ActiveRN305

LTAC is very hard. As a matter of fact, if you are willing to take a position that would offer you full-time, take it. You will be trained with critical drips, vents, wound care, and believe me, if you can hang with LTAC, you will have plenty, plenty of acute care skills to offer. I would say go for it. Then, get some ICU resources, and also why not join a AJN, or any other organization where you will have access to new and updated changes. Look, even when I worked acute rehab recently, I was taking care of patients to had open heart surgery a week prior OK. Here is the deal, long term care, and acute rehabs are getting sicker and sicker patients, and, the patient to care ratio is crazy, 20:1 or even 30:1. You can do anything you want, anything. You can BE any nurse you want. Remember that.

I used to work in the ER, and had to take a break from the ED, and then I got a job working in a LTC/ Acute rehab. it was avery very rough LTC center , nothing like the ER and I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge, after recovering from a terrible auto accident that resulted in misdiagnosed, severe pubic rami fracture ( I worked 2 months in the ED without knowing it either). The patient to nurse ratio was 20:1 on the acute rehab unit, and, 30:1 on the LTC side. Of course we used SBARS. We had SBARS, preprinted, and I often stapled or paper clipped them together and we often used them as report sheets, quite useful. What I enjoyed about the LTC unit. I worked with very very tough nurses, learned how to manage multiple, complex and often unstable patients in well, a supposedly "stable" unit. Back in the ER, and acute care settings, I love a challenge, team work, collaboration, making a difference, which I do.

My take here is that nurses in general, especially lately, are under the gun for so much going on. It is really tough on the new talent, new nurses that are having to undergo and deal with this pandemic crisis at hand. We deal with so much negativity at times, wether it be a a doctor, charge nurse, collegue and family member. we need to cut each other some slack when it comes to dealing with behavior or, reactions that make us wonder if there is a lack or respect or incivility behind the tone. Please be kind to yourself, and also a good idea Is to subscribe to podcasts, for example, emcrit/ art of emergency nursing, etc.. are great resources. Please don't think of me as pollyanna, I want to share the love, resources, and, a good ear if you need it. We are in this covid hell together, be nice, empathetic, and helpful if you can. Stay safe

im here for the free apple juice and turkey sandwhiches, LOL! Just kidding, well I am hear to just hear other's stories, maybe get some advice or clear perspective, offer advice, and, stay up to date, and learn.

I’ll ride my horse, right with you...my bow and arrow, and fight the apocalypse that we all know it’s coming. oh we know it’s coming.. so let’s ride ?????⚡️??!!

I am new here so I definitely wanted to edit the past Paragraph and was not sure how to do it. I mend to say: Sorry if this sounds like a rant, but I want to speak up that NOT all middle age nurses feel entitled. They want to be part of the team, grow, make a different not only to the patients, but to the institution. Thank you, Stay safe.

In reading alot of these posts, I really appreciate all of everyone's input. Being and older and seasoned nurse or younger nurse, does not give you the right to complain, feel entitled, or make excuses for bad behavior. Earlier in my career, unfortunately, I experienced alot of this behavior, especially uncivility and complaints about getting the worst patients, feeling overloaded, etc, and my real first RN job was in skilled care and often I was assigned to the sickest patients, complicated patients, etc, and made it priority to see the most sickest and time consuming patient and only asking for help when I needed it. And really not complained that much but kept my head in the grind and if I needed help from charge, or there was a really difficult patient that was time consuming, then I would ask for help. The interesting thing here is, along my career, I was often commended for being a team player, without complaints and just working hard, however, because I did not speak up about unfair situations, and DID speak up, then that shuffled the cards a little bit. But when it comes to patient care, safety is priority, and I learned the hard way from entitled older and younger nurses is that you have to speak up professionally, otherwise, then other nurses will run all over you. There was a time, whilst working in a busy ER, that there was a supervisor that was constantly berating me in front of patients and other coworkers, and I made an effort to speak to her about the behavior which was not appropriate. The behavior continued, I went to management, then was ignored, then I had to go to HR, which is one thing I did not want to do. At this particular job, I had been there for almost 6 years, and considered myself a team player, especially when I observed coworkers struggling and went in to help. This supervisor was middle age, like me, but she seemed entitled to treat me like a redheaded step child multiple times on shift. I guess this made me an easy target, because I had just lost my dad, saw him dead in the morgue, and I was still healing from grief. The behavior continued, HR did nothing, and I developed a powerlessness that I would not want anyone to endure and resigned from the position to take care of an ill family member overseas. I never felt entitled to anything other than fair, respectable treatment. And when I did speak up, was not taken seriously. A personal mission was to learn, be a team player, treat others respectively, and I even wanted to charge a few times, and even when I was able to, under this particular supervisor's watch, the assignment was changed, or not even considered. It was as if my professional growth was being blocked. It was certainly not that I wanted the younger nurse to have to charge, and me shirk my responsibility, it was I was being gaslighted, and manipulated, and no one did nothing. It did a number on my professional self esteem because no one did anything and HR did nothing to this very entitled supervisor. Sorry if this sounds like a rant, but I want to speak up that all middle age nurses feel entitled. They want to be part of a team, grow, and make a difference not only to the patient's but to their institution. Stay safe.