QNurStudent

what kind of nursing are you doing? i have only been a nurse for 8 months and i work in home health and ltc. i am not a detailed person at all and i am struggling with that mostly in home health. home health, especially on the medicare end, has so much documentation that has to be perfect. also, we are not computerized so everything is handwritten.

"Is there a difference on quality of care, (and viewpoints), on nurses who are nurses because of a personal passion? When you read some of these posts, do you get the feeling that some of them would not survive two minutes on your floor, because the right reasons for going into nursing is not there?" I am a new grad and have complained on this site before. I know for me, I would love to work on a med/surge floor in a hospital but can't get a job there. I worked as a nursing assistant on one and loved it. Right now I am in ltc and dislike it because I am not using my nursing skills as much as I would like. Instead I am worrying more about giving out a 40 patient med pass on time, as long as nothing esle occurs. i feel unsafe and it's not the nursing care i would live to give. Many of the new grads complaining on here feel that they are unable to give good quality and safe nursing care. it's not that they don't have the passion for it. for me, i don't feel safe and worked too hard to get my license. Another point is that I went to school with some wonderful nurses but are unable to hack in real world nursing. Some people aren't quick learners, don't work well under pressure, and are just slower paced. I know a few nurses who aprovide awesome nursing care but are stressed because they can't keep up with the demands the jobs. i have seen them get warnings because they aren't fast enough or for clocking out late. it's unfortunate because these are the ones who will say that maybe nursing isn't for them. I also think it all comes to do being comfortable and having confidence. Once those are achieved, many new nurses will love their jobs. I thinnk that new nurses have to give med/surge at least a year before they give up on it. it's a huge learning curve if one has never worked in a hospital.

OP, I feel your pain. I am a new grad going on 5 months in LTC and I had a short orientation as well. I work by myself on a 40 patient subacute unit and it's not safe at all. After a horrible night, I felt that maybe I am not a good enough nurse and that the profession might not be for me.I was already burnt out! But then I had some good shifts after that so I realized that bad nights/shifts happen and that's the nursing is. I keep on applying to other jobs with no response or told the same thing, "you need a year experience." Then I finally got a call back from a rehab (my aunt works there and gave my resume to the nurse manager) and the way they spoke to me was like they were persuading me to say no to the job. They then said that they didn't have any openings yet but to call back in a month. Five years ago, this same rehab was desperate for nurses and would hire multiple new grads before they passed the boards. I was a nursing assistant at a hospital and all the nurses there said that 5 years ago, they got hired on the spot as new grads at walk in job fairs, in ICU's and Emergency Departments. I always complain about my job to experienced nurses and try to get advice about whether or not I should quit. Some started off in LTC and now work in great specialty jobs. They keep telling me to stick it out and that things will be much better down the road and not to give up on nursing.

I was wondering if I could get some advice on here and I wasn't sure what thread to put it on. I figured this thread willl be good. Ok so I have been working for nights in LTC for 3 months and absolutely hate it. I just have that gut feeling that it's time to resign and move on. I don't feel like I received the proper orientation and I have been starting to get reprimanded for stuff that I had no clue about. Every time I see my manager she is on me for something and she also talks to the nurses like two years old. I also feel like I am doing more paperwork and quality control and whenever I ask for help on paperwork (because no one ever showed me how to do it) nurses just turn away and watch me drown. The more senior nurses keep telling me that I need to watch what I do because I will be next on their target list. They are currently giving out warnings to this one nurse for really stupid things. Also, since I work nights, there is a night shift supervisor who is starting to give out warnings for ridiculous reasons. She has gotten a few aides fired for not changing residents in a timely manner. I am so worried that I will get a warning from her too. For past couple of weeks, I have been leaving there feeling like I just want to give my notice. I leave there feeling like I am dumb and not a good nurse. I had a patient fall last week and my manager yelled, infront of other employees, me saying that the man shouldn't have fallen and I should have been watching him. How could I be watching hime when I giving meds out to 40 other residents? Also, she doesn't speak to any other nurses that way when they have falls. I don't want to risk losing my license. I have worked so hard to become an RN and I am now taking BSN classes, to further my career. So I have been saying I want to quit to my boyfriend and family and they are telling me no and that I should stay on for another 3 monts in order to get 6 months exeperience. My goal is to get into a hospial and they say all I need is 6 months experience. I know that's what I should do but I really can't shake this gut feeling I have. I do have a home health job that I am starting during next week. So I am torn and was wondering if any of you can give me advice on where I should resign or not?

I feel that every time I read these ltc posts, it is me! It has to be the same in every ltc all over the country. The longer I work in ltc, the more I am starting to hate it and wonder why I decided to go into nursing. I do love the patients but it's everything else that bothers me. Management loves to give out warnings for stupid reasons, they expect you to do everything, and never say ank you for the hard work. The med pass has gotten easier but there's so much paper work and responsibility when in charge of 40 patients. Forget about admissions, a fall, or incident report. I'm a new grad and only been in ltc for 3 months and trying to make it to the 6 month mark. it's not getting better, its getting worse! My manager reprimands us all of the time and talks to us like we a children. I hate it! It's sad because these patients deserve good caring nurses

Thanks but I know I am not going to stick it out that much longer. I feel like the place is so archaic and there is so much room for basic human error. I have never had a warning in my life so I will be so dissappointed when I get one, which I am sure I will get one. I also they management try to get people fired for stupid reasons. I understand that the residents are stable but ltc nursing is hard work. I love geriatrics but I don't love ltc. I live in the Boston area so the job market for new grad RNs is tough. I did work as a nursing assistant in a Magnet hospital while in school and they had a new grad program. I got an interview, which was intense, but unfortunately they wanted the BSN and I had my Associates. So here I am hundreds of job applications and no response. I went to this ltc facility, got hired on the spot, no questions asked, and they didn't ask for references. So good luck to you and hope you find a job that you love and feel comfortable in!

I feel like I wrote the original post!! I am a new grad, on the same shift and started around the same time, floating, and same amount of residents. The facility I work at has the highest turnover of any place I have seen. I don't have a supervisor for the 7p to 11p shift and I am usually the only RN on. There is paperwork everywhere and there is no rhyme or reason to how the paperwork is filed. I feel like I have been thrown to the wolves and that no one has my back. I am debating on quitting myself but everyone is telling me that have to stay 6 months in order to get my experience. I feel unsafe at times but I am just trying to keep my mouth shut and just go with the flow of the place. Other nurses throw each other under the bus so I am waiting for my first warning.

You're welcome! Glad I could help. I enjoy the program so much that I am more than happy to give the info! Most of my classmates work. I work as a Nursing Assistant now. The hours are great for nursing school.

The nursing classes and labs are in New Temple. Parking is pain because there isn't a school parking lot. We have regular green scrubs and we have to wear white shoes and socks. You can also order a white lab coat and any other supplies needed. They are pretty strict about the uniform. No shirt showing underneath and neat hair and fingernails, etc. When you have have orientation,you order and buy them there.

Hey, My schedule isn't too bad. First semester we had a 2 hour class Monday and Wednesday. We had only one day of clinical on Tuesday or Thursdays. We also had a 2 hour lab every Friday. Second semester is a 2.5 hour class on Mondays and Wednesdays and clinical on Tuesday and Thursdays. There is also an evening clinical and the maternity clinicals vary as well. There are only two full days of lab in the second semester. Clinicals usually start at 6:30 am so getting up early is tough. Try to get all the other classes out of the way before you begin. Nursing school can be fun! You meet such great people on top of it!

Hello there! I am currently in the second semester at Quincy College's full program in Quincy. I have to say it is actually a very good program and I have learned so much so far. The tests are difficult but as long as your keep up with the reading and understand the concepts, you will be fine. The instructors give a powerpoint presentations but you really need to read the material a few times to understand it. The clinical instructors are great too. They understand that you are learning and that you don't know everything. We just found out that they are starting to admit students based on the Allied Health Test scores. I guess they are admitting the students with the best scores because the scores are a good predictor of who will pass the licensure exam. Also, I believe Sociology is no longer a required class so I would check that out. Good luck and hope you hear soon!