GreenOne

Coming from the hospital and working a stint in LTC, I was overwhelmed with the number of patients & knowing their important diagnosis & the amount of meds they are taking. It is helpful to remember that you are coming into their home & the goal of treatment isn't curing ailments but relief of symptoms. Know what the parameters are to notify providers, the threshold is high & often the treatment is wait& see. Blood sugar isn't tightly controlled. UTI's might not be treated until very symptomatic. It was odd not doing full assessment. I would ask another nurse what residents to hit up first for HS meds or AM meds. Get use to dementia or any resident refusing important medications, the provider may have adjusted the dose/frequency to compensate for that & as always its their right eg BS 400 refusing insulin, sz meds. Know code status of course. The providers and staff have probably been treating these residents for years, the CNA's are so valuable- they will pick up much earlier than you changes in residents. time am med passes with CNA rounds. Lots of vasovagal syncope. careful transferring by yourself. Residents might not be transferred to hospital when you think its warranted, the anticipated eventual outcome is death after all. We are trying to keep them comfortable and in their own home/LTC. Also bowel interventions. Some of the best nurses and CNA's I've met have been in LTC

LTC is difficult compared to med/surg in my experience. You have more patients. The meds are preloaded in that huge cart you push around not the pyxis. The residents probably don't know or remember their meds. Some don't know their own names. The one I worked at, they didn't wear name bands. So much potential for med errors. I agree with what everyone has said, you recognized the mistake right away & took appropriate action. I think you can always judge a facility by how management reacts to med errors & it sounds like you have a good one.

I see the question usually worded as "within the past five years, have you been dx with/tx for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, paranoia, psychotic disorder, substance abuse, depression, or any other mental or emotional illness." I have been licensed in 7 states & never had an issue with getting a license while having the diagnosis of bipolar. I write a few sentences on being treated and taking medications. My doctor writes a note that I am safe to practice. In the middle of a manic episode, I was seeking treatment, and the psychiatrist threatened to report me to the BON; it wasn't an issue for me because they were already aware of my diagnosis. So even though your depression/anxiety is currently under control, you don't know if it will become an issue in the future. On my BON website, I found a failure to disclose mental health and got one nurse 2yrs probation and a 6,000 fine.

You might like working in the float pool, nobody bothers you about your personal life.

I am not sure if it is ethical. I have been encouraged to call managers by my recruiter with American Mobile. I have had one nurse manager who stated she appreciated the call as it showed I really wanted the application & I ended up getting the job. I have also had a really awkward interview when we both realized I wasn't qualified for the position (transplant med/surg), so sometimes they aren't calling you for a reason.