ibegyourpardon

21/hr LTC northern VA

I work evenings at assisted living.. Im responsible for 40 residents (some with GTube and colostomy) and have 3 CNAs. this is my day in a nutshell. clock in. check where I'm working. count narcotics. get report from previous shift. make a list of issues from previous shift that need to be followed up on. flag orders for the dinner med pass. stock med cart. receive lab results and MD orders via fax, f/u with them as necessary. do dressing changes and put on compression devices that need to be done, since it's still an hour til dinner. do med pass. administer ppd shots to new hires at the facility... most of whom quit before it's even time to have them read. receive pharmacy delivery. take my break. start answering all phone calls to the facility and forward them respectively, as the receptionist has gone home by now and I am now the receptionist. begin evening med pass. sign MAR and chart. hope and pray no one falls or injures themselves. fill out accident report if fall or injury occurs.. V/S, description, treatment, call family, fax report to MD, begin neurochecks if fall is unwitnessed or they hit their head. Do new admissions if applicable. send residents to ER if condition warrants. assist CNAs with their work if they are impossibly swamped. get yelled at by demanding irrational residents and family members that don't understand what a CNA ratio of 1:15 entails. the uneventful quiet days are okay, as its actually possible to get everything done and not be completely exhausted by the end of the night.... other days I feel my patience being stretched thin and wonder why I still work there while telling myself I don't get paid nearly enough.

synthroid, namenda, digoxin, lipitor, colace, senna, citalopram, aricept, metformin, metoprolol, hctz, sinemet, seroquel, vit D, vit B, calcium, FeSO4, areds, lortab, percocet, roxanol, alprazolam, lorazepam, lidoderm patches, exelon patches, albuterol, spiriva, advair, ABTs.

For what it's worth, I have had a few ladies who would regularly c/o GI upset and would in fact be seen eating chocolates and cookies all day & night... Obv if this is not the case then the MD should be made aware and tests should be done.

the staff members with that mentality are the ones who have been doing this too long and need at minimum an in-service on how to treat residents. I suppose I'm lucky in the sense that the two facilities I've worked in are on the luxurious side and residents are able to choose the time they get up, choose the time and days they get showers, choose whether or not they eat in the dining room or their private room, can stay up as late as they want if they are interested in a tv program or what have you. One reason why I love assisted living and am not sure I could do total SNF nursing home. It would be hard for me to watch elders get treated like nothing more than an assignment.

we have a lot of CHF, CRF, DM, A-fib, Dementia, and usually have a few residents with UTI at any given time so know your ABTs. you will learn as you go in LTC

day shift wages... shift differential for evenings/nights: 20/hr LTC in virginia... made 17/hr ltc in western NY as a new grad

Just started a new job... they keep a 'Narcotic Log' which is counted out each shift but certain drugs are not included and just kept in the med cart along with everything else. Hydrocodone, Xanax, Ativan.. I was always under the impression those are controlled substances?! Is this a state by state regulation? have any of you worked somewhere that didnt treat those as controlled substances?

thanks for the reassurance guys. thought for sure it was a no-go... strangest interview ever. I was offered the position

SSIA. I was called this morning for a same day interview... but other than "what were your duties at your previous job?", she only told me about the place, read over my application and asked me if I had any questions. the interview I went on earlier in the day at another facility had four sheets of "tell me about a time..." questions, so I'm confused.My previous job was more or less the exact same description/responsibilities, I was on time, professional and courteous.do you think she already had the position filled and just 'interviewed' me for the heck of it? Has anyone been on an interview where they didn't ask you any of the standard interview questions? what was the outcome?

I just started working as a nurse a few months ago in LTC 3-11 shift. I've done a few day shifts as well and what the others have said is true. While the evening is 2 big med passes, the breakfast pass is usually the largest & most involved of the day. In the morning you also deal with more paperwork, calls being returned, visitors, bosses in the building, etc. The evening shift is a good one to get the hang of the whole med pass process and get comfortable making/receiving calls & unexpected things that happen on the job. Good Luck :)

I started my first nursing job about 1 month ago. I keep a piece of scrap paper in my pocket. Whenever I come across something I wish I knew more about, I write it down and look it up after I get home.