NJstudent2012

I worked LTC for two years, 3-11 shift. 1. Stop comparing yourself to other nurses and how fast they are. It is not a measure of how good a nurse that you are. I was never faster than other nurses, even after 2 years. I was always working right up until 11 pm, while they were sitting at the nurses station on Facebook. I took comfort that when i went home, I knew that I didn't fake VS and BS and yes I believe you when you say that is happening. I gave all meds that were scheduled and asked residents about their pain regarding prn meds. 2. Try to get organized even if you are eager to start passing meds! Before you start your med pass, see what treatments you will be giving, who has Foleys that need to be monitored, who needs vitals and accucheks, etc. I liked to start at one end of the hallway and work my way down room by room, I would skip residents who weren't in the room and then try to catch them later. Good luck! You will get faster.

LOL. Last night the CNA did the same thing to me and when I went into the patient's room, they asked me to pick up their urinal that had fell on the floor! I am definitely going to start asking the aides to ask what the patient wants. I don't have time for stuff like that.

I work in LTC. I dislike the continual and endless c/o of being constipated and of diarrhea. They refuse to take Senna and Colace and then c/o being constipated. Then 3 days later they incessantly ring the call bell and tell every single person they come in contact with to tell the nurse they are constipated and demand MOM and a suppository. Then they complain its not working fast enough and what am I going to do about it" and I say try TAKING your stool softeners and laxatives when they are ordered! Oh and I hate it when the aid comes to me and says Mrs. X is sitting on the toilet and can't poop. Its right there but she can't push it out. She wants you to come and do something!

I agree with you caliotter3. I found that CNAs will thank me when I help them out and they especially notice which nurses never help.

Started my shift yesterday and was just about to pull away from nurse's station with my med cart and a woman comes to me and says she likes to crochet and would like to crochet some blankets for the nursing home. Great idea I say. Then she says which residents need blankets and I say "I don't know off-hand, but if you make some and donate them, activities will make sure they go to someone who needs it." She then says ok. How big should I make them and I think in my mind (IDK - I don't crochet blankets - you do- don't you know how big to make a blanket?) but instead I say Well I'm not sure, use your best judgement. Stupidly I make another suggestion to make some smaller lap blankets. The elderly seem to enjoy placing a small blanket on their lap or around their shoulders when sitting in their w/c. She then asks how big should she make it. I am getting a bit aggravated at this point but I go down to a resident's room and borrow a lap blanket. I hold it up for her to see. She asks me how big it is. I say I don't know, I didn't measure it, but brought it to you to get an idea of the size. I venture a guess that it is 2 feet by 3 feet. Then she asks me what colors she should make. REALLY????????? At this point I excuse myself and say I need to return the resident's blanket and so she doesn't get cold. I lingered in the resident's room until that pesky lady left!

It is not just hospitals. I am a RN at a nursing home. Doctors visit their residents and don't even bring a stethoscope! Nurses in our facility don't even carry a stethoscope either. How are they listening to lung and bowel sounds with no scope?

I have been working the 3-11 shift for 18 months now and I have 36 residents. I agree with the comments suggesting to leave your treatments until after med pass. It definitely speeds up the med pass. Make sure your cart has everything you will need so you can save unnecessary trips up and down the hallway, especially insulins! Its very annoying when you have to go to the fridge multiple times because all of the flexpens are almost empty! I also mark which residents have 4 and/or 8 pm meds and when their accuchecks are and I cross them off when they are done, so I feel like I'm making progress! :)

I have been working in LTC for 18 months now. I currently have 36 patients on the 3-11 shift. I mark which residents have 4 pm meds and which ones have 8 pm meds, so I right away know who I can skip. I also mark who has Accucheks and their times. I make a list of treatments that I have to do. For me, I have found that it is better to wait to do treatments until after the med pass is done unless it is a really easy treatment. It really just takes time for you to get comfortable with the residents and where they can be found (in their rooms, at activities, etc) and then you will find that you get a little faster each day! Don't be hard on yourself because everyday is different and you have to be able to adapt.

I felt exactly the same way. I read the first 5 chapters of the Fundamentals book before the semester started. We did skip around somewhat but we did the first 5 chapters pretty quickly. I feel that the pre-reading did help. They throw so much reading at you the first couple of weeks, it gets pretty overwhelming. I would also suggest taking a look at the chapters for vital signs and health assessment.