turtle rain

Hi all, I am currently an LPN and I am employed at an assisted living facility. I have been at this facility since I graduated nursing school almost 2 years ago. I thought I fully understood that "real life" nursing would be much different then nursing school. However I was not prepared for the daily ethical compromises I feel forced to make. The facility I work for has nearly 60 residents and there is one nurse assigned to them per shift. As many others here have posted, "assisted living" is a very ambiguolous term and many people with varying degrees of care needs fall into this category - bluntly put, as long as someone has the money they are appropriate for our facility. The DON does not make the decision as to who is appropriate for the faciility, the "intake coordinator" who has no medical background does. Med passes are difficult to finish due to the increasing acuity level of residents, constant interruptions from Dr's, families, pharmacy, etc and when challenging situations arise, the lpn is always put on adminstrative leave by management --nurses rarely come back once that occurs. I have looked for other positions but have found that already I am pigeon-holed because I have done "only" assisted living. Not to mention the job market here like most areas is very challenging. I worked hard through nursing school and graduated at the top of my class, but I am quickly realizing that I won't be in this industry for long - -

Thought I would update my OP. I did take a position as an STNA in a sub-acute rehab facility and have been there for 8 months. I have since graduated and passed boards and am hoping to be tackling my 1st LPN job soon. Either at the facility I am at or an assisted living/alzheimer's facility. The aide experience has been invaluable. So to answer my own question yes! having STNA experience was very much needed. Thanks to all those who have added their thoughts and wisdom.

Hi luvmyguys, Like you I graduated June 12 and my name was listed as pending 10 days ago. I received my ATT yesterday and have a test date scheduled for 8/16. The situation is frustrating and I wish you the best of luck ~~ I bet you hear something soon!!

Thanks to all of you for the helpful comments. jb, I had forgotten about the 800 number option. Of course I could never not report abuse and if it ever happens again I will be sure to go about reporting it in a more professional manner. I just need to pick myself up, learn from this and move on. You guys are great.

Crying, Try again! Try not to dwell on this snag and just do it again. I know one thing that helped me out was talking my way through each step as I completed each skill. Weird but it worked. Good luck!

I did about a year and a half ago and it went just fine. There is a written portion which we did first and then as we finished up they had us do the skills test. Handwashing was first and then they randomly select 3 more skills to do - I had applying restriants, hair care and the dreaded perineal care. The biggest mistake I made was not properly draping the dummy for privacy. My instructor had told us not to do that so the evaluator could truly see you were using the right techniques. Despite that I passed. Good luck to you please let us know how it goes

kizetti, Chem 100 is okay, I didn't like Chemistry in highschool either (also a long time ago for me) but as long as you study regularly --for me an hour every night-- you should be just fine. Remember to reach out to your instructor if you begin to get lost, also I found some great chem websites online. Best of luck to you!

yousoldtheworld, I did not quit in the middle of a shift, I did call-off in advance for my evening shift and went into the facility to have that meeting with the DON and the unit supervisor. After the meeting went so poorly I felt like my safest move would be to quit then and there. I had never spoken to either the DON or the unit supervisor before and neither one offered any encouragement whatsoever. I was accused of lying, (because I backed down when they had me and the co-worker I saw hurting the resident together in the nurses office the day it happened. ) I was told that I would never be eligible for rehire within the corporation. The DON's only advice to me was to never share a hall with anyone again. In other words to always divide the hall equally between myself and my co-worker. That way they would know who was responsible for what. The DON wanted me to give a full 2 weeks notice, but I just felt like I had made too many enemies at that point - a lot can happen in 2 weeks! My understanding is that the woman I worked with that shift was also reprimanded. I've read other posts and some posters encourage "looking the other way" and never to complain in order to keep your job. That can't be right, but it certainly would have made saving my reputation easier. Oddly enough, I have an interview with another facility next week - I had applied at this place awhile back. What do I say about this event? How do I protect myself and my residents? What confidence I had gained over the last few weeks is gone!

Hi all, After about 40 days at my first LTC facility as an STNA I quit without giving a 2 week notice. I am devastated. I can't believe it happened - during my time there I witnessed several abusive events - this facility is a larger one and I was being floated on all the different units as well as working both 1st and 2nd shifts - so I never really developed any bonds with my co-workers. The last abusive event I witnessed with my co-worker, who is also an STNA and she went with me and I reported it to the nurse on duty. The nurse immediately had me in her office along with the aide I reported as being abusive. I felt very intimidated by the other STNA (she has a lot of friends who work there) and backed down. Today I was called into the DON's office ( on my day off) and was formally reprimanded for not reporting the other events the day they occurred. In addition I was reprimanded for lack of care during a shift the previous week (bad personal care). I was shocked. I felt like I had been doing a good job and many of the residents often thanked me for the good care I gave them. I felt that at this point I was in a no-win situation so I quit without giving a 2 week notice. I have never done that before with any job. I'm guessing that I have really screwed up my future as an STNA or an LPN which I am in school for now. Worst of all the aide who caused the abuse is still there and the resident has lost me as an advocate. Is nursing over for me?

I'm a new STNA at a 180 bed facility with several rehab, ltc and dementia units. I've sort of survived my first 30 days and work a different unit with different co-workers every shift. My problem is I am not fast enough. Everyone says give it time, but I'm frustrated. I really get in trouble when trying to get everyone (up to 12 res) up and in the dining hall for breakfast. Depending on the unit some need complete assistance, some fight you every step of the way and others need just minimal guidance. I know some of the more experienced aides love watching me struggle with this. What do you do to get these folks up quickly? Any advice would be great!

I should apologize to you all - I should not have sounded so glum with my first post - ultimately I got into this to "make a difference". I could have chosen other professions but I knew I would really enjoy working with people on this level. Yes it is hard work and yes we all deserve to be paid fairly for what we deal with on a daily basis -most people I know cringe when I tell them what I do in a typical day! - I can't possibly predict what the outcome of this economy will be, or what "they" will or will not do to the LPN profession, but I do know that had I not chosen to do this I would in fact be jobless now. So, at this point I do consider myself lucky and perhaps the RN path will not seem so daunting once I've had a few months break from school. :hngon:

It's so sad and devastating for me to hear about this. I realize now that I made the wrong choice doing the LPN program at CSCC. CSCC has eliminated the "bridge" program for us to continue on and become RN's and that just happened during the last 2 qtrs of my studies there. I had thought that graduation would be a happy time for me as this is a 2nd career for me and I have been working on classes part-time for over 3 years.I currently work as and STNA in LTC and that was really where my heart was - but even my co-workers state that LPN's will also be phased out in our faciity as well - the acuity level is higher than ever. Going on for an RN at this point seems unimaginable due to finances and having to find another school. Word has it that CSCC does not like to accept it's own LPN's for the RN program. I feel nothing but disheartened and as if I have done all of this hard work for nothing. I think Walmart is in my future. My prayers go out to everyone else facing this challenge and congratulations to all that had the foresight to pursue RN degrees.

Thanks again for everyone's positive comments. I'm finally in a financial position where I can leave my current job (non-health related) and do some STNA work until I graduate. That should really help - I applied at a nearby facility who is currently hiring so I should be making the change soon. Hooray!!

Gonzo - your reply made me smile! Like you I am totally changing careers - I initially had a BFA (fine arts) and have made it work until recently. Never have I had the sense of satisfaction as when I completed my nurse aide clinicals. I'm planning on leaving my current place of employment, take a cut in pay and become the best STNA I can be while I finish up LPN school. Best wishes to you on your new path!:yelclap:

Thanks to all of you for your words of wisdom! I just finished up my last clinical for the quarter and all went well. I actually discovered that part of my problem was anxiety - I was so nervous that I was allowing myself to become so distracted that I would lose track of what I was doing. I tried quitting caffeine this week and it seemed to help with this as well. Today I actually caught that one of residents meds from last month had dropped off of this months MAR - today is the 6th and I was the one who caught it! Thanks again to all of your comments really helped!:redbeathe