Buddha

Congradulations! I too left a 6 year LTC job after much abuse. I love my new job, I am sure you will too. It took a few months at my new job to feel like home, but now it feels great. I hear from friends that the abuse at my old job continues, I feel for my friends left behind and tell them that the grass is green at the other side, suprisingly even if the manure is on the oppisite side of the fence.

Hello I am a charge nurse in LTC and have been one for 9 years. Basically, your are a supervisor for the hall or dept assigned, maybe for a facility if a RN is not avaible. I have a hall I am responsile for ( i.e. and making sure the CNA's are completeing their assigments) plus I am the one the others are reporting too for difficulties and call off's. Sometimes if there is a complaint from a family I am the one that it gets reported to and I then pass it along to the right party. I mainly am the charge nurse after the dept heads are gone for the day and on the weekends. You can email me if you have any more questions.

The top five in Ohio LTC. 1. EC ASA-well, we gotta have heart 2. colace- for the anal obessed 3. Vioxx- we are a rehab facility aren't we? 4. Remeron- appetite stimulant and anti-depressive a two for one punch 5. Lortab- who wants to wait for the ES acetiomethophin anymore :rotfl:

I admit i have never treated an illegal in LTC. I have treated an elderly people whom were basicaly abandoned in my facility, whom our home was eating the cost of their stay. We would purchase out of our own pockets whatever that person needed, without question. I just feel that their needs to be a better way. I bet if you went to Mexico or any other country we wouldn't get the same treatment we give here. Yes I believe in America and all it's ideals and treat all my patients with respect ,but I feel chairty begins at home to our people.

I live in a little community in central Ohio were we are having an explosion of illegal aliens from Mexico. We as a county are going in the red trying to provide equal support and services to this group. Our legal services have had to make an emergency levcy to get money in our budget just to provide an interperter to communicate with them in court. Heck even our Wal-mart is adding Spanish directions to all their products. Just last night I was in the ER with my son and it was totally filled with mexicans.The triage nurse said most were illegal and the were in every Tueday like clockwork d/t they did not have services of a primary doctor. The ER is required to provide it and not report. She said it was best not to show up on this night as a bus from the next county's egg farm dropped them off at nine and came the next morning to pick them up. As a nurse I can see the need for health services, as a taxpayer I am angry. I feel the egg farm whom is providing the jobs should support their healthcare.It seems a big expense for all middle income Americans to provide. :angryfire The low income employers should share some of the taxpayers expense.These employers are getting low wage labor and expecting us to provide their healthcare.

Congradulation on becoming a nurse BTW. THe previous posts are pretty accurate. I started out on 11-7 many years ago but had a fantastic mentor to help me. If your going to be the only nurse in your building on nights I would rethink becoming broken in on this shift. Not having another nurse to share ideas with or Back you up is pretty unnerving .Hope you get somebody fantastic to orientate you to your building. 7-3 is more busy but you have many more hands to help when the going gets rough. And having an MD a phone call away can make your day. Believe me I hate calling the docs at night. Thats a whole 'nother thread LOL good luck in nursing it's a wonderful and rewarding job.

I was working 11-7 in an one hundred bed LTC facility at night when I heard a loud thump at the end of a hall. Our facility was X shaped and the nurses station is at the center. The other nurse was on break and since the girls were doing rounds I walked to the end of the hall to see if someone fell or was walking around. As I was getting to the end of the hall it was progrssively getting colder ansd colder and I could see my breathe smoke into the air during July! I was geting the creeps but walked on hoping whomever was on the floor better be ok. I got to the end and turned into the room where an elderly couple was sharing a room and called out for "Bertie" asking if he was ok when i heard some one reply that "I am better, thank you for asking." and felt a hand on my shoulder that sent me jumping into the air at least a foot. I turned and NO ONE was standing there. I hurridly turned the light switch on almost peeing my pants and saw that both of the couple died in their sleep. I ran down the hall and back to the station where I meet the other nurse whom got report for that room. When I told here what happened she wasn't surprised as they were telling everyone that day that they were ready to go as it was their aniversary. I can never walk into that room with out getting the creeps.

My ex-BIL stole a script pad from a doc during a visit for an employment phyisical. He wrote about a dozen scripts for narcs, think it was Percocet and Methadone. He was caught and served three years in prison, my SIL divorced him, and he he now is in a hallf way house in Florida. In Ohio we took this crime seriously and he paid for this. The doctor whom he stole it from didn't think it was a waste of time to go to court, he felt it was his duty to help d/t my BIL needed to get caught. IT IS A CRIME.

I love LTC. Please leave this in General Please Moderators so my felllow nurses can read it, and it won't be lost in the shuffle, OK. PLEASE. I LOVE LTC! Yes! I admit it. I love older adults who having lived all their lives with their family and their homes decide after heartbreaking moments that it is a better choice to come live with me, a nurse who decided that she would dedicate her career to these older adults. A Nurse who would share their holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, good moments and bad with them. A Nurse who would hold their hand at moments of laughter, tears, heartbreak, and even Death. A Nurse who would give them a helping hand to get ready for the day, to help them walk, to help them talk, to help them live their last remaining days with dignity and friendship, that's why I work in LTC. I'm sorry it a late night and I am not that articulate tonight, but I had to write these ramblings after reading another thread, that LTC hooks elderly adults to feeding tubes to get more $$. I'm sorry as the Nurse don't have that right to make that decision for them. I'm too busy holding their hands. Don't Flame me please, but if any nurse wants to know how I do my job in LTC. Can PM me at this address. I be willing to share. THANK YOU.

As a Nurse I am embarressed by what happened, but wonder what the ratio per Pt/Nurse was and wonder what was the unit manager in charge was doing. Checks and Balances is definently needed here. My sympathy goes out to the familys of both women.

They are two threads started by this same person on AllNurses. As I can symphatize with this poster it does no good to FLAME people whom are trying to help her/him. I agree with Angus,Erin, and the others whom posted replies in a mature manner and disagree with anyone whom chooses not to listen to the truth.

BRAVO ANGUS

I work in LTC. I am a LPN who has worked for 9 years here and in diffrent facilities. I have taken phone orders, transcribed orders from transfers,office visits, and have done monthy change-overs. I have even wrote orders for a DNR with another nurse co-signing with me. NEVER has any MD,RN, or State Survayor(SP?) came to me ands said that I could not sign for it. I know for a fact it's the same for all the LPN's I ever worked for also.

We-Rn I totally agree with your post. I LOVE LTC and have no reason to leave it, I just placed my own grandma in mine for needed Rehab to recover from a two week hospital stay. If I coulld take her home believe me I would. Our goal is to be home with home health in less than 60 days. But believe me I am glad I am on medical leave and can devote my time to be with her as she recovers. LTC will never improve untill the goverment implements a Nurse to Patient Ratio, the 1 aide to 15 residents is in effect but what is the LPN/RN patient ratio?? LTC is changing, no longer the days of sweet grandma's in wheelchairs. It's psychotics and homeless who are leaving in LTC. And we (The LTC industry) needs to adjust. The corperations who run these homes needs to look a aquity not cencus and staff accordenly. Many a night we run short d/t needing to pull aides for one on one care for psych patients.

Tap water here.

I love doing PD. Its much like doing a IV. Drain then fill. I work in LTC and had a Pt on a cycler which beeped and alarmed over and over. PD that drained and filled much like a IV was much easier. A dialysis Tech Rn had to train us and I was scared to do it at first but now its like old hat.

I work in a 50 bed Sub-acute unit in LTC. We have 2 nurses, 4-5 CNA'S on days, and 3-4 CNA's on 3-11. The other Nurses try not to have to do patient care as we have 25 pt's each ,but somtimes if I have a free moment I will do ADL's,pass food trays, and answer call lights all of which that the other nurses can't find time for. I got called by a DON I had once that didn't want to pay me overtime to get my charting finished at the end of the day. She told me to quit helping the CNA's. So the next day the CNA's who thought this was foolish, bugged her all day to help. She never said a word about my 15-20 min of overtime again. :roll

Well today was my first day back to work and it sucked. They first had me working an interm side, then pulled me off to do the unit clerk on the subacute side, then on top of it threw 55 changeover assements over that. The the other dept heads thought since I was doing nothing I could make calls for them. The pain was ok but later on in the shift it really hurt. To yop it off the payroll lady told me she doesn't understand WHY i AM WORKING. Gosh get real like i begged my doc to let me work.

Well girls guys and fellow nurses, Today I took and plunge or maybe it was sticking my toe in the water. I called and left a message on my attorney's phone. Well I go off to work tomarrrow (without my narcs Thirdshiftguy) and we see what happens. I personaly think I should at least get a "I am sorry for not getting the parking lot shoveled" but I know the company I work for. No such luck. The maintance man fell three months ago and was just recently fired for not coming back when his FMLA expired he was awaiting surgery. He got a Thank you come back when your better we'll hunt somthing up for you letter. Well today I went in and the DON made me push a med cart to see if it could be done. Tomarrow she wants me to be the nurse on the interm. side LMAO!! I write and let you all know what happens : :roll :roll :roll :roll :roll

I agree to the no-flash camera. Take a picture and make a copy and lay it on their nurses station when no one looking. I bet they stay awake than wondering who noticed their sleeping. Although it would probably last a week with those nurses.

Thank you for moving this Rusty. My doc acutally thought they would just put me on paperwork, I am calling him today. I probaby end up calling a lawyer d/t the stories my friends at work are telling me about previous workers who got shafted. I let you guys know what happens.

I don't know why it ended here i was playing word assasiation tag. Sorry typing with one hand

Hello All could I have Another Nurses prespective! Sunday I fell in the parking lot at work and dislocated my right shoulder. . I had it reset in the ER. Today i went to my ortho and he said That i couldn't use it for a month. OMG! Well the DON at my LTC facility wants me to work on the interm. side of the building I usually work Subacute ,because the ortho put me on light duty and wrote on it note no use of right arm. (I am left handed). He said what can they get a one armed nurse to do. Well i am kinda flabergasted and don't know what to do. I guess I need to tell you guys i was on the clock so its workers comp. If you can believe it I was going to my car to get another stehascope for the agency nurse she forgot hers. Thanks for replying to my need for advice in advance.:imbar