Nursing Specialty Profile

marjoriemac, LPN · Oct 20, 2006

I chose geriatrics cos I believe our elders deserve damned better care than they get! I only qualified 4 yrs ago and have worked in nursing homes since. The daily routine involves giving out drugs, washing/dressing, doing dressings, setting up enteral feeds... the best bit is the unexpected events, the comedy and the tears which come from building relationships with your residents/ patients. You have a lot of responsibility cos there isn't a doctor looking over your shoulder, you decide who needs medical assistance. But we need people to come into LTC like I did, enthusiastic about how we can make the nursing home a 'home' whilst delivering top class care to residents and their families.

bluefrog · Oct 20, 2006

Dear Marjoriemac,

Thank you so much for your reply. I will definitely incorporate it into my paper. Did you have to obtain additional schooling to practice in geriatrics? or did it depend on the hours of experience?

tigger2sassy1 · Oct 20, 2006

I , too, entered the field of geriatrics for much the same reasons. Have been in nursing for over 22 years and I have found that even after venturing into other fields, somehow I have always came back to geriatrics. These people have taught me a lot over the years and I am grateful that I have had this rewarding experience.

marjoriemac, LPN · Oct 21, 2006

I did not have to do any speciality training to work in ltc and in some areas even update training can be hard to come by! Most of the training you need in ltc is communication and building relationships. Most medical care you will have come across in your nurse training. I find working in ltc often means you stand alone in your workplace as managers rarely have the time to give advice, but that means we are forced to learn more ourselves. The net is always a good resource as is this forum. I would tell anyone interested in ltc to read 'a life worth living' by william thomas. If anything motivates you to work in ltc that will!

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2006

1. what is your title?

Rn Supervisor

2. what motivated you to choose geriatrics?

When I graduated 11 yrs ago jobs were scarce....thru the years I found out how much I enjoyed LTC and the opportunities/

3. describe your job setting (do you work in a hospital? nursing home?)

Small 50 bed LTC

4. what is your typical day like?

3-11 shift...never a typical day. lol. Meds, treatments dealing with docs and families, supervising all care in the facility...also dealing with dieatry, housekeeping and maintainance issues on the off shift.

5. how do you manage your career and your family?

I only work pt...family first. Lots of opportunity to pick up extra hrs if wanted.

6. what do you find challenging about being a geriatrics nurse?

The lack of public knowledge about what really occurs in LTC faclities. The poor staffing and higher turnover rates. The corporate involvement.

7. what do you find rewarding about being a geriatrics nurse?

Knowing that I can comfort or make a difference in the care of my pts

8. what additional education did you had to obtain?

no special education is needed. I think there should be though. In my BSN program,we took one class in geriatrics...that is it. The elderly are not just older pts. They metabolize drugs differently, have different s/s than a younger pt might have with the same medical problem, there are tons of normal and abnormal signs of aging...behavioral mangement is different.

JentheRN05, RN · Oct 21, 2006

hi everyone!
i am a nursing student who is interested in geriatrics, i would love to ask a nurse practicing in this area a couple of questions:
1. what is your title? rn don
2. what motivated you to choose geriatrics?it was local and i more or less am in control of the medical department
3. describe your job setting (do you work in a hospital? nursing home?)i work in a nonstate mandated residential home.
4. what is your typical day like?only work 3 days a week, i go in and assess the ladies, and then set up the meds for the week, and call doctors for scripts/appointments on mondays, tuesdays i go pick up the meds, finish setting up the meds, and recheck the ladies, call any doctors that i didn't get responses from the previous day, and thursday i go in and recheck the ladies - reassess them and find out if they have any concerns, also - on sundays i go in and check pulses on two of our digoxin residents (would you believe that until i came on this was not practiced. they were just given the meds!!!)
5. how do you manage your career and your family? since i only work a few days a week, i work when the kids are in school and my hubby is at work so it's not a problem. plus i sub as a school nurse at the same school my hubby works at!
6. what do you find challenging about being a geriatrics nurse?in my particular case, there were no regulations, so i have had to make up protocols for everything medical. it is incredible how this place has ran for the last 80 years without a nurse on staff (except the last 2 years - one nurse before me who would not change anything)
7. what do you find rewarding about being a geriatrics nurse?in my case - yet again - i get a chance to spend time with my residents, get to know them. i see subtle changes in them and can make changes accordingly.
8. what additional education did you had to obtain?none
thank you all very very much! i can't wait to hear from you!

hope this helps

marjoriemac, LPN · Oct 22, 2006

I had a recent argument with the manager in my home who never checks pulses before administering digoxin. Back in Scotland, we always checked pulse and recorded this on drug kardex before administering digoxin. She thought it was adequate to check this monthly! Any ideas???

JentheRN05, RN · Oct 23, 2006

I had the SAME thing where I work. What I did was to basically take over. I implemented a protocol that each lady on Dig was to be checked within 30 minutes of a meal. Because this place hasn't had any regulations, coupled with the fact that we have a very sick little lady on dig (that I have held it on for the last 1 month) it went over smoothly. Look it up in your drug book and prove it to her. Especially important for the fragile individuals.

Good luck