Having worked in a long term/short-term rehab facility combination for a year now, I have to say that in comparison to other areas of nursing, it's pretty lame.
Yes, we work hard. We have 20 or more patients on our own who require medications. Sometimes they'll have tube feedings, ostomies, JP drains, etc. There are many wounds, blood sugars, bladder scans and emergent situations aren't as rare as you would think. No one is denying people at these facilities work hard.
At the same time, when looking at other areas of nursing, including ICU and ER, it's safe to say we don't really do as much for these patients as these incredible nurses do. For example, I am highly impressed with a cardiovascular surgical ICU in my town, one of the best in the nation. These nurses see and do EVERYTHING. Skills include Skills include TPM, PPM, Chest reopening, chest tubes, trach, PEG, JP, NG/OG, pigtail cat, extubation, sedation, CT/MRI, Bronchoscopy, line placement, cortrac, IR, specimen collection, medications including inotrops, vasoactive, blood administration, insulin, heparin, CPN/lipids, paraltyics, and lines such as arterial lines, Cordis/STCVC, pAC, TDC, TPM wires, PICC, non-VAT blood draws, CRRT, Flexiseal, and pumps including PCA, Medication and Tube Feeding. They have LVADs, ECMO machines and take care of ALL ages from the newborn to the elderly. The MICU is also quite an impressive area, as are all the other ICUS. Plus, you can't beat the top notch nurses in the ER.
Sorry everyone but it's true...there's a reason why long term care nurses/rehab nurses are paid less than others.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I tend to avoid classmates that are working in "higher" positions. Not because I don't want to see them, but I don't want them to see me. I'd love to talk with them, but I don't really want to talk about myself. I'm embarrassed I haven't advanced the way they have and of my rocky start in nursing. Somehow, I feel that if I were in their shoes, I would not be the same way.
Well, that's sad. Really. For you; for them. You worry more about what people think than being the best you can. Bloom where you are planted. I worked LTC. Nothing "lame" about it. I sure hope I don't need LTC when I get old. So many disrespect the specialty and feel this way, apparently, based on what I have read here on allnurses through the years. They are NOT "bottom of the barrel"; they are PEOPLE!
And IF you find yourself "in their shoes" you will more likely than not realize the grass is not greener. Meantime, I would quit comparing myself to others if I were you. Otherwise, you will NEVER be "good enough". That is a sure path to unhappiness no matter where you work or what you do. Just stop it.
Unfortunately, there may be some truth to that. It's not that I don't care about my patients, but you're probably right about me worrying about my image. When I'm performing ECGs at the hospital, I tend to avoid classmates that are working in "higher" positions. Not because I don't want to see them, but I don't want them to see me. I'd love to talk with them, but I don't really want to talk about myself. I'm embarrassed I haven't advanced the way they have and of my rocky start in nursing. Somehow, I feel that if I were in their shoes, I would not be the same way.
You should try to stop feeling inferior and be proud of what you do. The grass isn't always greener on the other side and people may not always tell you the bad of their careers. I was a CNA while my friends were working top notch jobs. It did not make my friends any smarter or better than me. I admire what you do, I hopefully one day I can say I am a RN like you.
I sure would if she was one of 'mine'. I've literally taken care of people 29-99 in my LTC facility.
Thank you for that. From what I've seen so far, she has very kind people taking care of her. I have so much respect for all who do that work. It takes a special person.
I love my lil' old people AND my rehab people. They are MINE while I'm working and I advocate for them and make sure they get what they need. I make doctors mad with phone calls at 9pm if I have to and I will physically show my CNAs how to transfer or move particular residents if I feel they need more education.
I make it a point to know as much about them as I can. I read their H&Ps on my dinner break so I get a better idea of whats going on with them (rehab folks) and I talk to their families and sometimes calm them down and make them feel at ease leaving their loved one at my facility.
I always leave late, I always give 150% and there is nothing lame about what I do.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I'm an ICU nurse, and I know I couldn't handle LTC. Twenty patients, my GOD! I cannot imagine taking care of 20 patients -- although I do remember taking care of 15 med/surg patients. My Med/Surg patients would take a handfull of pills and SWALLOW them. I didn't have to crush them in applesauce for this patient or mix them with ice cream for that one, and somehow keep straight which is which. When I took them to the bathroom, most of them remembered why they were there and took care of things. Showers and baths weren't negotiations . . . . But I digress.
LTC is a valuable specialty. My mother had Alzheimer's and was in A wonderful ALF, then a wonderful LTC for the last several years of her life. I cannot imagine doing what those nurses do. I tried taking care of Mom at home for three weeks before I was psychotic from sleep deprivation. The minute I closed my eyes, Mom was either trying to burn the house down, going outside barefoot in her nightgown (Wisconsin in January -- 37 degrees below zero) or stuffing rags in the drains before turning the water on full blast . . . stuff like that. I don't know how people do it. By the time we got her into an ALF, I was hallucinating from lack of sleep. And those nurses handled all of her antics as if it was no big deal -- just all in a day's work -- without making her (or me) feel as though she was exasperating them. Those are skills I just don't have. I have incredible respect for those who DO have those skills and use them to create and maintain an environment where my mother was safe, comfortable and felt cared for. There are some truly amazing LTC nurses out there, and I'm terribly fortunate to have encountered so many of them in my mother's illness.
My grandma is going to have to go into LTC soon. My grandpa died last year and she's suffering severe memory loss and since she lives on the other side of the country we can't be there for her when she needs it. I have such a deep respect for the nurses in LTC because they're the ones that will be taking care of her when I can't. She refuses to move in with us, and we are unable to move to her. The thought that there will be highly skilled and compassionate nurses caring for her brings me so much comfort.
On the flip side, though, I'm terrified that she might have nurses that don't take care of her well (not saying you do that, by the way), or resent having to take care of her. She's so precious to me. The thought is ever present in my mind, and is such a source of stress and anxiety.
You should be proud of what you do. You not only help the patient, you help the family, and you carry the enormous weight of that trust that they're placing on you with you every day when you go in to work. If you don't like it and decide to go into a different area of nursing that's fine! But I don't think it's fair to say that it sucks. The people who I'm trusting with my beloved grandma definitely aren't in an area of nursing that sucks. It's extremely honorable. Maybe you're not happy there, and so it sucks to you, but it just seems disrespectful to bash an entire area of nursing because of it.
Hopefully you find a place that's a better fit for you personally.
I've been a "lame" LTC nurse for almost 20 years. I used to think I need to try acute care to get the "real nursing" experience but have since wised up. I wonder what people think of when they hear LTC? Old confused grannies that wander around the hallways? Old folks just laying around with contractures and bedsores? Horrible smells? Tons of bingo????
It really isn't like that. Most of our LTC residents are up, dressed and out of their rooms every day. PT/OT/ SP or restorative nursing for most on a daily basis. Yeah, we have a ton of bingo. On the skilled side...we have complex wound care, TPN, IV antibiotics, PCA pumps, trach care etc. Nope, I'm not hanging cardiac drips or intubating folks, but we run like a sub acute unit in addition to our LTC stable folks.
I enjoy what I do. I'm really good at it too. We don't eat our young, but we sure do run nurses out that are not there for the right reasons.
You sound really childish, insulting an entire specialty due to your own inadequacies. In all honesty if you can't take pride in the job you have now then you don't deserve it.
A special group, aren't we?
Nurse SMS, MSN, RN
6,843 Posts
Saving that video!