hecete

hey, there's nothing wrong with us ltc nurses. i haven't eaten or dismembered anyone lately!!!! i've worked the skilled unit for over 2 yrs. this facility will take a brand new grad. and stick her on the skilled unit,just to make sure the hall has a nurse. most are under the impression they just have to pass meds. we do not have a m.d. in the facility. you have to try to get in touch with them, so you better have some damn good assessment skills, cause you're on your own. we take everything, trachs, pegs, piccs, central lines of any kind. you better have a clue of what you're doing. i don't think it's fair to put a new grad. on a skilled floor without some kind of training. i had a newbie on the other hall, she was over her head from day 1. we have some pretty unstable folks here, you need to know what to look for or they're a code. she lasted about a week before being trans. to the long term unit. i told staffing they didn't do her any favors, and thought it was wrong. she just laughed!!!!!!!:angryfire

i work in ltc. we never refuse anyone. we have trachs, pegs, piccs, various drains, ij's. there are several ltc's in the area that are very selective in the type of resident they take. pegs are very basic. good luck.

state surveys are a "hoot". you see people on the floor you never knew existed. everyone running around like chickens with their heads cut off. we have alot of new grads., when the surveyors see them they latch on to them the entire time they're here. some manage to make it thru without being reemed a new one, some leave in tears. state surveys are not for whimps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i work in ltc, and i can tell you, everyone has had customer service cramed down our throat to the point of gagging. we have had inservice after inservice on the subject. every time someone complains it's another repetaive inservice. try as hard as you can there are some people you just can't please.

i have one of those. 82 yr.old fmale, 350 lbs. been catered to all her life. won't even move her leg by herself. the family comes in everyday, all 6 of them, and wants to know why she isn't making any progress. they created this monster, and expect us to fix her!!!!!!!!!!!!:angryfire

Come To Virginia. My Ltc Facility Will Hire You In A New York Minute. Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm an r.n., in fact, the only r.n. on a skilled floor in a ltc facility. we have a large influx of newly licensed l.p.n.'s on the floor. there are 2 halls 30 residents each hall. a new grad was put on the 7-3 shift, not because of what she knows, but because of who she knows, the staffing coordinator. another lpn that has worked there for 14 yrs. wanted the 7-3 position, but it was given to her . he has gone elsewhere. so, we lost a good seasoned nurse. the floor is very high acuity, trachs, pegs, piccs, and various drains. this grad doesn't have a clue, can't even read a lab report, has no assessment skills, and thinks nursing is just passing meds. we all have tried to help her, but nothing seems to sink in. i don't blame her, i blame the staffing cor., she put her in a postion she wasn't ready for. friday, she was told she could go to the long term care unit or leave. she left in tears. i really feel sorry for her, having her bubble burst so soon after graduating:angryfire .

Over 3/4 Of The Residents Have A Poa Or Rp. None Are Legally Incompetent, It's Merely Their Choice.

YES, THIS IS OUR POLICY. IF ANY RX, MED .ETC. IS REFUSED, THE POA OR RP IS CONTACTED. THIS IS THE POLICY IF MY FACILITY:rolleyes:

i don't work in a e.r. but do work in ltc. i have had customer service crammed down my throat to the point of vomiting. some people you can't please no matter what you do. i'm responsible for 30 residents, usually with 4 cnas. my cnas a excellent and i rely on them, since i can't be everywhere. sometimes we are so busy, residents and family have to wait. i actually had a family member walk in on a code blue and demand a pillow now!! i wanted to rip her face off.:angryfire

i work in a snf rehab center. for the most part they are maintained on "narcs" thru the first week or two after therapy begins. then they are weaned off to a non-narcotic. my biggest problem is other staff members. i work 12 shifts 5 days/wk and know my patients pain levels. the weekend staff, and they only work wekends, are great for putting pts. back on "narcs". i have a pt. that sits in bed and paints pictures all day, no signs of pai, but every monday she is on sched. vicodin. i've asked the nurse not to put her on vicodin, but this has fallen on deaf ears. i finally had to get a order from the attending, not the on-call doc, not to call for a vicodin order. that took care of that problem. now she has moved on to 2 other pts. anything to shut them up so you don't have to deal with them.:flamesonb

i agree, bath time is a great assessment time. we have a bath cna, she gives showers 2x aweek. our wound care pts. have a whirlpool 2x a week. all pts. trach, pegs, piccs receive a shower at least once a week. if they refuse, we contact their poa, unless they are their own rp, usuallt that solves the bath dilemma.

i work in ltc, on the skilled floor. our census is 60, we are constantly filled. we have 3 nurses on 2 shifts, usually 4-5 cna's per shift. many of our residents are here for rehab. only so the turnover is quick. where things go terribly wrong is with corporate. they are more interested in lining their pockets than providing the equiptment, we have no computers, constantly running out of supplies, beds are broken, not enough overlays,not enough equiptment. i can go on forever. the staff on my floor are like family, we watch each others backs, and help each other if we get in a bind. you don't have to ask, you know they'll be there. adm sucks, if nothing is wrong, they'll invent something. the pay is also below standard. another floor has a show room, it's to show what you won't get. the residents rooms are old, broken scratched furniture, broken blinds, broken privacy curtains, but we had a $750.00 xmas tree in the front lobby. everything above the 1st. floor is crap. so to ans your question, is ltc that bad. it depends on how you look at it. i love the residents, and my co-workers, but the rest of it can"bite me":flamesonb

FRESH OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, 17 GRAD AT 21.

I Work In Ltc, Everyone Is On Some Kind Of Bowel Prep. Tubing Is Changed Every Sunday On 11-7, We Only Have Picc Lines, Dressings Are Changed Once A Week If Opsite Is Used, Everyday If Insertion Site Covered By A 2x2. If These Are Not Done We Have The State Crawling Up Our Butts. We Use Oral Balance For Oral Care And It's Great. I Guess Trimming Fingernails And Toenails Is Our Downfall. We Just Started A Program Where The W.cn. Assistant Will Do Nails. Usually, The Np Will Do The Diabetics.

yuck, you can definately diagnose c-diff by the unforgetable smell. i actually had another nurse order stool for c-diff on a resident that was constipated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WORK 12 HR. SHIFTS IN LTC, WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

clogs rule!!!!!!!!! i work 12 hr. shift 5 days a week, they're are the only way i can keep going. my feet don't hurt or burn at the end of the shift. if i had to give up my clogs i'd have to find a new line of work.

i work in ltc and have had similar problems with cnas. for the most part, they are really good, but the younger ones coming on board now, have a mouth and attitude and know how to use it. they are constantly bitching about being overworked, breaks, lunch times and on and on. they do so much bitching they can't get their work done. i've actually told several to clock out and go, but then extra stress and work is on the good remaining cnas. it's really a no win situation you're damn if you do and damn if you don't.:angryfire

WHAT GIFT, NO SUCH THING WHERE I WORK.

omg, let me tell you about a new grad on my unit, she works on the opposite hall. i overheard a phone call to a md telling him a resident needed her insulin increased. i asked her how long this had been going on she replied for 2 weeks. i told her she should look for another reason why her b.s was going up, ie infection etc. she never relayed the entire story to the md. to make a long story short, did a ua she was sloughing off renal cells and her bun was 269 cr. 9.9. needless to say the resident is in dialysis, and the grad didn't have a clue. the grad came in the next day and said she felt so sorry for the resident, never admiting or taking any responsibility for the residents condition.

Amen Sister!!!! I Too, Work In Ltc, And It's A Zoo. Corporate Is So Damn Greedy We Don't Have Functioning Equiptment, Under Staffed And Everything That's Wrong Is Nursing's Fault. We All Have Learned The Only Way To Cya Is To Constantly Pile Up The Paper. We Document Everything From A Md Refusing To See A Resident, To Pharm. Not Sending Meds On Time Etc. They , Corporate, Really Don't Care Who's To Blame As Long As They Have A Name To Pin It On. We All Carry Our Own Libality Ins, We Have Each Other's Back All The Time, And I Think That Helps A Great Deal. I Asked For An Ekg Machine, We Have Alot Of Coronary Resident, Was Told No, They Would Have To Hire Someone To Teach Us How To Read It. I'm A Former Icu Nurse And Know How To Read It. Corporate Makes Me Sick, They Just Want To Line Thier Pockets At The Expense Of The Residents, And Don't Give A Damn About Their Staff!!!!!!!!!!!

Iam So Frustrated, I Can't Stand It!! I Am An R.n. Of 30 Years And Work In An Snf. We Take Everything And Anything Here, Anything No-one Else Will Take. We Have A Lot Of New Grads. A Situation Arose Last Week That Really Sent Me Into A Frenzy. I Was Charting At The Nurses Station And Overheard A Conversation Between A New Grad And An M.d. The Grad Told The Md This Residents Blood Sugar Was Up Over 400, And Got An Order For 60 U Of Lantus. The Resident Is A Tube Feeder And Getting A Diabetic Feeding, Also Unresponsive, Not Stuffing Her Face With Candy. I Asked The Grad How Long Her Sugar Was That High, She Replied It Was Going Up For A Week. Looked At The Chart And Told Her She Should Look For Another Reason Why Her Sugars Were Up, I.e. Infection, She Should Culture Trach, Blood Urine And Stool, And To Call The Md Back And Give Him The Whole Story, Since This Is An On-call Doc., He Doesn't Know The Resident. Due To A Emergency On My Hall Iwas Not Able To Follow Up On The Situation Until The Next Day. She Did Not Make The Call Back And Nothing Was Done Until I Came In The Next Day. The Resident Had Such A Severe Uti She Was Sloughing Off Renal Cells. I Tried Again To Explain What Happened To The Grad, She Didn't Want To Hear It, Became Furious And Stomped Off. I Now Feel Like I Have To Monitor Her Residents Along With Mine, Which Pushes The Ratio Up To 36:1. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where I Work, In Snf, The Situation Is Probably The Same. The Grads They Are Turning Out Now Leave Alot To Be Desired. To Work In This Snf You Have To Multi-task Your Whole Shift. These New Grads Can Barely Pass Meds, Forget About Doing A Pt. Assesment. Don't Know How Many Times I've Found Trachs Plugged, G-tubes Draining On The Bed Etc. You Can Talk Til You're Blue In The Face, They Just Don't Get It!!!!

First Born Etoh Father,mother Tea-totler, Both Sides Of Family Etoh Abusers.