role of nurses in nursing home

[Ms.RN]

what are some of the duties of nurses in LTC or rehab facilities? I'm just curious if med tech are used in Texas at LTC facilities.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

TX uses techs.

[Ms.RN]

Are RN's hired at LTC facilites? What are their duties?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Ms RN, go into the Geriatrics forum. There are dozens of threads on this.

And yes, they hire us. I do MDS, care plans, and incident investigations. Wounds, some floor stuff, grab a med cart when we're short.

[Ms.RN]

I'm asking specifically about LTC facility in Texas. My state doesnt have med techs at all. so the nurses have to do everything from med pass to wound care to assessing patients. If TX is using med techs then what do nurses do?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I don't work in Texas.

Again, try the Geri forum. There's a lot of discussion of that there.

[Ms.RN]

Thats why I posted this thread in Texas forum becase I need answers from TX nurses who works in LTC.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

There are MORE OF THEM POSTING IN THE GERI FORUM.

Gah.

[fathertod]

I, as the RN on duty at an LTC here in Texas, primarily supervise 2 LVNs (who do most of the wound care, narcotic med passes, and other related nursing cares), additionally I supervise 2 medication aides who simply pass medications all day long for 12 hour shifts. Also I supervise 5 CNAs who bathe, clothe and feed, etc. I do some admissions assessments, call the doctors for new orders and clarifications, I pronounce patients, mix IV medications (which LVNs can't do), incident reports and related investigates, and deal with customer satisfaction issues.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I have been working in nursing homes in Texas for more than 4 years.

RNs in the nursing homes around here typically function as weekend supervisors, DONs, wound care nurses, and ADONs, although some facilities hire RNs to strictly function as floor nurses on the Medicare skilled rehab units.

If you land a job as an RN floor nurse in a facility that uses medication aides, you will be busy obtaining finger stick blood sugars, giving injections, administering feeding tube meds and fluids, wound care, charting, ostomy appliance care, urinary catheter care, IV therapy, topical ointments, assessments, nursing interventions, and a host of other duties that cannot be delegated to the CNAs and medication aides.

[Ms.RN]

Thanks for the replies. Are there any nursing homes in texas that RN's do all the floor nurse work like passing meds, wound care, assessments etc in Texas?