kjwestm6

It has been stated to numerous people during the discussion of shift changes that i would be moved due to my one weekend per month military obligation. The thing is, I have not yet been told about the changes. Only through the staff rumor mill. And My DON is great but I know she doesnt understand the military work laws and so forth since I am the only reservist working there. I just want to see if I truely had any way to stay where I am, the staff changes are not being made because they have to be, it is only the LTC's way of giving the other nurses their chioce of shift.

I have been at my LTC job for almost 7 years now. I put in my time and gained seniority to get my choice of shift, weekends with my choice of weekday. It save me gas while still giving me 32 hrs a week with a shift differential for working the weekend. When I returned from my deployment they had filled my position, yet I was ok with it because they placed me on the same shift just a different wing. I also had to fight for my raise I was deserved for the year I was deployed, but got it. Now my DON is saying she is going to start moving some nurses around and wants me to take a M-F position due to the fact I drill one weekend per month (since I am Reserves). Can She legally take my position from me due to this? It would be a pay cut and i would be driving more! I know she will soon attempt this and I want to know if i can disagree or just have to grin and bear it.

Always try Long Term Care, and Home Health, also nursing agencies are usually always hiring. Get you resume in everywhere! Yes experiance matters but when a facility needs licensed personell they will hire!

A LTC was my first LPN job as well, luckily I worked there for a few year as a CNA and med. tech. I have a million stories, but my best advise is please don't think you are not a good enough/ smart enough nurse for the job. Starting out is hard you are scared to death of making mistakes. The one thing that saved me my first year as a charge nurse was when another LPN went to the director of Nursing and told her that She had no idea how I made it through nursing school because I had no clue what I was doing. My DON then told her "nursing in 10% school and 90% experiance", and that If I sat for the same NCLEX as every other licenced nurse than I am just as qualified as the next. She was right, because every day i learn somthing new, find better ways to organize my time, and become more comfortable within my own scope of practice. Never be scared to ask for help, never think somthing Is a dumb question. Last piece of advise, as much as you hate calling the doctor, If you think you should, just do it. Calling a MD at 3am and getting yelled at can NOT take away your nursing licence! :)

I am an LPN who has worked in an LTC for 7 years while also being in the army reserves, I recently just returned from deployment and have started back the cycle of civilian life. I love my LTC job but now I find it not to be stimulating enough as a nurse and at times makeing me question about my career choice. I love nursing but as an LPN getting out of the standard nursing role seems too difficult especially in a smaller town. I plan on getting my RN eventually just not now. Any one have recomendations for nursing in a different setting? Also i would like to hear how other military nurses integrated back to a civilian professionally and personally. I have considered going AGR as unit support for a change in scenery but not sure how to go about it.

GOOD CATCH JECKRN!, It is CSH not CASH. Guess I was having a brain fart lol. I totally agree with you about the down time during drill. Somtimes it is frustrating because you feel like you are not doing a thing! (good study time though :)). As far as going active, it is very difficult right now. A new recruit has no issue to intially go active, while prior service are often turned down due to slot openings . Even after deployment no one from my unit was eligible to go active (in the past you were given the oportunity), many continue to find a route to head to active duty but retention just aint what it use to be!

Alarms are your friend! They are one of the best ways to keep residents safe and your workload reduced, They are not resraints and the provide everyone with a better peace of mind in the LTC. Now the use should be assessed often. A resident may improve or decline so that they do nit need some or any alarm. Alot of this can be evaluated when you compare MDS, ADL monitoring and Care plans.

Hello Healthcare student!, I am in the Army reserves, as an LPN. Which means i am enlisted and not a commisioned officer. Yet I have worked with army nurse corps for my 5 years of being in. *I joined at first for school. I went through the army's LPN program (so I had free housing and a paycheck the whole time in school!), It was the best desision I ever made to join. * Experiance is somthing you can never get from being a civillian nurse. I would never have learned so much in a hospital setting, also my military experiance helps me every single day in my civillian nursing career. * I have been deployed, I spent a total of 400 day on orders (the usuall for reserves) wich included training and 10 months in afghanistan * As a reserve nurse your duties depend on what type of unit you are in. I have never been in a CASH (combat support hospital) yet, have worked alongside many RN's who have and the describe it as hospital with a wider scope of practice and patients. I am on a Forward Surgical Team ( which i highly recomend) we are a small 15-20 personel team who performs life-saving surgery for patients who can not make it to a CASH. I work in triage, trauma, OR and ICU (since we are small everyone does every job) * Drill is one weekend per month, the 2 week training is usually in june or july and can range from 2 weeks of classes to 2 weeks in the field (not as bad as it sounds!) * School is 100% possible, and usually the ARMY pays your tuition or they will send you (and pay you) to attend one of there programs to specialize (ie. ICU,ER,OR) * Do it all over again? No question, I love this nursing, the experiance and i hope I can stay in and retire * When talking to a recruiter ask what bonuses you could be eligabl for, student loan repayment, schools (army) and do your reserch on what type of unit you want to be in (like a surgical team or CASH) also see what is close to you so you are not driving hours on your drill weekeds. Recruiters can place you in a unit if a space is open. And before you sign make sure everything you were promised is in the conract and never lose that contract! Please if you have any more questions I will be glad to help! just let me know :)