Why Long Term Care?

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2011

It was all that was available where I was. And I loved the autonomy. The first word in nursing home is nurse. You get into a good place and you run it. No egotistical docs just dropping their stuff on top of what you are working on, no orders you're expected to know telepathically, very few people complaining that the ice isn't cold enough (I don't rememeber who posted that, but thank you!), and respect for your knowledge that I certainly didn't find in the hospital.

And jocelyn, if you want to get off the floor find a way to get your RN. Being an LPN is an excellent thing but if you have ambitions you will need the RN and, with it, you can take what you already know (and I know how much LPNs know) and apply it to making your place better from the managerial level.

jocelynlpn, LPN · Sep 24, 2011

I love it because I know my resident's like the bank of my hand. I am able to tell when one of them is coming down with a UTI before getting a urine sample. Plus I love that I can take the time to sit and chat with them, or joke around to make them laugh.

I do want to get my RN. The only way I can get it in Alberta is through distance which takes 2-7 years. My goal is to get my RN before I settle down and have kids. And eventually I would like to get into management in long term care.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2011

Well, git to gittin'. :) I did my RN distance as well.

heron, ASN, RN · Sep 24, 2011

I'm having my first experience with traditional long-term care. Previously, I had worked ltc as an agency RN and was exposed mainly to those facilities who couldn't hold onto their own staff ... sort of the dark underbelly that's way too large ...

Acceptable jobs in my area of choice - inpatient hospice - are non-existent in my area. After ten months of unemployment/underemployment, I answered an ad for a local 62 bed facility. I looked up some of their ratings and noticed that "average RN minutes per resident" were above average, I figured they must have good staffing, so I took a shot at it to see if I could adapt.

The building is in an older, working class neighborhood and is an old building. It was, however, spotless and smelled great! The facility is for-profit, but is not part of a chain ... I think it's the only one for this owner. During orientation, I've come to respect the motivation and competence of both management and staff. I'm working hard but having a great time doing it.

Right now, my focus is on learning as much as I can about ltc, both the nursing and the business/regulatory stuff. In the fulness of time, I'm hoping to make a real contribution with my hospice skills ... this facility takes many APS placements and most of our residents have little to no involved family as well as fairly chaotic life histories. All have behavioral issues that make it dangerous for them to live independently.

It's a great privilege to find this new thing to explore at my age (61). Keeps the old brain cells from dying of boredom!

DSkelton711 · Sep 25, 2011

I am an RN who loves to care for her patients. I also love working with the elderly. Unfortunately, there are no bedside positions for RNs. Just management which is not me. (I am a weirdo-I'd rather be on the front line, but I can't even do that now as I have back issues). I think long term care needs to have more respect given to it.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Sep 25, 2011

I was offered a job after passing my boards in LTC right away, so I took it. And its where LPNs are hired for the most part so thats where i applied.

Its not the most attractive job, but I've been thrown to the wolves* so I feel anywhere I go in nursing I will have that experience.

Read: Hungry wolves with very sharp teeth

mazy · Sep 25, 2011

I went into LTC when I first started out because there were no other options and hated it. I worked in a SNF and yes, was thrown out there with no orientation at all. It was a facility that was also ranked as one of the worst in the state, so it was a really wretched couple of years until I was able to find something better.

But I learned a TON on skills, learned how to work with drs. of all varieties, all sorts of psych issues, learned the politics of nursing homes, the personalities, how to delegate, and learned how to take charge of my unit.

Most important, I learned how to stand on my own and stay standing through the worst imaginable.

Then I went on to different areas, home health, acute, clinic, research, etc., etc. But I came back to LTC and got a job in a really good facility, and I love my job. It is amazing how much you can love what you do when you have the resources to do it right.

The best part is how well I get to know the residents, how invested I become in them and their well being. And there is a lot of autonomy so there is a sense that I actually have some control over what happens to them.

I feel sometimes like I am going through the most important part of their lives with them, the time when they have so many years of experience behind them and are coming to terms with who they are, their mortality, and the legacy they are leaving behind. It can be a really profound and moving experience.

busymommy · Sep 30, 2011

"The best part is how well I get to know the residents, how invested I become in them and their well being. And there is a lot of autonomy so there is a sense that I actually have some control over what happens to them."

YES, mazy!! This is one of the main reasons why I want to be a nurse. In my med-surg rotations, I've noticed that RNs there just don't seem to have time for bedside care, especially if it's the day shift. To me, getting to know your patients and doing the basic bedside care are at the heart of nursing and a big reason why I think gero will be a good fit for me. Thank you for posting this thread! I'm a 2nd semester BSN student and thought for sure (like so many in my class) that L&D would be my thing. I've just finished that clinical rotation and I'm so glad I had the experience, because I don't want to work there after all! :eek: Whoda thunkit?? Gimme some old folks any day, I say!

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2011

busymommy, you will NOT be doing bedside care in LTC. You will start by banging out medications for five hours a day, minimum, and the rest will be treatments, usually fairly minor but plentiful, and documentation. The aides do the rest.

busymommy · Oct 2, 2011

"busymommy, you will NOT be doing bedside care in LTC. You will start by banging out medications for five hours a day, minimum, and the rest will be treatments, usually fairly minor but plentiful, and documentation. The aides do the rest."

Really? :uhoh3: Wow. That's not something that was included in the gero class I took. I'm beginning to think that each class should have a nurse in the trenches come in and do a seminar on how things really are in that specialty. I'd much rather hear about it now, while I'm in school, instead of getting slapped in the face with it after I accept a job.

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · Oct 2, 2011

"busymommy, you will NOT be doing bedside care in LTC. You will start by banging out medications for five hours a day, minimum, and the rest will be treatments, usually fairly minor but plentiful, and documentation. The aides do the rest."
Really? Wow. That's not something that was included in the gero class I took. I'm beginning to think that each class should have a nurse in the trenches come in and do a seminar on how things really are in that specialty. I'd much rather hear about it now, while I'm in school, instead of getting slapped in the face with it after I accept a job.

Thats the biggest secret that nursing schools don't want to tell you; Whats really going on in the trenches.