Nurses Enjoy LTC

Juwon · Apr 19, 2011

i've worked f/t in LTC for 2 years, and in my opinion, working with old folks is simply just getting used to it. i, myself, didn't expect that i would love the hang of working with elders and their world. yes, they may be hard to deal with, but not all patients are alike. and yes, all the mentioned stuffs about LTC are true. what i hate the most is too much workload...33 pts on my wing alone. pay, too, is low compared to acute. esp im an LPN.

Wow, i guess in your area its better for LPNs to go to an acute setting for better pay. In my area a LPN left LTC making 24.50 hr, and went to an acute care hospital starting at 18 an hr. She had a little over a year of LPN nursing experience.

drmorton2b · Apr 19, 2011

Finally a positive thread about something! Showing that someone being passionate about a specialty and hard work= good results.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

I prefer the more laid-back pace of LTC instead of the high-pressure hospital environment. Since I prefer lower acuity patients, LTC is for me. To be blunt, I don't particularly enjoy fast-paced environments where I always need to move with a sense of urgency. I have been working in various LTC facilities for five years and I usually get my lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, and time to catch my breath.

Juwon · Apr 19, 2011

I prefer the more laid-back pace of LTC instead of the high-pressure hospital environment. Since I prefer lower acuity patients, LTC is for me. To be blunt, I don't particularly enjoy fast-paced environments where I always need to move with a sense of urgency. I have been working in various LTC facilities for five years and I usually get my lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, and time to catch my breath.

I was hoping you would respond to this post, as I have read some threads where you have commented on and you seem like a great nurse. Thanx

Butterfliesnroses · Apr 19, 2011

I love working LTC. Right now I work nights (12 hr shifts) and I love it! I love it bc I can form a bond with the residents. Also like The Commuter I'm not one for a fast paced exciting environment. I really enjoy having a routine. I started out on days and enjoy days as well. I've worked a few evening shifts as well. I really enjoy all the shifts. I can't see myself in a hospital and never really liked med-surg! Another thing I love about LTC is that I get to learn how to deal with psych issues as well! Someday I would love to work a little psych!

KSRN2b · Apr 19, 2011

I know it's my second time posting on this thread, but have to say I just keep loving it!

I'm a social worker now and start nursing school in the fall (can't wait!). I've worked in nursing homes in various ancillary capacities (kitchen help when I in my early 20s, geripsychiatric services as a social worker) and loved the environment. Also, my father was in a nursing home for the last 4 years of his life (brain tumor). Is hard to see the stigma associated with living in a nursing home and working in one. The people who cared for my father were the absolute best. It eases the sadness when compassionate and skilled carers are involved if your loved one is not able to be cared for at home.

These days one can't stay in a hospital for any length of time, even after surgery. Aren't more people recovering short-term in nursing homes? I still don't know all the step-downs but do believe nursing homes are the place you go if you aren't ready to go home safely even with home health.

Would love to hear others' thoughts on this and to hear any expected trends with nursing home usage related to health care reform.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

Its interesting that The Commuter and others have commented on wanting a slower environment. I feel the same way. I've worked emerg and acute. I'm glad I did for the knowledge, but I never really liked it. For one, many of the staff are even more overworked. And with emerg, you never know what comes in the door. To each his own, but I knew early on that I didn't want to be in those environments. I'd rather LTC, palliative, or public health any day.

That's the great thing about nursing. There is truly something for everyone, and nurses should work where they enjoy. We need people to want to be in all these different areas. LTC carries a different set of stressors, but its more fun. And I decided early on, given that I am a second career nurse, that I didn't want to go to "work" every day :)

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

What I love about LTC? Those precious residents ! They literally light up my world whenever I'm on the unit. I love the bond I can share with them and I take care of them as if I would my own grandparents.

optimist · Apr 19, 2011

I worked as a CNA in LTC while in nursing school. Once out I went straight to big hospital med/surg and I absolutely hated it. Now granted it was an invaluable learning experience and I took so much more knowledge away from it than what I took in but after a short while I began dreading every shift. It was a varied population and I noticed that I was beginning to lose sympathy for some of my patients and it effected my desire to care for them. On any given assignment I would have at least one young drug seeker or whiny princess that thought I should spend my time fluffing pillows and slinging narcs thier way when right next door was an eldery pt that appreciated every sip of water I gave them. I found myself spending more time with the elderly patients; making them comfortable and listening to their stories because I felt that they had paid their dues in life and truly deserved my time and compassion. It wasnt long before I went back into LTC and plan on staying there. I enjoy getting to know my pts and their families. I bump into them in the grocery store and always get hugs and gratitude for the care i give their loved one.LTC isnt for everyone but it certainly has its rewards.

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

I love LTC! There is nothing like looking into the eyes of the elderly, they are sweet & love to laugh. These people were brought up to be hard working and honest. Granted you do on occasion get the spoiled, mean ones, but the majority are grateful for whatever you do for them. I love asking them about thier lives, how they met thier husbands & wives, funny things they remember from raising thier kids, what life was like for them growing up. They have so uch to teach us, if we can take the time to listen.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

The other night, I was in the room of one of my residents. She's 99 and a half, but sharp as a whip. She says to me, "This is my place, right?"

Me: "Yes, this is your place, your room."

Resident: "I know, because my picture is on the door."

Lol :) Sweet!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2011

These days one can't stay in a hospital for any length of time, even after surgery. Aren't more people recovering short-term in nursing homes? I still don't know all the step-downs but do believe nursing homes are the place you go if you aren't ready to go home safely even with home health.

This is true, at least in the area where I live. All of the nursing homes where I've worked have short-term units where some of the patients are younger and recovering from surgical procedures such as knee and hip replacements, laminectomies, hysterectomies, motor vehicle accidents, heart surgeries, rotator cuff repairs, thrombectomies, fresh colostomies, and so forth. Sometimes the nursing home gets them two or three days postoperatively.

Other patients on the short-term units are typically recovering from cancer, pneumonia, acute renal failure, stroke, acute MI, debility, and other disease processes.