. Approx. 25 years working with the geriatric population. I started out as a NA then LPN and then RN ,now a DON . I still work side by side with the aides everyday still doing direct hands on care. I haven't lost my thrill of the challeges and rewards I meet each day or the small difference I make in a persons life by just coming to work each day with a smile . Not all days are the best but I just get thru the moment and start over again the next day. A happy camper in LTC. Debi D

:( I AM AN R.G.N. IN ENGLAND AND WORK AS A DEPUTY MANAGER IN A NURSING HOME. I WORK A COMBINATION OF DAY AND NIGHT SHIFTS. I WORK WITH A CARE ASSISTANT ON NIGHTS TO LOOK AFTER 22 RESIDENTS WITH ALL FORMS OF DEMENTIA. I PERSONALLY FEED, TOILET, MEDICATE, PUT IN BED, 2 HOURLY TURN, AND GET THE LADIES & GENTS UP WASHED AND DRESSED IN THE MORNING, MAKE BEDS AS WELL AS THE USUAL PAPER WORK. I DO NOT FEEL IT BENEATH ME TO DO THESE THINGS. I AM PROUD TO BE AN EQUIVALENT OF YOUR R.N. AND LOOK AFTER THESE VULNERABLE PEOPLE AS I DO. THE MORE QUALIFIED NURSES WHO DID DO THIS TYPE OF NURSING THE BETTER P.R. THERE WOULD BE. ALL NURSES WORKING IN THIS ENVIRONMENT DO AN EXCELLENT JOB AND WE SHOULD THINK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO OUR PARENTS OR OURSELVES IN THE SAME POSITION IF NURSES DID NOT TAKE THIS CAREER AVENUE.

SOME NURSES ATTITUDES ARE FRANKLY UNBECOMING ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO THINK THEIR TITLE MEANS THEY DONT NEED TO 'GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY'

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I also work in long term care and am an RN. I work with LPN's who beat the pants off other RN's that are employed there. I do meds, treatments, paperwork.etc,etc. Unfortunately, some RN's feel that LPN's are beneath them. I even work with one RN who says that LPN's are not real nurses...can youbelieve that??? Just hang in there, LTC is a specialty and it takes a special person to do it...you sound like the right kind of person!!!:D

Please don't EVER say that. Like some of the other replys, the initials behind your name, in most situations, means NOTHING when it comes to patient care.

As the others, I too have spent most of my career with Long Term Care.....I LOVE IT!! Does is suck? sometimes, but the rewards of getting a smile or hug are sure worth it.

I'm a LPN/IVC supervisor and would love to finish school and sit for RN boards, but it won't make me a better nurse. I'm not boasting, but I'm darn good at my job. Most RN's I know are 'somewhat' unskilled and I wonder what they are learning, if anything, at school? Not all RN's are this way, but most I've worked with are. Some of them scare me. They know nothing!

I've been doing this for so long, I bet if I were to sit for boards, I would pass. Most of it is just plain old common sense! It comes from the heart!

Maybe someday LPN's will be allowed to take a 'test' to advance our standings. We do seem to get the 'bottom of the bucket' jobs, but I'll stay in Long Term. The rewards are great! Staffing is tragic, but I can only hope that it will improve when our Gov't. sees we are needed and laws need to be made to protect the workers and not just the residents.

Hang in there....your worth more than your weight in millions!!;)

I am an RN who has worked in a nursing home since last spring. I have enjoyed getting to know my residents, and feel this familiarity leads to better health care. Staff in a nursing home can immediately tell when something just isn't right.

I've also really gotten to know my meds. When doing my three checks, I can tell right away if the med I'm pouring doesn't look as it should.

However, I'm still missing something. If a resident falls with no apparent injury, I still must call the supervisor for an assessment. Someone today needed a reading on a Mantoux test--done by supervisor. I learned how to do these things in nursing school, but in this environment, I've been relegated to pill pusher.

I don't know why there's such a low opinion of working in a nursing home. I know it's not emphasized very much in nursing school. I can give a whiz-bang bed bath, but don't have a clue how to give a resident a shower. And, I'm not the first RN who has had to be shown how to assemble an oxygenator. I was trained for hospital work, where oxygen comes conveniently in the wall.

I don't feel nursing home work is beneath me, I just don't feel it's teaching me all I want to know.

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