New LPN working in LTC. Would the rehabilitation unit be best for me?

[Brookenicole84]

I am a new LPN. I got a job as a float 2nd shift in a LTC setting. The RN from the rehabilitation unit is leaving and I went from my first day off orientation back onto orientation back in the rehab unit. The supervisor said he is going to try to get me back there. Everyone else back there kept asking me if i like it if i think i'd like that spot. I'm assuming maybe they are planning for me to be back there. Is this a good choice for me being new? I'm thinking maybe it would be because its probably the closest thing to a hospital I can get right now so the experience will be a great asset to me. I plan on starting at the community college taking courses towards RN in the fall. Any suggestions?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Although you'll learn plenty of good skills, I wouldn't accept a 2nd shift on a nursing home rehab unit unless I was on the verge of homelessness. I would work a 1st shift or a 3rd shift, but never a 2nd shift on the rehab unit. However, there are a handful of people out there who like working 2nd shift rehab.

When it comes to nursing home rehab, 2nd shift has the tendency to get totally slammed with admissions because patients get discharged from the hospital in the late afternoon and evening. Guess where they get discharged? To the rehab unit. If you get several admissions in an evening, you might end up staying over until 2am or 3am just to get all the paperwork done. The patients and families tend to be very demanding and want to talk with you all day, even though you will not have the time because you've got about 20 other residents. PRN pain meds will be tossed around like candy. You will likely have many treatments and plenty of wound care to keep you busy since many of the residents will be postsurgical cases. The patients tend to be immobile, heavy, and capable of injuring your back. You will constantly be interrupted with repetitive phone calls from 20 different families who have the same questions: "How is mother doing?" "How is grandpa doing?" "What was dad's blood sugar before dinner?"

In the city where I live, the employee turnover rate for nursing home rehab on the 2nd shift is sky high at all of the local facilities. You might want to ask about how many nurses have come and gone over the past year to get an idea of the turnover rate on this particular unit.

[kat7ap]

I 100% agree with TheCommuter! I've been there, done that. No thanks, never again. If you do accept the spot, find out what the pt-nurse ratio is, what the cna-pt ratio is and what duties they have, and if you have an evening supervisor to help out or do the admissions.