new LVN at LTC

Joy123 · Nov 28, 2008

Hey it will get better, i'm new at this too. My husband also works at an LTC and he says you just have to prioritize your time and that it will start to get easier once you get familiar with the place and the patients.

sasha2lady · Mar 23, 2009

Ive worked ltc x 9 yrs...the past 2 1/2 as a nurse and its always the same story....I had maybe 2 days of training for about 43 pts and I was so confused and overwhelmed i couldnt function well....and the trainer was a nervous type person anyway.....once I was by myself for a while I figured out my own routine to make things work for me. I work 2nd shift. I go in get report and right when that is done I pull out the charts I will need and put them in the area where I sit to chart. I keep neon sticky notes on my cart so that when something goes on i can stick it on the bottom of the mar so Ill know to chart it. after my first med pass is when i try to chart which doesnt always happen b/c i get floored with the leftovers from day shift....and its odd that on m w f when the md comes in .....they hand me piles and piles of stuff they "Forgot" to tell him and expect me to call and tell him which puts me at having about 3 hrs worth of paperwork and orders to do....and since the last time they did that and left 20 labs for me to tell him about......I go through them and figure out which things are the most important and only do those and put the rest in his box. I work very close with our md so for me thats become alot easier to figure out. What it boils down to though is its not about your speed..its about your accuracy. The faster you try to go the more mistakes you'll likely make and you will miss things more.

tammy07 · Mar 23, 2009

Hang in there it will get better my first job after graduation was ltc and I was so overwhelmed felt like crying admiting defeat and moving on but one day you will go in and realize your done with your meds and its only been 2 hours wow..I have time for lunch and my bs are done. it will happen just give it some time good luck

rotteluvr31, ADN, RN · Mar 27, 2009

I'm a new grad starting in a LTC and I would personally be very worried if I was only offered 4 days of training. Not that my facility is offering me oodles of time - I got 3.5 days of daytime orientation (I day I was pulled to work as a 1:1 aide b/c of CNA call-in's) and tonight I start orientation on my NOC shift. This LTC has a sub-acute wing that I told them I was not comfortable working solo in as a new grad (35-40 pts w/ IV's etc) so I will be working on the alzhiemers/LTC wing instead. Right now I am scheduled for 5 nights of orientation, but all the day shift RN's I shadowed with told me to push for more orientation if I felt I needed it. The way the broached the subject made me think they have seen nurses pushed onto the floor before they were ready to go solo. And there is another new hire who asked and received more training time.

But as other posters said, it will get easier. At least that is what I am telling myself! Good luck to you!

chevyv, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2009

I work pms and have 28 residents and take almost just as long. I only work a few days per month right now so I'm always overwhelmed. I also work wherever I'm needed which makes it so much worse. I never get to know anyone. I leave so late its ridiculous and then I drive about 45 minutes to get home. I'm exhausted the whole next day.

I worked last Sunday and actually got out only 30 minutes late. I was ecstatic! I know it won't ever happen again though. It was a great feeling. I actually felt like I could handle it. Hang in there!!