Hybrid nursing?

[malenurseFl]

I recently got my first job as a practical nurse in a ltc facility. In school they educated us primarily as acute care nurses. I'm going on to my r.n. degree but, this type of work at a ltc facility feels like a waste of my skills. Are there any other lpns out there feeling like this? Forget assessments, care plans, nursing diagnosis etc. Its all about that hellish Med cart.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Some LTC places have the occasional IV. Some even have trachs, but for the most part it is meds, meds, meds.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

LPN schools need to face reality and gear PN training toward LTC nursing. We spent more time on OB then we did on geriatrics and that is utterly ridiculous.

And my school (a private, vocational school) was deliberately deceitful, and told applicants that many of their new grads got jobs in the local mega hospital. (they failed to mention it was as NURSE TECHS making $12 an hour!!)

with that said, passing pills all day isn't so bad. New grads get overly dramatic about it. Trust me: been there, done that, took a picture and bought the the shirt. Just swallow your pride and do the best job you can.

[malenurseFl]

I'm looking to exit ltc already. Its gotten so its nearly impossible to not make Med errors at my facility. I get 35pts in the worst states of their lives. Even experienced nurses are running over till 7 or later for a 5 o'clock Med pass.