Elicia.Matthea

Hello, I am currently working in a LTC facility that is going under from what im observing. Management is horrible (the kind of management that always points the finger at you kind of management) where it leaves a horrible moral among the care aids and nurses where it seems the majority have quit or are thinking of quitting soon. As an LPN i was hired into the RN line 4 on 4 off Nights because no RNs wanted the lines and currently there is only 1 RN full time. I was trained as an RN in this line as I am the fire marshal on nights i have a great deal of responsibility however the LTC company wont pay me night shift differentials and I don't even get paid the lowest RN wage... I stll get paid the lowest LPN wage (22.78) and I have been told by the only RN to not say anything about my wages or bring it up until I passed my 3 month probation period. The care given to certain people is also questionable as the company is hiring care aids from india- people who dont have any care background at all? not to mention the DR for the majority of all the residents does not believe in medications most the time... so sometimes people in pain cant get a damn acetaminophen. I want to quit or go casual... would you'?

I honestly believe that older RNs have been so accepting of LPNs (In Canada) because the LPN 2 years diploma of today is the exact equivalent ( and then some) of the RN diploma program that was offered before it changed to a bachelor. I have yet to have an RN who is about to retire tell me im not a nurse or make me feel that i was any less competent than she was because she also holds a diploma but is running the ICU from experience.... I found When it came to the newer RNs who graduated with the bachelor degree i found that the nursing program and the image of nurses graduating today is all about career/status.... not so much the act of nursing. The generation of "Careerists" Nurses, far opposite the angelic nursing image created in the WW2 era (i think? Nightingale time?). Nursing is overly glorified and when new RNs graduate they are glorified even more and I dont think they want that glory of having a bachelor degree be taken away from an LPN who has only done 2 years but can do the majority of the same thing and hold the title nurse and now there is barley a separation between the two professions but guess what we payed less.... Its ridiculous- we study from the exact same text books...we go into the same depth of the text books pharmacology included in that...we treat the same patients....and now our scope of practice has changed to include IV meds and all that jazz with extra training... I think this is gunna be a fight till the end, sadly, when it comes to eliminating the pyramid hierarchy of nurses in the hospital system (at least in BC, CAnada). Currently the college of LPNS and the College of RNs in British columbia are currently joining to just be the College of nurses of british columbia.... its going to be a slow process but the recognition is coming....

Hey everyone I have just finished my first year and a half of licensed practical nursing after I got my full license and I feel like a failure and that I should switch careers. I cannot tell if my personality doesn't match up with the profession, if im burned out already or if simply its because I am not working in the area of nursing that suits me (running out of choices). I have literally been casual at all the local hospitals, residential care homes (private and government ran) and had a line in community nursing. My first position required I drive 8 hours (4 hours both directions) from home to the town next to the hospitals location...than drive an 1 hour both ways every night to and from the hospital from the nearby town.....I did this for 6 months till i moved to that nearby town and just had to drive the daily 2 hours. On top of the drive I had to deal with the condescending nurses when i got to work and the lack of emotional support provided on the floor when patients would give you a heck and a half. So I decided to pick up further casual opportunities in town where the have residential facilities..... I hate doing personal care (but i suck it up and do it) and I just hated the lack of organization that residential care had.... post-its all over the walls in the nursing station with information- nothing was updated- disciplinary action was not being taken on care aids who did not do there work and sometimes left residents soaked all night! Not to mention, the older nurses were brash and i get so annoyed with brash unfriendly people. I also found the work mundane and I actually get very annoyed with confused residents....To be honest my values are in family taking care of there own family members so residential care homes I feel are just wrong in general and we need a new system...... and last but not least I found a line in community nursing..... LOVED THE WORK.....HATE the short 4 hours days 5 days a week where i can pick up any more shifts so im going broke in the job and had to quit only a month after....... I feel like a failure....I am back in residential cause there are no opportunities in the local hospital for lines and not much work as a causal. I now cry more often about everything... starting to get anxiety going to work and complain all the time as management SUCKS at this facility and our union does not advocate for nurses as its mostly for HCA's....... I am in an RN line and dont get shift differentials and the lowest pay that an LPN can get.....I work nights 4 on 4 off.... I run an 100 bed residential facility at night and im literally thinking of quiting this line too as im not getting paid, the care is unsafe, and im burnt from not getting support and worrying if im doing things right all the time. are there other people that switch there jobs this often in nursing? Do i sounds like someone who shouldn't be a nurse? I know i'm starting to get depressed but I'm wondering if its because all the effort i have put into getting to these jobs and just finding something decent that i don't go in debt over.... thought about getting into health science professions instead....