what's it like to be a LVN in LTC?

Most places the nurses chart 75% or more of their day....the rest is assessments, dressing changes, meds and other things based on the acuity of your facility.

Pre nursing student here, so i sorry in advance, but what is charting?

Pre nursing student here, so i sorry in advance, but what is charting?

paper work to put it simply.

Pre nursing student here, so i sorry in advance, but what is charting?

Nurses notes. Careplanning. Pain assessments. Medicare forms. Every time you blink they have another thing for you to "chart" on.

Most of my shift is a med-pass. I feel fortunate to be able to be out on the floor taking care of residents but some of them(most) really do hate taking medicine. I probably am one of the few who actually don't mind staying in the feeding room with the residents. I love to help feed and if nobody needs help feeding I will sit with them and talk.

Your residents become like family.

Very hard work.

Nurses notes. Careplanning. Pain assessments. Medicare forms. Every time you blink they have another thing for you to "chart" on.

Most of my shift is a med-pass. I feel fortunate to be able to be out on the floor taking care of residents but some of them(most) really do hate taking medicine. I probably am one of the few who actually don't mind staying in the feeding room with the residents. I love to help feed and if nobody needs help feeding I will sit with them and talk.

Your residents become like family.

so you still feel like you have enough contact with them then? I guess that's part of what I'm asking.

You get more contact then you think you do by observing the nurses...Nurses get plenty of contact with the residents.

I spend the majority of my 8 hour shift passing meds and doing treatments. My charting is minimal (we chart by exception) unless a lot of my residents have issues going on.

I worked as a CNA in LTC for years and years. To answer your question about any LVN/LPN's who miss being CNA's..I have to say yes and no. No because I don't miss working short handed, the back breaking lifting etc..yes in the sense that when I was a CNA I was able to (and expected to) spend a lot of time with the residents. As a nurse I've made it my priority to MAKE time to sit and chat with my residents, or to sit quietly and hold their hand and smooth their hair, to try and make them smile. I have a good rapport with my residents as a nurse..but I do miss that 1:1 I had when i would be helping them to the bathroom, bathing and dressing them etc.

But as I said, I make the time to talk with/sit with my residents. I will forego my breaks to spend 5 minutes with a few residents through out my shift. And when I have down time, I do the same thing.

so you still feel like you have enough contact with them then? I guess that's part of what I'm asking.

Yes. But I don't have the time to sit down and have a conversation with each one of them every night. I save my charting until most of them are asleep.

It's nice to know your able to find/make time here and there :)

I believe they get real contact with pt.

Charting and the "paperwork" you do IS nursing. One thing that makes modern healthcare/nursing so effective is the charting and record keeping which allows us to keep track of a patients progress and gives us a history. I am always amazed at how many nurses didn't learn in school about why/how charting is part of nursing. Nursing is alot more than standing by the bed doing "nursy" things. It is a team effort that includes people you don't even meet in person but they use what you chart to make changes to your patients care. I suggest people stop complaining about charting and focus on becoming more effective at it. I regularly find myself reffering back to other people's chart entries as I provide care. What you do and don't chart can be as important as the things people consider "real nursing".