jocelynlpn

I work in a nursing home. I'm the only LPN with 3 HCAs and 26 residents. There is an RN on the unit next to be which I can go to for help if needed. Something happened on my shift yesterday, and I wanted to post it on here and get advice from other nurses before discussing it with someone else in my facility. I have a resident on my unit who is what you would call "difficult" and "attention seeking". For example, he's well known for having inconinent BMs and "painting" the bathroom a nice brown color before he rings his call bell for help. He doesn't have dementia or alzheimers and he knows very well that he should ask one of the girls for help beforehand. I can understand how this can be frustrating for some staff members. So yesterday this resident did the same thing, made a huge mess in his bathroom, walls, toilet, floor...Then rang the bell for the girls to come and clean him up. I came down to the room to check on the girls and asked them if they needed any clean linen or supplies. The resident was standing in the middle of the room with his pants around his ankles and one of the HCAs was saying "Oh my God you are such a pig. I can't believe you did this. You should know better. You're such a dirty old man" She didn't know that I heard this. And I didn't say anything to her. I can understand that she is frustrated, and I know this resident can be difficult. But she was being very unprofessional and just downright mean. You don't tell an 80 year old man that he is a pig when he's standing in his room with no pants and covered in stool. Where is his dignity? I'm not exactly sure what I should do now. I'm pretty upset at this co worker. I don't know whether I should confront her about it, go to the RN, or go directly to my manager. I would also like to add that I'm a new nurse (one year experience) and 90% of the HCAs I'm "in charge" of are way older than I am. So sometimes I find it difficult to confront them, and I've never had something like this happen before. Any advice from you more experienced nurses??

I have seen lab staff dressed as vampires. I was talking to one of our doctors before Halloween and he told me that he was on call for Halloween. I told him he should dress up as the grim reaper. He didn't think that was too funny, mostly because he didn't even know who the grim reaper was! This Halloween I wore white scrubs and bunny ears and painted my face. Good enough, I was still comfortably dressed to do patient care.

I work in a nursing home. I love coming to work in the morning and pouring coffee and milk in the dining room while everyone comes out for breakfast. It always gives me a boost of energy!

That's not funny. I know an RN that actually does that. She's a charge nurse and I have a lot of shifts with her! She works in LTC and when shes not giving pills, she's sitting at the desk working on cross stitching. She refuses to insert a catheter or touch anyone with an IV. SERIOUSLY!!!

My understanding was that it stays in your system for 28 days. Where I'm from, your employer has to give you 28 days to do a drug test. Unless its in your contract that they do random testing (usually on oil rigs and stuff) I've never had to take a drug test for work

Working in LTC, I have so many stories to tell. Here's a few: One man is in his early 70s with dementia. He was confused and telling one of our staff members about how he's known her for years and years (not true of course). So all she said to him was "Wow Bill I guess I just forgot" He replied with "Jeez you have worse alzheimers than I do!" One other lady is very hard of hearing. You can try speak to her in a clear tone but sometimes it just doesn't cut it. So one day after trying to tell her the same thing about 3 times, I raised my voice a little. She says to me "Jeez not so loud! Don't be rude" When I do 2200 rounds on my evening shift I always say to this one lady "Goodnight don't let the bed bugs bite" and she'd always say "and if they bite, squeeze them tight!"

My Grandpa taught me to swallow a whole garlic clove when I started to feel a cold coming on. Does actually work! Honey works great for a dry cough. I use peppermint oil that I buy at a health food store to treat my tension headaches. Works way better than any analgesic. One of the doctors at my facility is from Romania. He says a good way to treat bronchitis is to peel and onion and cut it in half, then put it somewhere in your bedroom at night time. Never tried that one... And another remedy that is totally unrelated to health is to put out used coffee grounds in your kitchen or whatever if you have a problem with fruit flies! Works awesome!

That's awesome. I started at $22.72 and within a year it went up to $23.70. Not including shift diff. And I am part time with benefits. This is in Alberta, Canada though. The highest wage for LPN here is about $31.00 which I think is starting wage for RNs

Usually when I go into a resident's room who has had a suppository or prune juice cocktail, I just put the garbage can beside their bed so that I don't have to throw their dirty briefs and cloths anywhere else. If you're worried about getting it on your scrubs, throw on an isolation gown or something. Bring a grocery bag to work and change out of your scrubs before you get in your car.

I have been a nurse for the past year and noticed that I've put on a few pounds as well. I think most of it has to do with shift work. 8 hour days and evenings. I'm okay on day shift, but switching to evenings is difficult as it interupts with my regular routine and eating habits. So I've tried a few things. I always pack a baggie of plain almonds with dried cranberries. That way, when I want something to munch on or something sweet, I won't be counting my pennies at the vending machine for a bag of chips. I also do more walking. When I clear the dinner tables (LTC nurse) I leave the dirty dishes cart at the front of the dining room so I walk back and forth to get a few extra steps. I've been thinking of investing in a BodyBugg or pedometer just to see the difference between my day/evening shifts. Best of luck to you! We're here if you need us.

Always listen to your health care aides. They know the residents very well. Communication is key. Know how to delegate. Know your resident's routines and quirks. For instance, I have a resident who is a retired accountant and now has dementia. He always counts his pills when you give them to him. So I'd say "Mr. White, guess how many pills you have now" "I dunno, 10?" "Nope, one less than ten" "Nine!" Gets him thinking about numbers too. Routine is very important for alzheimers and dementia patients. What goes around comes around. Treat your residents with respect and dignity. Most likely, you'll end up in a LTC facility someday. Think, this is someones grandmother/grandfather and they are loved very much! Remember that you are a guest in their home! You're there to make their last years enjoyable. I worked Easter morning, and put out little chocolates at every table setting. When they came out for breakfast, they were so surprised and happy that the Easter Bunny came! Get to know your residents. Most LTC facilities have a social history section in their charts. Read them! I have a resident in my nursing home who has very progressed dementia. Honestly, when 1400 rolls around and sundowning starts, she can be pretty hard to deal with. But I just remember, this woman was on the womans olympic ski team in Austria. The war broke out and she went on to be a nurse. She met an injured soldier and they got married and raised two lovely daughters. She's still that woman inside. Humour, humour, humour! I will do anything I can to get a laugh out of my residents. "Sorry Mr. Rice I drank all the whiskey last night, is cranberry juice okay with your lunch" Just be silly! Most importantly, love your job. Get to know your residents and their families. Don't ever wake up in the morning and dread coming to work. Come to work with a positive attitude, and make a difference in your resident's lives. I love LTC and I plan to stay there!! :redpinkhe

I work 8 hour shifts at my LTC facility. During the day, the most bedside care I do is helping the aides toilet the residents. But when I work evenings, I do a lot of HS care.

I didn't mean that leg bags or washing them was ridiculous. I meant the fact that my manager is posting this memo now after having this resident in my facility for over a year. "The use of leg bags should be discouraged" - that's from the memo my manager wrote. I don't know why. Unfortunatly, we don't have the kind of leg bags that hook up to the night bags. When I was in school I was taught not to wash the bags, and to just get a new one. So I posted this thread for more opinions and ideas. I'm a new nurse, I'm just trying to learn here. I will ask my manager on Tuesday if she wants us to clean the night bags when we switch them again in the morning. Because that would make more sense to me.

But you know, it's confusing because this resident has had a leg bag in the past year and my manager JUST posted this memo. And why do we have to clean the leg bag at night and not clean the other bag in the morning?

In my facility, long term care residents with catheters are highly advised against having leg drainage bags. There is one resident however, that is an exception. Him and his family are aware of the risks that come with leg bags. He is to have his leg bag on during the day, and at night nursing staff switch him to a regular drainage bag. My manager recently posted a memo regarding the cleansing of leg bags. Cleaning out leg bags?! This is something I have never heard of, let alone learned in nursing school (graduated one year ago) Here is what our manager expects us to do every evening while doing this resident's HS care (I just typed out what she wrote in the memo for you): - Aseptic technique must be used with reconnecting, disconnecting and storing leg bags - Disinfect connection with a 70% alcohol swab before disconnecting/reconnecting - Drain the urine from the bag and rinse the tubing and bag with tap water until clear (REALLY? tap water? like in the sink that he washes his face?!) - With a catheter tip syringe, clean the tubing and bag with soapy water and rinse with tap water until clear -With a catheter tip syringe instill 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water - The leg bag tubing must be fulled with the selected disinfectant to be properly disinfected. - Allow to soak for 30 minutes - Empty the collection system and allow the tubing and bag to air dry - Cover the ends aseptically with gauze pad and store in a clean dry place I want to hear what all you other nurses think about this. If you work in a facility where leg bags are used, do you clean them too?? Personally I think this is kind of ridiculous, but I need feedback please!!