LPN with new job offer!!

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I have been an LPN for 5 years. I worked for the first year as a night shift nurse in a hospital on med/surg unit (loved it)...then we moved and I had to leave that job. Hospitals where I live now do not hire LPNs, so I have been working the last 4 years in physicians office. It's nice to have evenings, weekends, and holidays off, but I do not enjoy my job. I recently applied for, interviewed for, and within a week of interview was offered a position in a nursing home. The position is night shift (7p-7a). The unit I will be on has 57 residents and 2 night shift nurses. Can anyone share any insight on what to expect, various duities for night shift nurse in nursing home, etc? Any cheat sheets that would be helpful? Any and all advice is welcome! Thanks!

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I was in a similar situation as you and ended up giving LTC a try. It's not for everyone. I do hope that you found a good company and they are a pleasure to work for.

The pros of a LTC facilities are the residents. They are a joy to work with and you will know their history and can notice changes that need to be addressed in the early stages because you will be working with the same people frequently.

The cons, you have a lot more residents assigned to you and you are responsible for their care (including work that is delegated, you will need to f/u and make sure that things have been done). If you have a great team and adequate staffing, this won't be a big problem. I worked for a company that was all about their profit and would not call in agency staff even if it meant a serious (and we are talking state would have a canary if they knew the ratio) staffing shortage. I wasn't cut out for it.

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Thanks! I appreciate the input!! The facility seems to be on the "up & up"...they have a great name in our community and very rarely have openings because they have employees that have stayed there for a long time. It really seems like a great place (although I'm sure it's going to have some problems as all places do).

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Employee retention is a huge plus. This says a lot about what type of employer they are. Best wishes!

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Employee retention is a huge plus. This says a lot about what type of employer they are. Best wishes!

That's what I thought to! The DON interviewed me and gave me a complete tour of the facility with great detail so I feel pretty good about that part of it. Just hoping to get some ideas and advice about what to expect on this shift etc.

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Went for my drug test yesterday and she told me about how they do orientation. First day I will meet all the management team in the morning meeting and also be taken out for lunch by a member of the management team. Then there will be 3 days of facility orientation (paperwork, videos, etc). The next week I will "shadow" a nurse on dayshift (in case I have questions for management that they will be there for me to talk to). And then finally the third week I will switch to night shift to be trained for my job and that will consist of 3 weeks of training with another nurse. After that I will be on my own. They do a lot of training which I guess is why they have a very low turn over rate of their employees. Seems like it will be a really good place to work! Excited!!

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Specializes in Geriatircs/Rural Hospitals.

From one night shift nurse to another keep a sense of humour. In my facility we order meds, file anything that needs to be filed, checking orders to make sure they are in computers and new meds have been ordered, nursing summaries, and I do my own night time med pass, I and o's. Ok tricks to help most places have assignment sheets grab one and have the night nurse write down who takes meds crushed and in what, who has special request, have several who drink cold water, and who ask for pain pills every night. Good luck and hope you like your new job.

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