I need some advice on what to do, please!

yousoldtheworld · Mar 12, 2011

Like you, I just never liked geriatrics much. I now work at a children's home for the developmentally disabled, and absolutely love it. There is a lot of competition to get into Peds at the hospital - most often, they want experience, and floors like mother/baby and pediatrics get a lot of transfers from other areas of the hospital, because it's an area a ton of people want to work in.

You might check and see if there are any children's homes in your area. We have residents ranging from young kids to adults (most of our adults have been with us since they were young), very few call lights to worry about (the kids can't understand or use them), and really really rewarding work. It takes the right kind of person to enjoy it, but if you know you love working with kids, you could check it out. :)

Poi Dog · Mar 12, 2011

Be thankful that you have awesome coworkers that are willing to help you out. Just be sure to reciprocate. Your coworkers can make or break a shift.

It will be all right. You can do it and don't be afraid to ask for help.

vampcna · Jul 15, 2011

I remember feeling the same way when I started out at my facility. I always saw myself working peds or L & D. I have been working there for two years now, and I can honesty say I love my patients (well most of them anyway). Yes the elderly can be a little difficult to deal with, but most patients in ltcs are going to live there until they die. They have the right to be a little depressed and angry.

As for geri-psych patients, they can be a handful. I work noc shift so they're either passed out on meds or are all out crazy. I especially love the dementia patients. They say the funniest things.

All nurses are different and not every nurse will like geriatrics, but don't rule out geriatrics too quickly. You might love it one day like I do. Whatever you decide remember; there is good and bad in every field of nursing.

Best of luck to you:nurse:

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jul 15, 2011

You're freaking out because you don't like TWO of the residents??? Isn't that a little dramatic?

northernguy · Jul 15, 2011

In LTC you're often going to have one or two residents that are way harder than all the others combined, and that are much more time consuming. When picking assignments we usually try to take that into consideration. My first day off orientation my coworkers gave me the hardest resident on a shower day because in their words, you might as well find out right off the bat if you can handle this person, because thats a requirement for the job.

Just let the abuse or disturbing behavior go in one ear and out the other, dont react to it. At least that is what works for me. We had one very angry male resident who took pride in making aides cry, he was younger than most residents and extremely bitter about his condition and the aides were the only people he could lash out at. He tried his best to rattle me, jumping on every mistake I made and throwing a tantrum if everything wasnt done perfectly in the order he wanted. I found self depreciating humor worked best, since that resident felt powerless and wanted to feel superior to the aides he had to depend on in some way. Eventually because he never got a reaction, his behavior improved around me, but theres no guarentee it will improve, especially with the residents with dementia.

I think with time most people who do this job get used to difficult behaviors to the point they barely notice them.

JenniferSews · Jul 15, 2011

Even if you work in peds, you WILL have difficult patients with psych issues. Except in peds you will have difficult patients with psych issues who also have PARENTS to whom you must also cater. Healthcare is jam packed with difficult personalities, maddening borderline personality behaviors, abusive patients, abusive families and unbelievably disfunctional relationships between patients, family and YOU. You will have to find a way to deal with these patients (and families, and friends, and so and so's so called medical expert friend,) because in the hospital you will have plenty of them. They are not going away.

It will likely take you a long time (3-5 years) to get into peds these days. A BSN and experience is what the hospitals around here require to even consider you for a hospital job, and they want even more for peds. You will likely have to work many jobs that aren't your first choice in this economy first. I agree with finding a group home or other pediatric type setting if that is what you love. It will give you relevent experience and give you an idea what peds nursing is really like.

susanlwins · Jul 16, 2011

It took me a few months to get my feet under me and be able to mentally handle the job responsibilities and emotionally handle the human suffering you see every day. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to feel human right now as you adjust - it will make you a better NA in the long-run and actually keep you from getting jaded and hardened if you just allow yourself to feel what you are feeling and push through it instead of ignoring it. Nursing is always going to throw situations at you that are not fun. If you stick with it, you will learn to deal with it in time, and soon will feel like that seasoned veteran you want to be, because you will have experience to draw from when you encounter a difficult situation or behavior. Don't quit, and don't be so hard on yourself. A few weeks is not long enough for most of us to emotionally adjust. If you like your coworkers, administration, and licensed nurse staff, that is 80 - 90% of the battle - trust me! So if you have those things going for you, stick with it and be thankful that you have that support that a lot of us who started in LTC did not have. You will make it!

: )