Zergasaurus

Heck no! I worked at one of these places right after I graduated. At first I thought it was just me, I was a slow new nurse and eventually I would leave on time with no problems. Then I noticed that experienced nurses who had been there for years were STILL clocking off and staying behind to finish charting or whatever - not just for a few minutes, but hours! Due to staffing, acuity and lack of support it was a losing battle - and seemed to be part of the culture there. After recognizing those facts and getting reprimanded for 15 minutes of OT after a shift from hell where I had actually stayed 2 hours later (I was so busy I had overlooked "clocking out" on time until the day nurse reminded me ), I gave my two weeks notice and have never regretted that decision. Only you give people permission to take advantage.

I just got my group rejection letter. After all this time and wait, I am not that upset or really surprised. Good luck to the rest of you

Go with your gut on this one and good luck!

I am in a very similar situation and gave notice. Three shifts left! You have to do the best thing for your individual circumstances. One thing you can do is assess how the other nurses are doing. Are the ones who have been there > 6 months to years doing alright? Are they safe and getting things done within their shift? How do they feel about their jobs? There were numerous reasons I gave notice so soon after starting my new LTC/SNF job (including the fear of losing my license), but the one BIG factor was that the LPN's who have been there for YEARS were still clocking out at the end of their shift and staying 2 hours later to chart and finish things up. Its like a bad family secret there, everyone has to do it, everyone knows it is illegal and the workload is impossible, but nobody says anything out of fear for their jobs. Take some time to assess the situation honestly to see if it will get any better or if it will be pointless and better to move on. Good luck.

Long story short, after only 4 weeks on the job at a SNF/LTC I resigned and gave two weeks notice. There are many reasons for this, the most important being that I didn't feel safe working there license-wise. I could elaborate more, but I have a feeling it would be the same story others have heard about these facilities. I still gave two weeks notice because that is the professional thing to do, but after last night's shift I am starting to question that decision! I know that not all LTC/SNF's are the same, I am not going to take another chance on LTC again if I can help it. I am currently applying for other positions and may have an interview next week. How do I best answer as to why I left this job so quickly? I know you should not talk badly about your former employer, but this will be very hard to do . Plus, it wasn't all bad - I learned so much and improved in so many ways during my short time there and I am at least grateful for that experience. Its too bad I can't stay. Any advice from those who interview new nurses?

I would have loved to hang in there. Nobody wants to resign during this recession, but when your gut tells you to RUN, then RUN. My only regret is that I still have to finish out my notice, I can't get out fast enough.

I have also resigned from my new LTC job. Good luck to all of us

Finallydidit, thank you for your entire post. For many of the things you stated above and other personal reasons, I made the difficult decision to give notice and start looking for another job right away. Life is too short and the LTC battle is not one I want or need to fight at this point in my life. Major kudos to those of you who keep fighting the good fight on behalf of those most vulnerable patients and thank you to everyone on this board for your input :)

Oh and this really gave me a much needed laugh. Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and encouragement. Looking back, it seems like a no brainer but at the time I thought I did the right thing to move on and keep on with the med pass for the rest of the residents (LTC and Skilled side). I am still slow with that and didn't want to be late, resulting in more med errors. I still think I did the right thing, other than not notifying the MD. Lesson learned. What other lessons am I going to have to learn not due to bad nursing judgment, but due to LTC nuances and "rules" that I know nothing about? If the economy weren't so bad, my family and I weren't so desperate, I would probably have left this facility for other reasons and I still might. I am taking it shift by shift. Lots of us new grads are in this situation and are trying to make the best of it.

I have a typical story, new grad working in LTC after a short orientation. Shift is 10p to 6:30a (reality is more like 9:00p to 8:00a), alone with two aides - some good, some not so much. Of the four aides I have worked with, the two I was told were "great" scare me the most. My anxiety level is tremendous. It seems like I am finding out in a roundabout way of what to do or even more importantly what NOT to do. Example. Second shift on my own after orientation, pt had 2300 Carafate. No carafate to be found anywhere. Swing nurse who was there late charting first told me "get one from another pts card". That felt wrong (and no other pt was getting it anyway), so I asked what my other options were and she said to call the pharmacy. I did, they said it would be delivered next day. Gave the other 2300 meds to the pt, who laughed and said this has happened before and no big deal. I went back to ask the swing nurse what else to do and she had left. I later circled it on the MAR and noted, "med not available, pharm called pt aware no adverse effects noted" Now a week later I get written up and was told that you NEVER say a med is unavailable (even though it WAS unavailable!!!) and I did not call or fax the MD. I now understand I should have notified the MD about the carafate and I take responsibility for that but I am wondering what else I am missing or doing wrong trying to muddle through this by myself? Information at this facility is conflicting at best and I am not entirely sure what to ask. Question. What are common LTC rules and procedures that I should know about and be following? I need this job for the moment for experience and paycheck that my family needs and just want to make it without getting into more trouble and it possibly being worse than this carafate thing. Thank you.

I am a couple days off orientation and I already want to leave asap and never EVER return to LTC care again. Maybe other facilities, and by extension their CNA's and support staff are better but when I have some experience under my belt I plan to stay away from LTC. Six months and (hopefully) I'm out.

Thank you all for your thoughts. I just completed 4 shifts of orientation and have 6 more to go before I am on my own. I am having some anxiety, it will be just me and two aides at night with current census of 26, but can go up to 35 depending on Skilled admits. The LPN that is orienting me said that I could call her anytime when I am on my own if there is something she can help me with, hopefully she meant what she said. I just hope it all works out because I really need this job and its not good for new grads around here. So far its okay and everyone says I am doing great, but I WILL ask for more orientation or resign from this job if I ever feel unsafe or feel my license could be in jeopardy (It didn't have the best rep, but has improved of late - new DNS).

Thank you for the information! One of the things I wondered about was when to start the med pass. I assumed there would be IV therapies and tube feedings I would be responsible for, but was curious about other things I had not thought of. You are so right about the importance of CNA's and before I accept this position, I will be questioning them carefully about the night-time staffing. I am actually a new RN graduate, sorry if that was confusing in my post.

Hi All! I am a new grad (ASN) who finally got a job opportunity at a LTC/SNF facility. The shift is from 10p-6:30a. Since the residents will all presumably be sleeping, I was wondering what a typical night shift would look like. I will be grateful for this job since they are hard to come by for new grads, but am concerned about losing some of my skills. Any thoughts appreciated!