josh1974

I've only been an LPN for 11 months now and am happy with my choice. I was a grunt in the Marines and then a social worker for 7+ years before I went to nursing school. I was 34 when I graduated and went straight into an ltc job right after nclex. I've had to put up a little with the stereotypes, usually an old guy askin me why Im a nurse, and I tell em cause thats where the women are! But my favorite is that a lot of my residents think I'm an MD! I can get things done. Haha. If thats what you wanna do and cant get it outta your head, then do it! Good Luck with whatever you decide. Semper Fi!

We know we are nurses! it grates me at times too, but whatever!

I believe I may be the OP!? LOL! Sounds just like my facility! we were low on census so they started taking whatever they could get. My hall has the most pts, as always, just got a new one today. I havent been this stressed for awhile. Acuity goes up and staff gets cut. Good game plan. I feel for ya original OP! :)

Ask MY residents if Im a real nurse! We L's (in LTC) do everything an R does except iv push lasix and dc piccs. And responsibility? Im charge for 3 halls. Been a nurse for about 8 1/2 months. I have an L with years more experience and a new RN that I, ME, am in charge of. Yeah, we are "real nurses". Don't let anyone ever say different.

Have a friend in Colorado with her ASN and is working at a dr office cause the hospitals in her area only hire BSN's! I resigned from my CNA job and got my LPN job the same day.

Semper Fi corpsman!

WooHoo! lets go! LOL!

If you cant handle stress, look elsewhere.

I'm with ya!

Dude, I did plumbing/hvac for a bit. I was in the Marine Corps for six years (infantry), was a farmer growing up, did a carpentry apprenticeship, got a BA in behavioral and social science and then became a nurse. No regrets here. We need more guys in the profession, cause being the only male nurse at my facility makes me the target of every single nurse, cna, 95 year old dementia lady, etc. LOL! Good luck.

To continue on Dajulieness' post. Intakes, discharges, trach care, suctioning, I n O catheters, replacing a g-tube with my don, helping your cna's, moving tv's for residents, lots of documentation, IV's, hmm, trying to think of what else I did today. Oh yeah, colostomies and urostomies. Answering lights, getting ice, trying to ignore the dementia resident that sits at your med cart mumbling about stuff. Don't get me started on the prn narcs! lol. But my facility is very high acuity, so may not be like that everywhere. Its a wonderful way to start as a nurse. You learn a lot really quick! Good luck to you, hope this helps and doesnt harm.

How crappy! Why dont people realize we in ltc do more and learn more, and with less, before 7 am than most do in a week! lol. good luck to you.

The alarm on the vent was sounding in the room, just not the non functioning one in the hall that can actually be heard. And gee! I sorta know what the procedure is for a vent pt when you have to do cpr. My RT was at bedside when I arrived and said he was disconnected from his vent when she came in. Going to the hospital to see him today. LTC baby!

Xkimmie518x, good question. Yes we do but the alarm in the hall wasnt working, just the one in the room. Sorta SOP at this place. Just thankful the rt was checking as she always does. Otherwise woulda turned out a bit different. Maggie sets up a workstation in the hall with our vents for that very reason. all about the bottom line. If it aint workin, dont fix it. sad but true.

Why is it not the same with a female examining a male though?

Thank you, Thank you. And last I heard he is still in ICU. And it does feel good. I know it's my job to do these things, but man! To help bring someone back, just feels darn good.

I work in LTC and my "facility" believes AEDS are a liability. Go figure. And they cost money also. Thanks all.

So just felt like posting about a code we had at the end of my shift. Was finishing up some charting and getting ready to clock out when an aide went running by saying we got a code blue. Took off after her and got to the room. Now this guy is a vent dependent and had come unhooked somehow. Unresponsive, no pulse, etc.. Crash cart rolls in and I help get the backboard under him. Two RT's are there at this time, and dear ole Maggie starts compressions while the other ambus. Maggie, bless her soul is a 75 year old Brit firplug, but just didnt have enough to do good enough compressions. she woulda probably ended up next in line! lol. So I jumped in and took over on compressions. Heard a couple ribs pop, hope they didnt break. Everyone kept asking if i needed a break but after about 15 minutes or so and we got a damn pulse! then some shallow breaths n such. Paramedics show up and he's got a sat of 96% but still unresponsive. So that was a couple hours ago and he may not have made it to the hospital, wont know till tomorrow/today. But this was my first code where we actually got someone back. Thanks for listening to my ramble.

Thanks. It's nice to feel that i'm doing a good job. I love my residents, and most of em love me. When I was moved from my subacute unit to a different hall last week, all my folks that can motor around in WC's would come and hang out at my med cart. That's why I do this thing! Even had one old vet i've had since i started there move to my hall after i was moved! so awesome!

So went in to work today, dreading it as I have for the last month or so. My DON told me she needed to see the 2nd shift nurses. I'm thinkin "what did we do wrong now". So we go to her office and she lets us know that our assignments have change to take some of the load of my hall and another. Whew! Then as we're leaving she says "Josh, I need to talk to you for a minute". Awwww crap, what did I do now?! The ADON and our corporate nurse walk in! Awwww S...! what did I do now!? The DON says she was really impressed with some charting I had done on a resident with a huge hematoma on her arm from dialysis that no one had reported until me. Like 3 shifts or so! She showed me the paperwork from the dialysis unit trying to deny it happened there. Wasnt there when she left our facility. Soooo, what looked to be another stressful crappy day actually turned out good! Yessss! I knew I rocked! lol. Oh, our ADON/ wound nurse even gave me a whole bundle of measuring tape for next time! yesss!

And ya hear RN's complain about their 3-4 pt load! Hang in there, I know your frustration!

Landau cargo pants and Landua unisex shirt. just wish they were a bit cheaper!

I'm an LPN. Can't say I love my managment, who does?, but I really enjoy the staff and my patients. I work a subacute unit in a nursing home/ rehab facility. Some of the positives of my job would be 4+ months into being a nurse and I'm charge nurse of 16 patients, 6 of which have g tubes, 8 trachs and 5 on vents. Talk about gettin experience fast! I love when a pt or family member tells me they appreciate me or that I'm a good nurse. I like being able to talk with the docs and actually have them listen to me and even agree with me! lol. Job security is a wonderful thing also. As an LPN in a facility I do about the same things an RN would, actually have one that works the shift after me. As with most things in my life I like to start from the base and move up. I was a cna, now an LPN and plan to get my R in a reasonably short time from now. I think all nurses should go that path but thats my opinion. And I ramble a bit also. lol. Good luck to you.

Haha, I was single for about 5 years until I became a nurse. Bout 2 months into my first job that all changed pretty quick! It must be the scrubs!?

I agree, just have a prob with pointing out the obvious. con- finding scrubs. pro- being called dr. all the time, sorta. lol con- being the lifter for everything from pt's to tv's. pro- being the only "all male nurse" in my facility. hahaha.