bluesocks

I think it will differ a bit depending on the province and particular facility. Personally, I work in a very small LTC facility, so I am fully involved in personal care. This means dressing, toileting, feeding residents, even though it is the responsibility of the health care aide, the nurse is required to assist as well. I give out the medications, do treatments, vitals and dressing changes. I am in charge when I work, meaning if there is something that happens, like an acute event or an incident like a fall or violent behaviour, I am responsible for responding. We have weekly doctor rounds for non-urgent concerns, and the RN is in charge of discussing with the doctors and processing new orders. The RN is in charge of communicating with family members (if there is a fall, or an incident), and calling the on-call physician if a patient needs orders in more acute situations that can't wait for weekly rounds. We also have certain assessments that need to be done on a regular basis, including but not limited to a falls risk assessment and Braden scale assessment. Based on these assessments, the nurse reviews and modifies care plans. There are a lot of meetings to attend, in my facility each resident has an annual meeting with staff and family where their care and needs are reviewed, and families can also voice their opinions. We also have monthly meetings where staff from every department (nursing, recreation, dietary, etc) discuss any concerns for every single resident. In summary, the RN job in LTC can feel a bit more "administrative", but in some facilities there is also a lot of hands on, direct care of residents. In my facility, RNs and LPNs act in almost the same capacity, but in some places you may see the LPN doing the vitals, medications and treatments and the RN doing the assessments and family and interdisciplinary communication and

I think that this is a very rude response. If you don't like the person's question, feel free to not respond to it. Additionally, I disagree with your statement. Nursing is a broad field, and I don't think it can be boiled down to "deals with the actual human body". I also think that it is important that nursing deals with "how social conditions affect people". Sure, nursing, especially acute care, is very focused on the pathophysiology of the human body, but I think understanding social conditions is paramount to any nursing role. Social determinants of health, interpersonal care, all of these things are relevant to BOTH social work and nursing. As for OP's question: there are some nursing roles that look very similar to a social worker, particularly in community health. For example, the home care case manager role in my community is currently filled by a social worker, but could also be done by a nurse (one of several examples). Both do psychosocial assessments and help clients access the resources they need and provide supports. Since I am a nurse, not a social worker, it's a bit easier for me to explain the differences in nursing. Nursing does encompass more of a biological element to its care though. If you are in acute care, this can look very medical-based, with doing a lot of physical assessments and interventions. In other settings, even community settings you will be considering the biological aspect of things as well as the socioenvironmental ones. A mental health nurse will be assessing for biological dimensions of medications, illnesses, etc that are working along with social factors of that client's life. A social worker would not have that biological knowledge to necessarily consider those factors (although their expertise probably involves other considerations that nurses aren't meant to have). Both are valuable careers, and if you are still in the early stage of deciding a career, I can see why both of these came to mind because they have a lot in common: they stem from wanting to help and care for other people and often involve similar assessments and interventions. You have to decide what type of work environment you think suits you best, and what your skills and strengths are. I recommend researching the different types of roles that nurses and social workers can have. Both work in a wide variety of settings and with different populations. IF you get a chance to job shadow someone in either profession, that may also help you decide where you are best suited to work. Best of luck

Thank you Frances81! Your input is helpful. I do have a bit of experience in perinatal nursing, as I did a one term specialization in perinatal health and my final practicum in LDRP. It's something I have a bit of experience in, but no jobs available when I graduated. I did some time in general surgery, and have accepted a position in LTC for the time being as it just worked better with my current personal situation. Although I have some perinatal knowledge and experience as a student, I don't know how relevant it would be for PHN jobs down the road, so I will definitely look into coursera options that can help build my credibility and show my commitment and interest to this field.

When I was a student, my preceptor was also a relatively new grad who had been practicing only a couple years. I was surprised by this initially, but I think it worked out great. She could relate to being a student and a lot of my experiences because she had been there not too long before. I've never preceptored, but I when I think about what made mine so great, a few things come to mind. She was always patient and didn't make me feel stupid for asking questions or being unsure of myself. Once she got to know and observe me for a couple weeks, she gradually increased the amount of "freedom" she gave me but I also never felt abandoned. She was always available. I think being a good preceptor comes down to personality, both of you and the student, but probably the best thing you can do is put yourself in their position and try to remember what it was like to be a student - unsure, anxious, slow. If you can start off on the right foot without getting mad or impatient at the student, they will also start to feel comfortable with you. I had heard horror stories of students with mean or scary preceptors, and so I was initially very nervous around mine. Once I saw that she was kind and patient, I became more comfortable with her and that put me more at ease in my practicum. Best of luck!

I would rather not specify my province, but I know there are many different roles of public health nurses. I am particularly interested in well-baby clinics and perinatal issues, as well as routine immunization for general population. What are the best ways to prepare for that? I am interested in taking a Masters in Public Health later in life, but don't know that that would really be a route to a public health nurse job.

Thanks Fiona. I actually already work casual at the facility I'm interested in taking a position in, and RNs here do provide direct patient care, alongside LPNs. But it's good to know that those types of RN opportunities exist, maybe I would like to pursue this in a few years as well. I guess to sum up my post, my dream job is in public health. But in the meantime, I'm left unsure what I should do, as I am not enjoying my current acute care job, and I've been given an opportunity for LTC that I'm considering. I'm trying to keep an open mind and be open to different experiences, but at the same time I want to set myself up for a track towards my long term goals.

Thanks for the feedback. Any public health job descriptions I have seen have been somewhat vague which is why I've been unsure of what kind of experience is best to start out as a new nurse. I thought that LTC might be good because as a nurse in this setting, you develop relationships with clients and are more involved in multi-dimensional aspects of health, such as their social, spiritual and mental health and tying it all together with appropriate resources and consults. While I know that is supposed to happen in acute settings as well, the reality is that you are prioritizing their most acute physical health needs and don't necessarily have time to get into their deeper background. When I think of public health, I think of "looking at the big picture", and I think LTC does that as well.

Hi there, I am currently a new RN working on an acute hospital unit. I have been unhappy here since I started, not sure if it is because of my particular unit environment or that I am overwhelmed by acute care. I have been given an opportunity to work LTC, and it has become increasingly appealing to me. One thing I enjoy about LTC is really getting to know your clients and build relationships with them that are a lot different than hospital patients who have a lot of acute needs and are admitted for shorter times. I should stress that I am considering LTC because I genuinely like the idea, and also because I think it would be a less stressful alternative to where I am currently working and unhappy (it's not because I have no other options and am just trying to get hours in before something else comes along). However, I have a couple reservations. I am worried that I will lose a lot of my acute care skills should I ever decide to go back that way. Also, public or community health is where I would ultimately like to end up, in a few years. Is LTC a good route for getting into public health, or would I be better off sticking in acute care for now (even in a different unit). As an aside, what is your advice for how to get into public health? Are there certain courses/experience I should try to get in the next couple years that would make me a more appealing candidate?