LPN2000

I'm a 57 y.o. LPN who has just been back into nursing for one year. I am doing home health which peaks and ebbs and I'm an on-call nurse at an assisted living facility in a CCRC. I would recommend either assisted living or home health. The nice part at the assisted living where I work is that there are CNA's, med techs and 2 LPN's and the coordinator is an RN. In home health the supervisor is an RN but you make your own schedule and I get to know my clients very well. BTW I am divorced and there is no way I can take classes for my RN at least not now - I am struggling now to pay my mortgage and don't have health insurance. I am looking for full-time to get insurance but a lot of positions just aren't opening up due to the economy. Hope this helps and good luck!

I'm 57 and have been an LPN for 10 years. I can say that in most doctors offices that I have worked in I was usually the oldest person in the office - usually even older than the Dr. Most of the young people don't seem to have the tolerance for us mature nurses - the young ones all band together and act like they know it all and don't need the help of anyone our age. I would probably suggest a larger environment like a hospital where you will work with a variety of ages. Good luck.

In peds we used to do a quick TB tine test and have the parent check off a box on a postcard what the reaction if any looked like and mail it back. Now the under the skin TB mantoux test is done and the patient has to come back to have it read in 48-72 hrs. And the new digital weight scales are a lot easier to keep a patient on than the old weighted manual ones were.

I too was thinking about changing stethoscopes. Also, use the right size cuff, give the patient some water, have her sit still, make sure there is no clothing on the upper arm, raise the arm up to heart level and try.

i'm so sorry for what you are going through - believe me you are not alone! i got my lpn when i was 48 and got the same treatment in a pediatrics office by several other nurses in their 20's. i unfortunately am always the oldest when i worked in doctor's offices - sometimes even older than the dr's. i only stayed there for 6 months and left. all the young nurses talked about how they partied on the weekends and teamed up together when we were assigned to the sick or well sides of the office. it even happened in another pediatrics office where several of these young girls were medical assistants. one tried only once in front of a patient i was giving a tb mantoux test to that said that isn't where you give it - after i finished i took her out in the hall and told her never to do that again. another time that same one heard me make a comment to a patient's mother about something she was wearing and said she couldn't believe i said that. i couldn't take it any longer and was just short of getting fired from there after yelling and screaming one day at yet another of one of those medical assistants so i quit. bullies are so adept at what they do that they actually make the victim feel like they did something wrong and we quit and they get to keep their job and continue doing what they like. it's funny because when i started there this bullier who was 19 had lost her mother within that year to cancer. i had told her that life eventually gets better - that i had lost my mother when i was 16. makes you really feel stupid when you try to be nice and i guess all along they are looking to find your weakness and open fire. i loved the response from one post who said that you don't go to work to make friends and i am living proof of that. i have learned the hard way that the more you tell coworkers about your family or anything personal it kicks you in the butt one day! i am a lot like you, always being extra nice to any new staff and making them feel welcome. at the first peds office the nurse supr. always steered the nursing students my way because no one else would give them the time of day. don't quit like i did twice - they just know they got to you then and they won. keep your head up -do a good job and don't get into a yelling match like i did and start crying - i was so embarrassed to see them after that.

I have been a prn nurse at a CCRC in their AL in Northern Virginia for one year. I had never worked in AL before (dr's offices) and just love it. I was told that would be a good way to get my foot in the door. I have learned so much doing wound care, MARs/POSs, verbal orders, med passes, wellness visits, sending residents out to the ER etc. There are only 2 FT LPN's, we do 12 hr. shifts and I am called to fill in usually 4/5 shifts a month. I am finding it difficult to find a permanent AL position at this facility or for that matter any facility. They have skilled and long-term care there and every time I inquire with the DON, she will say do you think you're ready or I'll call you and doesn't. I do home health also and remove and put in foleys, wound care, etc. so I have adequate experience. I am wondering if anyone else has been in this position. No other facility here seems to be hiring. I have applied at chains like Sunrise and privately owned. Is the problem because AL needs a minimal amount of nurses and nurses don't leave AL because we like it so much? I know the economy hasn't helped and nurses are staying put in their jobs. Any suggestions?

I have a Coag Check machine and immediately after I draw the PT/INR, I call my supervisor or the office and they fax the result to the MD with a request for a verbal order response.

I have had only one situation recently in my one year of home health care. I went to see a new patient. He answered the door, pointed which sofa to sit on and disappeared back into his bedroom. I started getting a little suspicious. He walks out pushing his O2 tank and comes over and sits right next to me. I got up and got my bp machine out of my bag and he says out of the blue "what does your husband do?" I am divorced but didn't tell him that. I replied quickly that I live with several roommates. He asked if I was a cougar. I didn't skip a beat and finished his bp and the rest of the visit and got out of there quickly. My supervisor always says leave if you don't feel comfortable and she got someone else to see him after my visit.