ltc nursing

Congrats!! It's a tough job.. having worked a 12hr. 7p to 7a for a couple of years. You'll be completely out of sync with the rest of the world.. lol.

Some pluses on graveyard shift, hopefully you'll have a lot of residents sleeping..... no families to contend with... no phone calls..and no administration.

There are days you'll feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and telling yourself..you'll NEVER be able to remember all the names, do ALL the paperwork... you just will NEVER be able to do it all. Don't LISTEN!!

Give yourself time, be kind to yourself, have faith in yourself, and believe in yourself and your abilities. No one can do a perfect job all the time, just do the best you can do. You'll develop your own routine before long. If nursing is your passion, and the aging population is your love... they'll know it and so will you.

Keep in mind that EVERY nurse you encounter had a "first day" somewhere....and they made it. So can you!!! Good Luck!!

I loved working nights in LTC. My 1st job as a LVN was in LTC on night shift. It was a lot of fun. The pace is a lot less stressful, as you don't have family members, administration, ancillary staff to throw you off schedule. You will get a routine going in no time and find that it's not nearly as bad as you might think.

When I worked nights in LTC I had 1/2 of a 90 bed facility to take care of. Honestly, after your 8pm med pass you'll mostly only have PRN pain meds, accu-checks in the am, g-tube feeders and loads of charting.

If you work with really great CNA's (which I was fortunate to have) the time will go by quickly and you'll find that your biggest challenge on most nights will be whether or not to indulge in the cake, chips, candy, etc that one of the nurses or CNA's brought in. LOL

Beware the late night snacking!! I gained 10 lbs on night shift!

I was a 7p-7a LPN charge nurse at an LTC for 3 years and I loved it. I am still at the same facility as education nurse. The only reason I changed positions is that my body got tired of night shift and said ENOUGH!!. Even after three years in my current position, sometimes I wish I was still on nights. Just like everyone else has said, it will be difficult at times and somtimes you just want to throw your hands up and quit, but it does get better and those days are few and far between. You CAN do it.

wow a whole 2 weeks of orientation for 25-30,45 patients... These are the kind of stories that scare me...

thats nothing. I had a 2 DAY orientation for 32 patients. I'm very lucky that I am a quick learner, and now i really thrive in my job.

Did you have to do meds and charting for all 66 patients? How did you manage? I'm looking for suggestions since I'll be starting ltc in a week or so.