alitak

I do not agree with your logic at all. There is such a great need, and to say that a LPN does not fill that need is crazy, and uninformed. To read what you wrote tells me a lot about you. You mentioned money foremost. Is that what true Nursing is all about? For all the LPN's out there, there is absolutely NO reason to make any excuse for why you became a LPN. Be proud of your achievement. All you LPN's out there need to teach these people how to treat you. RN's need to respect LPN's, period.. I said my piece. PEACE

Thanks for the info, and advice. I guess I need to change how I am viewing the whole orientation process. But 3 days? That isn't even enough time to safely discern one patient from another, especially in LTC, where residents look so similiar, y'know?.. Anyway, I guess I need to get my attitude right, or decide that LTC just isn't for me, I don't know. I just know that if there was 2 weeks available for orientation, even if it didn't take me that long to adjust, just knowing that I had that in place would mean the world to me. It sounds like that is a pipe dream, apparently. I probably do belong in a clinic/office setting. Thanks...

Hello Bala Shark, Very excellent job - you passed. You must feel awesome about that. You are one of the few, the proud, and the infamous.. just kidding. You are now a Nurse! Great job!!! Much Congrats to you!!! God Bless..

Hello, I would seriously like to know. In Eastern WA., most facilities will only offer a new LPN grad (1) week orientation at a LTC facility. I would think that with the acuity level - a month would be appropiate, even 2 weeks would feel right. Come on, RN's will receive TON's of time in a pediatric setting, orientating- So, on the flip-side, that must mean that Geriatrics just do not rate very high. Pretty lame. Can someone who might know, tell me why things are so messed up in the Nursing field overall.... I had an interview with a RN supervisor, in a LTC facility recently, tell me as a new LPN grad applicant that, "People either are able to get "IT", in a week, or they're not." What total B.S. I swear... God Bless...

Thanks to all for the great, positive suggestions. I really appreciate it. I realize that there are other options for licensed Nurses, and I will be trying my best to find the right job for me. This website is really great, because there are so many positive people on here, and it is a nice source for info and support. Thanks again, God Bless...

I am not exactly sure why I became a Nurse in the first place, I guess because I always wanted to work with people. I was a commercial fisherman for many years, and worked trades jobs in the off-season. I graduated from a abusive, horrible LPN program almost a year ago. I recently worked a crazy, multi-physician urgent-care clinic job for about a month, before I got dismissed. I felt I was doing a decent job, and even had a couple of Doctors tell me I was doing good, and to hang in there. The 12 hour shifts were absolutely terrible, and the crush of patients was even worse. The sad thing, is that I was learning a tremendous amount, and was really starting to understand the position. I'm not sure where to go at this point in time. I really don't like LTC, but I respect it, and think that the Nurses that work in that environment are true angels in disguise. I have had some positive interviews since, with specialty clinics in the community (Population > 200,000) , with no success. It seems they would rather hire a Medical assistant, than a LPN. I have fears about LTC, as there is a crazy patient load, and no real orientation process.. Not sure where to go from here, except to change careers, or dive head first into LTC........

I recently became a LPN. I went to the University of Alaska-Anchorage for my training (if you want to call it that). It was probably the roughest experience of my entire life, and this is coming from a good, intelligent, hard-working man who worked in the trades, and commercial fished in Alaska for many years. There was practically a mutiny the school-year before, and still the administration did nothing. I have zero respect for that school of Nursing. The program I attended was about surviving, not learning. The instructors there were the most devious, lazy, abrasive, incompetent people that I have ever met in my life. They played favorites, preyed on the weak, and headhunted the students that they disliked. What makes me sick is that the program is now accredited. My current situation is this: I moved to eastern WA., and there seems to be no formal orientation process in most LTC facilities. I feel woefully unprepared, and feel that I would be drowning in responsibility in a nursing position. I am seriously considering going on for my RN degree, to get a proper education. Many assisted living places now hire Med techs. I should have listened to that RN in seattle - "Why would you go for LPN? Get your RN degree." Hindsight is 20/20 - I know.