walkingon

J.Adderton…I wish I knew. Maybe they had to interview a certain number of candidates or something. Just wish they’d have been straight up about it. Frustrating with no feedback to know what I’d done wrong. But the job hunt carries on.

This happened to me very recently. Red flag #1: not hearing from the company for nearly three weeks after the initial interview. (at this point, I already knew they probably weren’t interested and wasn’t hopeful, but played along anyway because I really wanted the job). Red flag #2: job shadow scheduled nearly two weeks after that phone call. Red flag #3: noting that the job kept getting re-posted while waiting. Red flag #4: showing up to said job shadow and told I could observe two different employees for 15 minutes apiece, then being rushed out. Rejection email 3 days later. I had enthusiastic recommendations from several of the company’s own employees that I’ve been working with at my present job for years and was very confident I could handle the work. I did everything I could think of; had answers for interview questions prepared, showed up a little early, dressed appropriately, didn’t ask about pay or benefits, kept my body language as relaxed as I could. 3 days after the job shadow, I got an email rejection. Not gonna lie, it was pretty hurtful.

Thanks for raising awareness on this topic! Just wanted to add that, for those on Reddit, there is a sub with a wealth of information and support for menopausal women. It’s been super-helpful to me and lots of others. r/menopause

Thank you for that useful comment! No sarcasm intended at all. We did, very recently, get a new phone system with a phone tree and voice mail that automatically routes the calls to the appropriate staff (mostly), and that’s solved about 75% of the problem. I’m now using the “and then what” approach to answer the calls that still come through, because I do truly need to take some of them, but still waiting for management to complain about it so I can ask about how I’m to prioritize.

I’m no longer happy at my job in AL memory care and haven’t been for awhile but not wanting to leave nursing because there are so many other opportunities out there. I’m not a young woman, though, and only have nursing home experience. Not sure what route to go. Only prerequisite is I have to have healthcare insurance. Just want out of the nursing home and away from bedside, been there 10 years. Any suggestions for this LPN?

Sounds like a dream job to me! How does one find such a position, and is 10 years as a floor SNF/AL LPN qualification enough?

Thank you so much for this! I actually made a paper with these bullet points and taped it to my clipboard for referral to make this train of thought a habit. Already knew this as well, but the biggest time-suck I face is having to answer the facility phone throughout my shift. We don’t have a receptionist nor voice mail and the nurses are expected to answer the phone, take messages and run the portable phone to residents when their families want to talk. Not sure how to prioritize around that.

No, it’s a small memory care assisted living facility. State watches us set and pass meds from our trays when they’re in the house.

JKL33, I feel really dumb asking this, but could you expound on the difference between patient’s (in my case, resident’s) needs and employer’s preferences/fantasies? Something inside really took notice of that statement and made me realize I have a hard time separating the two. I’m often the only day shift nurse with a QMA and 3 or 4 CNAs for 36 - 39 residents so any kind of direction on time management is helpful as the comments above.

The dining room is where we pass the meds at my facility. We pre-set the meds on trays with their patient identifiers and take the trays around rather than drag the cart. Never heard of not being allowed to pass meds in the dining room. We don’t do glucose checks in there, but meds, yes.

Thank you for the information! Wasn’t sure how it worked. ?

Slightly off topic here, but how does one join a union when there are none locally? I live a union-busting at-will employment state. Is it possible to join one elsewhere?

Where I work, (memory care AL) men with a hx of documented sexual behaviors are given IM Depo-Provera, which generally works pretty well from what I’ve seen. Of course, families are consulted and give consent.

As a memory care nurse, my co-workers and I work under a shadow of threat of violence daily. How do you fight back when you’re fighting restraint-free cognitive impairment? How do you deal when you’re getting your a** kicked by a delusional person who will hurt themselves or someone else without your intervention? The really bad ones we can send out to geri psych, but it’s the ones that “only” hit while having care provided that management doesn’t seem to care about, as long as said hitting is going on in the privacy of the resident’s room and CNAs and nurses are the ones being hit. I find it interesting that if a resident becomes agitated and hits another resident, it’s a state reportable huge deal, but it’s just another day at the office for staff getting hit. I can certainly understand that these people have dementia and don’t know what they’re doing, but that doesn’t keep our CNAs working when they get tired of it and find jobs elsewhere, which just exacerbates the problems of continuity of care. The violence generally gets worse during GDR attempts, which is a whole other ball of wax. I feel there is no recourse for us due to the nature of this particular beast.

I wish I had the stones to do this. I’m just a LPN working AL, but >30:1 is getting old. I will probably lose my job and be blackballed where I live, should I attempt to organize in this right to work State.

I'm a LPN in this position. Would love to get my RN, but my employer doesn't offer tuition reimbursement. I went to the local community college to check out their transition program and was told I would basically have to start nursing school over because my vocational school credits wouldn't transfer. Can't fathom running up thousands in student loans for 15, maybe 20 more years of work, but I would go back right away if I could somehow get it paid for, at least in part. Maybe I just need to find a new job.

I work with some pretty seasoned nurses that STILL struggle with giving that last dose of roxanol, although we work closely with hospice and have been educated ten ways to Sunday on pain control. I have found, in fact, many families request the roxanol/lorazepam/atropine be given ATC on schedule to ensure their loved one is not in pain. Never felt that I caused a death giving pain meds as ordered, and I try to be in that room right at scheduled time with them even if it's q2h and my day's gone to pot.

Worked at two different SNF before the AL I work at now and the ratios Brandon described were comparable. 19: or 20:1 where I work now.

How did you get into case management? Seems like around where I live you need to be a RN for MDS or case management. Would love to get a chance at that kind of job!

Our facility does nothing for Nurse's Week other than to say thank you in the daily meeting. They talk a good talk about how wonderful and appreciated we are, but the lack of action kind of negates the words. I don't expect big expensive gifts, but this is what really nags at me about it: our facility is more than profitable enough that they could at least cater in a lunch or something. Feels like a big middle finger to all us nurses.

It was one of these shifts from hell yesterday, what a relief to walk out of there knowing I was off today!

No way could I stay awake for night shift. If I thought I could, I'd totally do it. No meals to work around, no demanding family members, no state, no management, and a little bit better pay.

Probably the most concise and accurate description of LTC nursing I've ever read.

No way would I take that job. I work in a small AL memory care facility. Most often, I am charge nurse working with one QMA and 3 CNAs (day shift) for 40 people, and it's very, very difficult...so much so that I'm contemplating leaving long-term care altogether even though I love it. In my experience, second shift is usually not as well-staffed as day shift, which can be a problem if you have a lot of sundowning residents and family members (that work during the day and come to see residents in the evenings) wanting information about their loved ones. Your QMAs, even if they're awesome workers, can't do nursing tasks. The thing that sticks in my craw about your post, though, is that you'd be responsible for finding coverage for call-offs. Nope nope nope. If your facility is like mine, our admin is constantly scrambling to try to find coverage for CNA call-offs. I can't see one nurse trying to keep up with 60 residents and be on the phone trying to staff the place at the same time....God help you if anyone falls or needs to be sent out! RUN, don't walk away from this offer!!!

I wish there were something similar for LPNs, I would gladly study for, pay for and take that course!