LTC nurses: Can I hear from you, please?

[37changes]

Hello all ~ I am looking to hear from nurses who are currently working or have a lot of experience in LTC or AL.

I'd like to use this thread as a place to get to know you a little better & ask questions as I think of them. And maybe get your opinions on jobs down the road, etc... should I choose to head down this path.

I am beginning the last semester of my ADN program. People have been asking me what I'm going to do ~ and while telling them I'm still not sure, I'm also telling them I think my heart is in LTC.

I have felt this way since before I started school.

I had a great experience in clinicals at the nursing home. I know not all facilities are like this one -- I know that, for sure. But it was good. It was smaller. Homey. If my grandmother needed to go somewhere, I would have no qualms about this one.

I've been in touch with the ADON there, and she's offered to meet with me to discuss LTC vs hospital, as she has had experience in both.

I have an aunt who has worked her way up in LTC management over the years and is pretty high up, over many facilities. She is encouraging me to head this direction, as well, as I already have an associates in Business Administration. She says LTC needs people and I could move up quickly if I can do a good job and manage a team well.

I don't have a strong desire to work in a hospital. My local hospital does hire ADN nurses regularly, so it's not that I can't -- it's that I don't necessarily want to. I think I just prefer a different environment.

I will be almost 40 when I graduate, and I am not dead-set on pursuing my BSN. That would be required to be completed within 5 years at my local hospital. I'm not sure about others. But my kids will be starting college soon, and I'm just not sure if that is the direction I want to head.

I'm also looking for days. And I know, as a new grad, that is limiting. But I also don't need the benefits, I don't have to be full-time, and I'm cool with PRN days, if that is all I can find.

One thing I noticed while looking through the threads in this section is that people were saying LTC pays less than hospitals. I have heard the opposite here, from my aunt, as well as from one of my instructors who worked in LTC. My aunt said her company also pays $2/hr more for PRN employees. I'd love to hear thoughts on this. I wonder if it is area-specific.

Thanks to anyone who responds! I value your experience, for sure. As I currently have none. :)

[37changes, ASN, RN]

I talked to my aunt yesterday. Her facilities are SNF -- she said "rehab".

There is one about an hour away from me, and I asked her if I could just go SHADOW one of the nurses for a shift. Not do any patient care, not ask a bunch of questions, but just follow someone around and see what a shift is actually like. She said that could probably be arranged.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Don't expect to be welcomed with open arms if you're shadowing someone. It's hard enough to get all your work done without interruptions and questions.

[37changes, ASN, RN]

Don't expect to be welcomed with open arms if you're shadowing someone. It's hard enough to get all your work done without interruptions and questions.

Yes. I almost added, "Would you guys be annoyed by this?" ... but then I thought that when I talk to her about it again, I'd ask her if she had a certain person in mind who would be up for it. I'd never want to do that with someone who didn't want to.

[sarahlee23, LPN]

My classmates in nursing school thought I was nuts because I knew when I started that I wanted to work in LTC. At the time I had been working as a CNA in basic care, and I loved working with that age group. Even after all my clinicals in other areas, LTC was where I wanted to work. I started in a facility that does both LTC and rehab, and have been there a little over 7 years now. I got 2 weeks of training to PM shift and then a week to nights, and I work primarily nights. I worked with some very helpful nurses when I first started, and now I try to be that helpful to the new nurses we get. Management sometimes drives us nuts, but I still love LTC. I honestly can't imagine working anywhere else. I am responsible for 2 halls and 50 residents at night, which can be crazy when a fair chunk of them are up at night, but I know I would be bored out of my mind if I just had one hall at night (and I hate, hate, hate being bored...the CNAs I work with always know when it's a slow night and I've run out of work because I start organizing the cupboards).

[37changes, ASN, RN]

My classmates in nursing school thought I was nuts because I knew when I started that I wanted to work in LTC. At the time I had been working as a CNA in basic care, and I loved working with that age group. Even after all my clinicals in other areas, LTC was where I wanted to work. I started in a facility that does both LTC and rehab, and have been there a little over 7 years now. I got 2 weeks of training to PM shift and then a week to nights, and I work primarily nights. I worked with some very helpful nurses when I first started, and now I try to be that helpful to the new nurses we get. Management sometimes drives us nuts, but I still love LTC. I honestly can't imagine working anywhere else. I am responsible for 2 halls and 50 residents at night, which can be crazy when a fair chunk of them are up at night, but I know I would be bored out of my mind if I just had one hall at night (and I hate, hate, hate being bored...the CNAs I work with always know when it's a slow night and I've run out of work because I start organizing the cupboards).

Thanks for this! It's good to hear good experiences. :)

I have no desire to be bored, either. A huge part of why I chose nursing is because I want to be on my feet & busy. I am not one for "sit around and chit-chat" -- I'm just not. There's always *something* that needs to be done... yes, like organizing cupboards. Lol.

On the flip side, I have no desire to be an absolutely frazzled mess all the time, either ~ which is why many of the posts on this board are concerning to me.

What I keep hearing about LTC is that you have to be cut out for it. That it takes a certain kind of person. I think I may be that person, but I don't know how you really know unless you try it.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

I have a lot of LTC experience, from floor nurse to management. If my health could have taken it, I'd still be there. I love taking care of the elderly

[Golden_RN, MSN]

Follow your heart. I have had about 20 years in LTC - I started by working the floor, then doing treatments. I worked as an MDS coordinator for 1 year, then for several years as a charge nurse & educator on a subacute ventilator floor. Now I work in informatics for a LTC org. I love LTC and work with lots of RNs/LVNs that have also worked LTC for several years. I have a great career so far. There is always so much to learn.

[37changes, ASN, RN]

Thanks again for all of the feedback!

I was told by another nursing student that she has heard, if you are going to work in LTC, to go for a non-profit company. And there is a big fancy facility in our town that she says IS non-profit.

This is not something I'd ever heard before. Thoughts?

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Not For Profit/Profit... everyone has the same issues

[2018nurseandbeyond]

PErsonally the LTC I work for is a non-profit. Let me tell you, theother LTC I did clinicals at it always felt like a dead-walk, smelled, people were upset etc. This place I work at is amazing and its non-profit. The pt. population really are sweet and you really get a lot of exposure to doing tons of subcut meds. Also so far working as an RN for exactly four days ( im brand new) I did 2 picc dressings, removed staples and also did a bunch of IV meds and pushes. Also did various woundcare. Subacute will be something that you will like I think. Documentation is the hardest for me.

[37changes, ASN, RN]

PErsonally the LTC I work for is a non-profit. Let me tell you, theother LTC I did clinicals at it always felt like a dead-walk, smelled, people were upset etc. This place I work at is amazing and its non-profit. The pt. population really are sweet and you really get a lot of exposure to doing tons of subcut meds. Also so far working as an RN for exactly four days ( im brand new) I did 2 picc dressings, removed staples and also did a bunch of IV meds and pushes. Also did various woundcare. Subacute will be something that you will like I think. Documentation is the hardest for me.

Well, thanks ~ I'm glad to hear you like it so far. :)

How long did you get for orientation?

[37changes, ASN, RN]

It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I think of this thread often. I appreciate all of the comments!

I went to tour two of my aunt's facilities -- one is assisted living, and one is SNF/rehab. She was definitely trying to "recruit me" -- as she told everyone. Lol. If these facilities were in my town, there is no doubt I would go that route. As it is, they are both a solid hour away from my house -- and that is in GOOD weather. With the amount of snow and ice we get here, that commute is a huge deterrent. It's just not practical.

The assisted living place obviously seemed much more low-key. The nurses are only passing meds on ~20 patients. They still have paper charting.

What I loved about the SNF was their memory care unit. I loved the director, and the feel of the whole place. All of the thought that goes into the small details for this population. They really have a great (award-winning) program, and if this were in my town -- I definitely feel like I would want to be a part of it. I got pretty excited about it at first, and thought about it for days ... only to eventually be brought back to the harsh reality of the commute, and what that would mean for myself and my family.

So now I am just a couple of weeks away from graduating. I've been doing research here and there about our local facilities, trying to get a feel for the ones I'd like to at least have an interview with. There are many options to choose from, and they do need RN's, "desperately" as I've been told. From everything I've gathered, they are paying more than the local hospital, for sure. This must be a regional thing, because this is what I was told in the beginning, and definitely what I am still seeing.

I do have an opportunity to shadow for a day at my aunt's facilities. I met a great nurse at the SNF who they said they'd pair me with, and I got to talk to her for awhile. She was super nice and seems to be very happy. I told her I may be back, and she at least acted like she had no problem with it... lol. She seemed genuine. But I haven't done that and I'm not sure I'm going to, since I've pretty much decided that the drive kills it for me.

Any words of wisdom as I graduate and begin to research my options a little more closely ~ all welcome! Specifically, I want to make a list of questions that are good for me to ask when I really begin communicating with different places. I have some in my mind, for sure, but I need to get them written down. I need to know red flags to look out for, beyond the ones that I may see or feel on my own. I love that I have this place where I can ask these things. It's been such a huge help to have this connection over the past couple of years, to get the perspective of others who are out there doing it every day. Thank you.