Nursing in Long Term Care

snowfreeze, BSN, RN · May 15, 2007

After 6 months you should be able to transfer to another position if available. Geriatrics is where the jobs will be for the next 20 years or more. The telemetry unit I work on looks a lot like a nursing home most of the time, the age of the patients is mostly late 60s and above. I spent 5 years in a large facility (325 beds) as supervisor and working all 9 of the units in dementia, sub-acute, LTC, dementia behavior and personal care. Your organizational skills will be wonderful, your knowledge of many meds and your communication skills will help you get any job you want in the future.

GingerSue · May 15, 2007

first - congratulations as you graduate.

I agree with the above comments - you will be using your

organizational and communication skills with your medication

knowledge. In LTC you can develop team-work while

caring for a diverse population.

And while you are working in this area, you can make plans

to progress in other directions.

msdobson · May 15, 2007

After 6 months you should be able to transfer to another position if available. Geriatrics is where the jobs will be for the next 20 years or more. The telemetry unit I work on looks a lot like a nursing home most of the time, the age of the patients is mostly late 60s and above. I spent 5 years in a large facility (325 beds) as supervisor and working all 9 of the units in dementia, sub-acute, LTC, dementia behavior and personal care. Your organizational skills will be wonderful, your knowledge of many meds and your communication skills will help you get any job you want in the future.

While not an RN (yet!) :lol2: , I worked for nearly a decade in LTC both as an NA, and then as a CNA. I am also an EMT. I worked for many wonderful RNs (and some real @#$%!), but there was one whom I remember clearly (and will never forget.)

She had 20-plus years in nearly every acute specialty you could name. She never once felt as if she had "ended up" in LTC. To her, it was just another "experience" that added to her knowledge. She never looked down upon any LPN or CNA and ALWAYS had time for our questions; be they medical or philosophical. She was everything you could hope for in a boss, a mentor and a friend.

I strive to be just like her.

Take snowfreeze's advice. Do your "time". Learn all you can about LTC, mentor those who work for you, have fun, then move on.

You are still young. Consider this your time in the trenches! :lol2:

Best of luck to you. I'm sure you will have a long and rewarding career ahead of you.

scholar · May 16, 2007

I would try to find a loop hole. Do you have a copy of the contract that you signed? If so, did the contract require you to work in a specific specialty? Did the contract list the hospital's company name or the actual location that you are to work?

Although I seriously doubt that the contract would be anything less than iron clad, you maybe able to cut the time in half if there is a breach in the contract. It may seem like your trying to get over, but you had no idea that you would be working in a ltc setting. Or did you?

I would work half the time and pay half of the money I owe back in student loans depending on other offers I received from neighboring hospitals that actually have the specialty I desire to work in

MedicGA · May 16, 2007

Thank you Snowfreeze, & GingerSue for your advise. I will try to make the best of it. Now I have another question. What is the best what to learn pharmacology. I did ok in it in school, but feel like I don't know very many drugs. Should I just be reading my PDR Nurse's Drug Handbook like a Bible or what?

MedicGA

TazziRN, RN · May 16, 2007

Just look up every drug you do not know, and the more the give certain drugs the faster you will remember them. I've been nursing for nearly 20 years and I still carry a drug book with me.