Lost nurse

sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

You are eligible to apply for any nursing position

best wishes

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

LPNs can do a lot of things that RNs can do, so that's not really "shocking" and I'm not sure what motivated the other nurse to act like it was. As a new nurse, it makes sense that you'd be given less complicated home-health patients, too.

Your chances at transitioning to a different position will depend largely on the market where you're located. If they need nurses badly, they'll probably snap you up ...if the market is over-saturated, you may get edged out by more qualified applicants.

Good luck to you.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

Be careful what you wish for. Your current position seems fairly low-stress and laid back, but expect the stress level to increase exponentially once you accept a job at a LTC facility.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

Hello fellow nurses,
I am writing this thread to see if anyone out there can help me. I am a registered nurse with a BSN. It took me over a year to pass the NCLEX which I took twice. As a result I did not qualify for new grad positions. I finally landed a job to work one on one with a client. The job requires that I perform only one single simple nursing task.
I can't say exactly what simple nursing task I perform everyday on daily basis to keep my client's privacy.
Anyways where I work there are other nurses. They also take care of my client but they do not do what I do for her.
Yesterday at lunch break I run into one of the nurses and we struck up a conversation. She then proceeded to ask me if I am an LPN. When I told her I am a RN she was shocked.
APPARENTLY what I do is something an LPN can also do.
I am now trying to apply for positions in long term care. I FOUND about 8 positions in long term care. IF I apply do I have a chance or is it too late to enter that field because I only have this experience?
Thank you in advance.

The problem isn't that you are doing something a LPN can do (though the scopes of RN/LPN are different, they DO have a LOT of overlap). The problem is that you are only performing "one simple nursing task."

I think as a new nurse, you should be doing as many different things as possible. That is how you learn and grow in your practice.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2015

There are few "simple nursing tasks" that you could be doing in the home that an LPN could not also do. G-tube feedings, cathing, injections, wound care- all within the scope of practice of an LPN. When I was a home health nurse, most of my patients could not be seen by LPNs because of the complexity of their needs but I wouldn't have called any of what I was doing a "simple nursing task."

History101 · Nov 22, 2015

I called what I do simple because it is. It has become routine. In no way am I making it insignificant.

History101 · Nov 22, 2015

I agree. I need to be doing many types of skills.

History101 · Nov 22, 2015

There is also stress with my job. I understand the stress level is higher in LTC but I can handle it.

caliotter3 · Nov 22, 2015

Theoretically you could be working respite care for the parents while on night shift, with no skills to perform other than assessment at the beginning of your shift, observation during the shift, emergency actions if needed. You could spend your night in the rocker just watching the patient sleep peacefully. You wouldn't be working on your skill set (other than self study since you have to be awake anyway), but you would be getting paid as a nurse and you would list this job on your resume. Just because things are not hectic and chaos-driven doesn't mean that your presence is not needed. Suggest you add another case that has more involvement to it to your workload, and/or seek hours outside of your agency job. If you work two shifts a week on the "easy" case, you could work two shifts a week at a LTC facility, or a hospital, or in any other setting to broaden your horizons.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Nov 22, 2015

Do not jump into LTC because you feel that you are being somehow undervalued. In home health, you can be seen by an RN or an LPN dependent on if it is a "revisit" or not, lots of things.

What RN's can usually do in HH is a first time visit. And perhaps the RN who said this to you did not realize you were a new grad, but curious as to why as an RN would not be used for first time visits (which can get backed up and overwhelming). And a as new grad, you would need orientation to do that, which may or may not be available to you at present. But I would ask--"I would like to learn more, do more, see more patients. Is that possible?"

LTC is a love it or not so much position. And you would more than likely do one thing there as well. There are many LTC facilities that have a medication aide that gives meds. So the same thing could be said...you could argue that you could do the same thing that a med aide is doing.

The stress comes with the sheer number of residents in LTC that need care/interventions at the same time. And how motivated and through the CNA's that work the floor are.

If you have no way of learning or doing more in HH, then you may want to look elsewhere. But it you have opportunity for growth, then I would take that opportunity.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2015

I understand the stress level is higher in LTC but I can handle it.

How do you know you can handle the stress of being the nurse for 30+ residents in the LTC setting if you have never worked in an LTC facility?