A day in the life of an LPN

tatgirl · Jun 14, 2006

hmmmm... last week I had to unclog a toilet because one of the residents flushed their brief down and flooded out their room!!!! That is one thing they didnt teach us in school: plumbing!!!! lol

Wendy

luvmy2angels · Jun 14, 2006

Well, last night we had 2 med passes, helped feed supper to the residents, charting, skin assessments, more charting, 4 straight caths, more charting, blood sugars and report, oh, and more charting!! I work in LTC in case you didn't already figure that out!! :lol2:

tatgirl · Jun 14, 2006

sounds like my day luvmy2angels!! Med passes, accuchecks, skin assessments, charting, charting, hanging antibiotics, resolving conflicts between pts!!! I love my job though. I also work in LTC! It's not just a job, it's an adventure!!!!!!

Wendy

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2006

I have 2 jobs: one in LTC at a nursing home and another at a psychiatric hospital.

At the nursing home I pass medications, chart, do blood sugars, insulin injections, wound care, patient education, family teaching, breathing treatments, and verification of orders for 18 stable elderly residents.

At the psychiatric hospital I pass medications (mainly controlled substances), verify orders, do occasional blood sugars, and administer IM injections of drugs such as Ativan, Benadryl, Zyprexa, and Haldol.

Fiona59 · Jun 14, 2006

Admit and discharge new Mums and their babies. Physically assess both. Meds as needed for Mum. Monitor and discontinue IVs and catheters. Teach, teach, teach. Support breastfeeding. Referee families visiting the newborn. Refer to socialworkers for consults those who appear to need additional support in the community.

DONN · Jun 14, 2006

I work in an acute care setting in a hospital med/surg, get in at 6:30 p, print my rounds report, organize my papers,take report from the tape that the previous shift dictated, then hit the floor and run run run all night long. Last night was particularly brutal with 8 pt's, 2 with chest tubes, a post op, an ER transfer, and only one aid for 24 people. Its a tough job but I wouldnt trade it for anything. Oh yea I didnt get out til almost 9:00 this morning

Sophie32 · Jun 15, 2006

Thanks, everyone! These are very interesting!

nckdl · Jul 22, 2006

Well I work in ltc and arrive at 5:30 am get report from nurse and aides then i make coffee, tidy up the place, help aides if needed. Start med pass at 6:30 end around 9 am, chart,chart,chart. Get some tx's done, start noon med pass and help with lunch. Take a break around 2:30pm after 2:00pm med pass, chart,chart,chart and finish rest of tx's. Start last med pass around 4pm then help with supper until next nurse arrives at 5:30. It helps the day go faster when you are constantly busy;)

Nursie2k6` · Jul 24, 2006

I work in a hospital on a CardioThoracic Step Down Unit.....I get to work about 6:30 can't clock in till 7:00 but I like to pull tele strips and read them....check my charts......and check my labwork all before report that way the night shift nurse can't leave with a bunch of unfinished stuff!!!!!! I will usually wait until about 8:15 to start assessing my 6 patients that way when I go into a room I can assess,chart, pass meds and do treatment all at one time alot of my patient are lobectomy's or esphagectomy's so out of the 6 I might have 3 fresh post ops and 3 cardiac patients who are just waiting on OHS or being cathed or getting an ablation....I check charts at 6:30, 10, 1, 3 and 5 because doctors are always rounding and writing or changing orders......alot of days I don't even get to go to the bathroom or feel the urge to urinate until about 3 pm......my average patient might sound like this Right and Left chest tube, 3 JP's (drains), NG tube and J tube for tube feeding all of them usually have epidural fetanyl/buvivicaine (although I don't have to be bothered with that), but they will also usually be getting oxycodone or percocet via Jtube or PO and they always have fluids running, I have to change IV's every 3 days and IV tubing has to be changed every 24 hours and so does TF tubing......I am always busy and running and:monkeydance: juggling......even though there is always an RN assigned to the patients with me she also carries a load of 6 patients so I try to be very autonomous with my patients and only bother him/her when there is a major crisis like someone going into afib or something like that....if it is just like a low lab value (example potassium) I will call the doctor and order that and update the RN but if it's a low magnesium level especially on our patients with afib or any heart dysrhythmias I will let the RN handle that because I can't start a mag drip or titrate a tikosyn drip or push Lopressor....but the part the I hate the most is documentation because we have to do pain score assessments and reassements and they have to be within the hour of reported pain...Some RN's are fine to work with and appreciate all the help but some can be real crappy and try to treat you as the nursing assistant and keep asking you to get the patient ice water or put them on the toilet knowing that you have other major things to be doing....and I'O's are also a pain with all the drains and the chest tubes the Nursing Assisants are only allowed to do accuchecks and simple dressing changes so I usually end up doing all that myself because if someone's BS is like 235 or 35 they won't come and get you!!!!!!!!!and what's the purpose of them doing the simple dressing changes if you have to come along and change the dressings on the incisions or do a packing????? Although I appreciate all their help and continuouslly let them know it because the can make your harder day even harder if they don't attend to your patient basic needs like helping them ambulate or helping them get back and forth to the restroom.... I also have to do my own admissions and get RN's signature and I do my own discharges which can sometimes be a pain because if the pts EF is lower than 40% there is a bunch of paperwork that has to be signed and if you slip up and forget something and QM catches it...it's a write up....ohhh and if there is a code I have to assist I pass off flushes or bag or do chest compressions or record hook the patients up to the defribulator or zoll (the hospital that I am emplyed at sends LPN's through ACLS but we still can't push the drugs because it is not within our scope of practice)....all my other friends I went to school with say I'm a fool for staying there because I only get paid 18.40 but I love it and I have learned so much(plus I plan on becoming an RN and I think the transition will be much simpler)!!!!!!!!They all work in LTC and make about 22-23 but they aren't getting the experience that I'm getting....I hope this post helps.....Good Luck

NursiePoo

J Lynn · Jul 25, 2006

I work in an office:

I run in about 8am after dropping the kids off, turn on exam room lights, sign refill requests from pharmacies, get our first patient in at 8:30, weigh them, take BP and pulse, write down reason for visit, check their meds, and on to the next patient. After doc sees them, I put orders in comp. for blood work and order proceedures if need be. In between doing that, I'm calling patients back with lab results (or getting yelled at b/c I haven't called them back yet). On a slow day I can actually eat something or drink coffee, on a busy day, we see about 11 pts in the AM and the same in the PM. We get one hour lunch (usually a drug rep brings us lunch). In the meantime, I'm usually dodging calls from certain pts. :lol2: We stop seeing pts at 3pm. I then rap up on my orders and calls till 4:30...then leave and go get the kids and do my errans.

richquis · Jan 27, 2009

I am so excited and frightened about becoming an LPN at the age of 36. I read all of the "day in the life of an LPN" and got nervous! I wonder if I am smart enough to remember all that I need to remember... I will have the patients' lives in my hands and no mistakes are accepted! I have heard the horror stories about working for RN's. I heard that the doctor's think they're gods and so on. I am excited to be able to join such a respected and admired profession. But, I am still anxious about my abilities.