Fear of the unknown

I have a list of things to ask tomorrow like 1.How are charting done here (narrative,or soap etc.) 2. Where is all the paper work etc. 3. How is order taken ( over the phone / verbally) 4. Standard operating procedures(where is it )

thats what i can think of from the top of my head right now...

OH and what paperwork is needed to transfer a pt from the facility to ER or what do you need to do call the Dr. and 911 right?

Maybe im venting too much .....LOL

Don't be afraid to ask for extra orientation if you feel you need it; there's no harm in asking, and only you know how comfortable you feel. You'll never learn all you need to know in your orientation, no matter where you work, but remember it will come with time. The hardest part for me was remembering all the residents, especially since they don't wear bracelets. I used to check the tags in their shirts (most are labelled) then realized that Anne might be wearing Millie's shirt, etc. It will come; have confidence in yourself--you made it this far, right? Best of luck to you!

yeah, your right and yeah i will have confidence when i walk threw that door tomorrow why not (THANKS SCRABBLER)

dude. if i managed to make it, you'll definately make it. two things that i had to bring with me is my general nursing knowledge to keep my patients safe, and good time management skills cause the patient to nurse ratio runs pretty high in LTC. i think those two characteristics are the most important characteristics to have when you first start because you can always ask questions about hospital policy. anyways, just hang in there and have fun. PM if you need more support.

jon lvn

They must need help really badly to only give you 2 days of orientation. You worked really hard to get thru school, and you have the state behind you to say you equal the task. Now, you make a choice. Ask yourself if you are willing to put all that hard work on the line, just because they need help? Talk to the D.O.N. and tell her/him you need more orientation (and you do) if not then move on. There are a lot of LTC facilities out ther who are willing to train you a bit longer. Good Luck

2 days is the norm for an experienced nurse, but not for a new grad. At any rate LTC orientation leaves a lot to be desired.

I am a new grad, (3 months) and this is what every LTC facility I have talked to has named as their orientation length.

And I have heard the same thing, LTC has a notoriously bad orientation.

However, if the OP wants to work in LTC, she is probably going to have a 2 day orientation :)

Do you think i should go along with this in your opinion....?:stone

No idea! :) I am a new grad, too. I just figured i'd mention that the 2 day orientation for LTC seems to be completely normal, new grad or not.

I just had a phone call back from a company that would hire me to do private duty HOSPICE, 3 months out of school, no hospice experience. (and no, I am not taking the job )

NO NO NO:nono:Two days orientation is so not right.I have been in ltcf for 15 years,and trained a many new grads.At least 2 weeks!!!!It takes everybit this long to learn who the res are,what their problems are.This is bs.I would tell them for sure,this is not the way to start your career.Someone should pretty much be with you at all times for at least a week.This is my experience with training.When you feel comfortable,than you go on your own.I have trained rn's,and they at least get a week..

I am an RN at a LTC. I would ask to work as a CNA for a week even. Just to get to know the residents. putting names to faces is the hardest part. We encourage that in our facility. and 2 days Is not an oreintation.

2 days for new grad? Run for the hills. 2 days for an experienced nurse makes more sense since they may just need to be oriented on where things are who to call blah blah blah. But for a new nurse? nah uh. You are looking at possible medication errors here.

and if 2 days is the norm in ltc, what.a.disgrace.

my jaw fell when i read this...esp for a new grad?

imo, they're setting you up to fall on your face.

moreover, these residents are at tremendous risk for schleppy and even dangerous care.

dang.

leslie

Oh my god!!! I just completed my two day orientation thursday from 3-11 pm and 7-3 pm.

THURSDAY, when i got there at 0230 pm, i checked in with the front desk admission lady, then her assistant gave me lots of paperwork to fill out and after that,the admission lady took me to an charge nurse and she refused to help me by shaking her head as if she didn't want to be bothered with me/help me when she introduced us, so the admission lady whispered to a cna to tell her to take me to xxxxxx charge nurse. (yes, im very observant i watch everything any little thing)....LOL. when we approach the other charge nurse's station she seemed surprised at first that she would be orientating and i seen her take a deep breath. But, after that the vibe i got from her was a good one she did her best to help a newbie out with everything she thought she came across.

I wrote down the time i got to the station which was about 0315 and wrote down everything she did or what i observed so that i can get a feel on how i can delegate my own task and kind of work at a steady pace as her. I wrote down stuff LIKE:

GET REPORT

CHECK ALL ROOMS TO SEE/VEIW RESIDENT STATUS EX: SWEATING, COLD, WEAK, FEVER,ETC.

MED CHECK AT 0318 PM AND HOW WAS THE MEDS COUTED W/TWO PEOPLE THE ONCOMING NURSE/GOING NURSE AND WHERE TO SIGN OUT AT AND IN WHAT KIND OF BOOK WHICH IS IN THE MAR MEDICATION ADMINITRATION RECORDS (BLACK) JIANT BOOK

ENTERAL FLOW SHEET (BOOK) WHERE IS AT AND WHEN TO CHART IN IT

GET DIABETIC MEDs FROM MED ROOM (RED KEY,TO THE MED RM) LOCK IT BACK WHEN COMIN OUT

FILL WATER AND JUICE JUG UP FOR RESIDENT'S MEDs AND GET APPLE JUICE TOO.

MAR (GET IT )

CHECK THE INSULIN PLASTIC WHITE BOTTLE THAT SAID(70/70 XXXX INSULIN IT HAS A METAL CHIP THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE OUT AND PUT INTO THE ACCU CHECK DEVICE/MACHINE OR WHATEVER...TO MATCH THE BOTTLE...CODE

THEN WE HIT THE FLOOR AND DID DIABETICS FIRST BECAUSE THEY ARE PRIORITY SHE SAID AND I AGREE, I WROTE DOWN EVERYTHING WE DID WITH THOSE RESIDENTS INCLUDING WHO LIKE JUICE WITH THE MEDS/ WHO DOESN'T

WE THEN CONTINUED ROUNDS TO GIVE MEDS TO OTHER RESIDENTS, I OBSERVE AGAIN WHO LIKE JUICE OR WATER WITH THEY'RE MEDS AND WHO COMES TO THE CART FOR THEY'RE MEDS ,WHO REFUSES MEDS, WHO NEED THEY'RE MED CRUSH AND YES OF COURSE I STILL NEED TO GET TO KNOW ALL THE RESIDENTS BEFORE I KNOW WHATS REALLY GOING ON,BUT YES I JOTTED IT ALL DOWN.

I WROTE ALL DAY UNTIL I LEFT AT ABOUT 1200 SOMETHING ON MY OWN WILL JUST TO SEE/GET MORE INFO.AND I DID ,PAPERWORK I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIKE:

THE MEDICAID PAPER TO FILL OUT

THE SUMMARY WEEKLY PROGRESS PAPER

THE PROGRESS REPORT SHEET

THE DIETICIAN ORDER /UPDATE FORM

THE ANTIBIOTICS PROGRESS PAPERWORK SHEET TO FILL OUT

THE ADMISSION PAPERWORK SHEET TO FILLOUT

IF THEY'RE IN NEED TO BE A CHANGE OR ORDER NEEDED ETC.CALL THE MD OF COURSE

SHE PROBABLY THOUGHT I WAS AN SURVEYER .....LOL

ALL THE COLOR CODES AND THAT IS SOME OF THE STUFF I WROTE DOWN.

AT THE END OF THE SHIFT I GOT TO MEET THE ON COMING NURSE AND SHE SO OUT SPOKEN/ASSERTIVE I LEARN A LOT FROM HER IN A MATTER OF MINUTES, SHE EVEN TOLD THE NURSE THAT WAS ORIENTATING ME TO FINISH UP HER CHARTING AND THAT (ME) I'LL COUNT THE MEDS FOR HER

AND YES I WAS NERVOUS AT FIRST WALKING UP TO THE MED CART OPENING THE BOOK TO COUNT, BUT HEY I NEEDED TO KNOW EVENTUALLY

AND SHE WAS TALKING SO MUCH AND FAST THERE WERE NO TIME TO BE NERVOUS EXCEPT TO JUST LISTEN AND DO IT, INSTEAD OF OBSERVING LIKE EARLIER , I WAS ACTUALLY DOING IT

IT MADE ME FEEL REAL GOOD THAT I EXPERIENCE IT AND VIEWING WHERE TO SIGN AT AFTER WARDS. I THINK I FELT LIKE THAT BECAUSE ALL DAY I WAS JUST LISTENING AND OBSERVING

FRIDAY, 7-3 pm , I was assign to another nurse and she was very informative she was also a new grad and only been there a couple of months w/her first job as an LVN

I got to do med count again which i felt comfortable doing

I even passed out ALL the meds today including an IM injection

I did a GT med pass

This nurse walk with me threw the whole med pass rounds and monitored every pass

WOW I like her

she showed me where all the med were and where

especially those bottles of supplements and the liquid bottles

that is hard to search for because you have to read which one is which what it is for etc.

I was on the floor for 2 days for hours and its a really big responsibility, because ill probably end up with about 40+ pts

WOW

I'm going to still put in applications for other jobs , just to see if i can get a better pt ratio per nurse , and maybe a better facility because it dont look in the best condition at all..... and if i can get a job at a correction facility ( i always wanted to work there in the first place) I'll be good especially juvenile because they're just kids to me and i think it will be less dangerous,

Nurse employee's who work at these facility say that it's not all that dangerous like what people think and that its safer that any other hospitals etc.

Sorry for the long speech i just needed to get it out!!!!!!

well monday i start working by myself ( prioritize,is my keyword)

wish me luck

S