eelise11

The day this all happened, the two aides involved kept saying they know I didn't throw them under the bus, they weren't mad at me, etc etc. Then after they actually were punished, then all of a sudden it was all my fault. And like one replier said, even if they had waited for me for 25 minutes, which didn't happen, it would be irrelevant because an RN is needed to assess a fall. I couldn't have done a thing besides got an RN, just like they are supposed to do. None of this is my fault and I didn't go tell on them. I actually stuck up for them and tried to get them out of it because I knew that if they got into trouble, it was going to be pointed at me and my life would then be hell. That is exactly what happened. I don't want to go back and my husband says I don't have to but we have a large family and small income as it is. I NEED to work, I just don't know where to go as there isn't anywhere around here. :/ This situation really sucks and it has me questioning if I want to stay in nursing. As an LPN, where I live, we only really get jobs in nursing homes and so far, my experience over the past two years has been that I never want to step foot in another nursing home again. That being said, I'm considering leaving nursing altogether. I love my job but not the environments I have to work in because of my title.

I'm going to try to make this as short as possible but I'm not sure it's the type of situation that can really be edited down. I just started a new job as an LPN in a nursing home. This particular home has a TERRIBLE reputation in all aspects but where I live, there isn't much option and the pay is really good for our area. After being out of work for nearly 5 months, I felt that I had no choice and I went to this home. On my second day on the floor, a staff member (non-medical) came into the room I was in and said, I need a nurse. I asked her if she could give me a minute and she said okay. I was in the middle of a tube feed. The aide in the room with me asked if I wanted her to see what was going on and I said sure. She returned approximately 5 minutes later and said "So and so was on his floor mats." I stopped what I was doing and was about to go to the room. The aide then said "It's okay, we put him in his chair." I asked if she had told anyone and she said "so and so (another aide on the floor) said that he is careplanned to be put back into his chair as long as he is on his fall mats." I figured they probably knew more than me but to be safe, I asked another nurse on the floor if I should do an incident report. She told me to ask the supervisor. I asked the supervisor who then threw a fit because these aides were supposed to have an RN assess the resident. (which I rightly assumed in the first place.) Recap: A resident slid out of bed, aides picked up him and THEN informed me of the situation. I didn't know what happened until it was over with. The supervisor reprimanded the aides, telling them they know better and the facility had just been sued over the same type of thing. The aide that incorrectly told everyone that they were allowed to pick him up said to the supervisor "I just didn't have an extra 20 minutes to wait for an RN" when she was asked why she didn't notify anyone. A few days later, on Monday afternoon, the aide that said she didn't have time to wait was fired and the other one was suspended for 3 days. I made it very clear to them the day it happened that I didn't want them to get into trouble and I meant no harm. I believed them when they said they were allowed to pick him up. I was innocently trying to find out if I had to complete an incident report and crap hit the fan. Fast forward to Tuesday. During the day, multiple people warned me that everyone on that particular unit was mad and out to get me. I was told how I might get jumped, how they're intending to find a way to get me fired, and to stay off that floor if I could help it. Wednesday: I was scheduled to be on the floor that this incident happened on but requested to be moved elsewhere. I was moved and things were great besides listening to people talk about me and the situation, even though they didn't realize it was me. This is when I found out that the aides are telling everyone they waited for more than 30 minutes for me and I never came. Thursday: I went into work to find out that I was assigned as a CNA, on the hall of the aide that got fired, on the unit that is out to get me. I went to staffing and requested that I not be placed on that floor anymore. I was told, in as discrete of a way as possible, that since she got fired, and it's being blamed on me, that I have to fill her spot, indefinitely. Needless to say, I was so stressed out I was having chest pains and I left work early. Now I'm sitting here thinking of calling off tomorrow. I haven't even been on the floor one full week and this is happening. I need a job because I have a family but is it worth this? I know how hard it is to find a job in our area and I just honestly don't know what to do. I need advice. Please, anyone. I'm so confused as to what I should do.

As the title says, I hate my job. I work in LTC. In my area, the pay around here is generally pretty low but I make in the high range. I also have to drive 50 minutes over a mountain that is regularly shut down in the winter because of the freezing conditions. I love my residents but cannot standout people I work with and certainly can't tolerate the administration. It's not just me, many people feel the same way. You can't speak to anyone and expect any sort of respect in return. People will flat out tell you to not ask questions cause they aren't gonna help. I'm a new grad and new at my facility so of course I need help. But when a new person screws up, all hell breaks loose. It's a lose lose situation. I am part time where I am but it's a large facility so I am able to get all the hours that I want. Which is nice. I was recently offered another position which seems to be a better place. However, it's part time and it's small so I'm only guaranteed 20 hours a week. I absolutely cannot live on that income. I don't have many options around here. I'm not sure what to do. If it were you, would you risk being short on money and bills to maybe be happy or would you stay at a place that leaves you in tears and physically I'll everyday? I'm so torn on what to do.

I was hired at a large nursing home in our area about a month ago. During that month, I completed all the physicals and other necessary requirements. I was given a 4 week schedule and was set to start next week. About 2-3 weeks ago, a few of my references told me they had been called about the job and all was good to go. I was even told that I was good for hire and then given a schedule. Yesterday, I got a call from HR telling me, 3 weeks later, that I was given a bad reference and they were retracing my offer. Funny thing is, I used the same references in the two other jobs I was offered and they all gave me a good reference. I asked about it and she just said "someone" gave me a bad reference and she couldn't elaborate. A few people that I went to school with work there. I am a new grad. In school, I didn't talk to but a few people there because of the drama, childlike mentality of a lot of the students as well as the instructor. Well, apparently, one particular person was throwing a fit on Facebook that I was even interviewing there. Then 2 days after that post, the schedule goes out and I get a call that they're retracting the offer. The DON herself hired me. She's a family friend and knows that I'm a good worker and I keep to myself. I made it known to her what was happening and she isn't thrilled. Not to mention that a girl from my class that works there had told me that hr asked her about another person in our class that worked there. She told hr not to hire her cause no one "likes" her. Well, they didn't. Although she's as qualified as the rest of us. Is there anything I should or could do about this? Is this something that you would report to someone or just let it go? This place has a horrible reputation and now I know why. It's not fair to good nurses that are eager to work that this "clique" mentality is running the largest LPN employer in our area. I'm just at a loss over this.

In my recent LPN school experience, it was very true for me that I had no life. But we were also in a 1 year program with 3-4 tests every single day. What made this hard was that we would literally take hundreds of notes per day, which was soley what our years were based off of, and we would be wayyyy ahead, by 10-15 chapters/subjects and then have to backtrack to study for an upcoming test on something we covered 2 weeks ago. This was on top of care plans, projects, homework, quizzes, etc. So for me, it was 100% true that for that year, I had absolutely no life. My friend is the the same program now. She was determined that she wouldn't lose her social life just because she is in school. She kept telling me if you just know how to study right, there is no problem. She completely disregarded the tips I was trying to give her. Now, she's 3 weeks in and has failed or barely passed every test she's had with her very minimum 30 minutes or 1 hour of study before each test. And it's only the beginning, so right now, she's only at one test per day. It's all about your program though. Some aren't as hard and rigorous as others, I hear.

I just recently graduated and passed NCLEX in 85 questions. For almost half of my LPN schooling, I had this same problem. First of all, you have to learn how to distinguish what is important and what's not as important. Our instructor made us hand write all of our notes or type them... The books were of little use because everything came directly from our notes. The problem I had, and it seems to me the problem you are also having is the critical thinking aspect. You understand the material in the book but on the test your instructor says "patient A enters the emergency room c/o shortness of breath, pink frothy sputum, and chest pain. What disease does this coincide with? Or, what would you do first, with a list of options... Etc. that's how ours were. I always felt like it never made sense. But it does. You read it, you studied it, now you have to apply it in the nursing sense. It's hard to learn but you can do it. Also, as the previous poster said, always go with your first answer. Usually when you change it, you ended up changing from the right answer to the wrong answer Good luck! You can do this. :)

It's every shift in 2 weeks. I honestly don't feel it's enough but all I can really do is ask for longer. When I mentioned it during my interview she said "two weeks is plenty enough to know what you're doing".

I am not a DON but a nurse who has been trying to find the answer to this question anywhere I can. I've posted in other places to no avail so maybe some of you can help. I have recently been interviewing with a few LTC facilities in my area. One very small LTC I interviewed with had informed me that they had just upgraded to EMAR because they were required to do so by the beginning of 2014. However, the facility I took a job with is still using paper and apparently seems to have no plans to implement electronic charting. I heard from a few sources that it is mandatory to upgrade to emar by a certain date. I'm just trying to find out what is really going on behind this. Should I expect electronic charting in the near future or maybe never?

This is just my opinion as I'm a new grad too, but when I was interviewing, I didn't "ask" for a certain pay. We really have nothing to fall back on in order to find ourselves in a position to negotiate pay. Most places will tell you what they set pay is and you take it or leave it. As I said, this has been my experience.

Thanks everyone. They said if I felt I needed more time, I could ask but they don't think I will. So we will see how it goes. :)

I used remar for my second attempt. I was lacking in content really bad... I passed the nclex with the least amount of questions after remar. I highly recommend it.

In starting my very first nursing job as I'm a brand new grad with no prior nursing experience. The place I got a job at gives 2 weeks orientation on all the different floors and areas, from wounds to trachs to meds and I even have to train as a CNA. Is 2 weeks enough? I told them I was concerned but they said its plenty. I'm worried.

Thanks everyone. Update: I chose Job number 3. It's semi close to home and after my final interview, here are the specs. 16.70 per hour (highest in our small area) with 1 dollar differential for 2nd shift and 1.50 for 3rd. It ended up being full time, rotating shifts. I asked for mainly nights and days and they agreed to do that. They offer 5000 total tuition reimbursement, give you money to offset the cost of medical insurance, and provide scrubs along with allowing you to wear your own. It's scary cause its so big and they only give 2 weeks orientation... But I'm sure if I asked for more, they'd allow it if I don't feel okay. I'm scared but very excited. Thank you all for all your help and kind words. :) Edited to add: they also are skilled and have every sort of care, from trachs to tubes, etc. so I feel as though I'll get wonderful experience there. Lets just hope the nurses are willing to help me learn as I'm brand new.

Near Johnstown/Pittsburgh PA. :)

I applied all in person. All the online apps I did, I didn't get any call backs, but the ones where I walked in I was interviewed either right away or got a call right away. I also forgot to mention that the 3rd job is 16.50 an hour BASE pay with a 1.50 shift difference, so it's the highest paying for anything other than daylight.

I live in a very small place in pennsylvania. the pay for an LPN around here varies from 13-20 with 20 being a more experienced, higher end pay. RN's in the area make mid 20's. With job 1, it would be approximately 20 some patients per nurse, but my problem is, with my 2 year old, daycares around here won't keep children any later than 5 p.m. and my husband works evenings most times... from about 7 am sometimes into 9-10 p.m. I'm not fond of nights, but I think it's what i have to do.

Hello fellow nurses! I am a new LPN grad, recently licensed with no nursing experience other than my clinical rotations. I have been applying to jobs everywhere because they are so few and far between around here and I was hoping to land just one job. Well, I have officially landed 3. So I need some help because I can't decide which is best. As a new grad, I'm very limited on cash right now, my husband works full time daylight, and we have a 2 year old daughter. Job 1) LTC Facility, very close to home. hours are 3-11p full time with benefits although the benefits are very expensive. This is a very small 40 bed facility with staff that stays forever so the chances of a different shift are minimal. The DON interviewed me and made it clear that raises "might" come once a year and they scrutinize every single thing you do. He actually kind of scared me from wanting to work there. But here, I can wear the many pairs of scrubs I have already purchased. That's really the only plus I see to this job. The pay is $14 an hour. No tuition reimbursement, etc. Job 2) LTC Facility. Nearly 50 minutes away. 270 Bed Facility with a high turn over rate. The position is part time to start with potential for full-time, 11p-7a shift. I can pick up as many hours as I would like as they have been recently sold and are highly understaffed currently. They require a particular color scrub, so I'd have to figure out how to pay for all new scrubs. they offer benefits but when I've been asked, everyone is unsure of what the benefits are going to be as the contract with the new buyer is still being negotiated. They apparently offer tuition reimbursement but no one seems to know about that either. I have a friend that works there that loves it but she is at work literally 2 shifts a day, 7 days a week and runs around like a chicken with her head cut off. This pay with shift diferential for nights would be 16.68 per hour. Job 3) LTC Facility. 20 minutes away. 301 bed facility with a high turn over rate. Part time position with full-time potential after 90 day probationary period. Rotating shifts. I can pick up hours as ell. They provide scrubs. They have benefits but they are very expensive so as a plus, they offer you an extra 165 dollars per pay period, just extra money, to offset the costs of the benefits, whether you choose to take the benefits they offer or not. They offer tuition reimbursement. A total of approximately 2500. I know 3 people that work here. Went to nursing school with all 3. One, I'd rather never see again in my life, and 2 I have no issues with but nursing school was the most horrible time of my life. The treatment of students by other students and staff was so bad that I ended up in a severe depression. It changed my entire personality for that time. So my real worry about this place is, will these people cause me an issue? If you were me, which job would you lean toward. I really need help figuring this out. Please.

Hello fellow nurses! I am a new LPN grad, recently licensed with no nursing experience other than my clinical rotations. I have been applying to jobs everywhere because they are so few and far between around here and I was hoping to land just one job. Well, I have officially landed 3. So I need some help because I can't decide which is best. As a new grad, I'm very limited on cash right now, my husband works full time daylight, and we have a 2 year old daughter. Job 1) LTC Facility, very close to home. hours are 3-11p full time with benefits although the benefits are very expensive. This is a very small 40 bed facility with staff that stays forever so the chances of a different shift are minimal. The DON interviewed me and made it clear that raises "might" come once a year and they scrutinize every single thing you do. He actually kind of scared me from wanting to work there. But here, I can wear the many pairs of scrubs I have already purchased. That's really the only plus I see to this job. The pay is $14 an hour. No tuition reimbursement, etc. Job 2) LTC Facility. Nearly 50 minutes away. 270 Bed Facility with a high turn over rate. The position is part time to start with potential for full-time, 11p-7a shift. I can pick up as many hours as I would like as they have been recently sold and are highly understaffed currently. They require a particular color scrub, so I'd have to figure out how to pay for all new scrubs. they offer benefits but when I've been asked, everyone is unsure of what the benefits are going to be as the contract with the new buyer is still being negotiated. They apparently offer tuition reimbursement but no one seems to know about that either. I have a friend that works there that loves it but she is at work literally 2 shifts a day, 7 days a week and runs around like a chicken with her head cut off. This pay with shift diferential for nights would be 16.68 per hour. Job 3) LTC Facility. 20 minutes away. 301 bed facility with a high turn over rate. Part time position with full-time potential after 90 day probationary period. Rotating shifts. I can pick up hours as ell. They provide scrubs. They have benefits but they are very expensive so as a plus, they offer you an extra 165 dollars per pay period, just extra money, to offset the costs of the benefits, whether you choose to take the benefits they offer or not. They offer tuition reimbursement. A total of approximately 2500. I know 3 people that work here. Went to nursing school with all 3. One, I'd rather never see again in my life, and 2 I have no issues with but nursing school was the most horrible time of my life. The treatment of students by other students and staff was so bad that I ended up in a severe depression. It changed my entire personality for that time. So my real worry about this place is, will these people cause me an issue? If you were me, which job would you lean toward. I really need help figuring this out. Please.

Thank you all so much!

Thank you so much! I will try to put this into practice. And also, I love the reason for your edit. Made me giggle during a really bad day. Thank you for that. :)

Hi all! I have posted this question on a few different sections without any response so I'm hoping that you all can help me. I am a new grad with no prior nursing experience. I am starting on a 270 bed skilled nursing unit on September 9th, 11-7 shift. I have a 2 year old daughter and husband who works daylight. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for me on how to adjust, how to make sure I get enough sleep and still balance my family, how to flip on my days off, etc? I am also really worried about time management and being the new nurse that may get crap. I just want to go into this prepared. What are some things I should take with me on a nightly basis? How do you eat on night shift cause I probably won't want big meals, like you would in the daylight hours. Just anything you can think of, please help. I'm worried about this new job and would greatly appreciate any input. :)

During exam day, I felt very prepared. Each question that was presented, with a very small exception of one or two, I knew from the information in the remar review. Yes. The review helped and I would highly recommend it. I didn't pay for other expensive reviews but I had purchased multiple review books, like nclex made incredibly easy, etc., and they were all overwhelming with the exhausting amount of information that you feel like you have to remember, yet never will. Remar review is basically only what you need to know for the test. It's not everything in between and things you might see but probably not. On nclex, the options presented to me were the same options as remar review presented. It's very streamlined to only be the information that you absolutely need which is why I think it works so well.

For all you might shift nurses, do you have any advice for a new grad, with a 2 year old, on how to adjust to night shift or any tips to feel refreshed and stay awake? I'm starting night shift in a week and I'm pretty worried about it.

The difference is that second is 3-11 so that takes up a lot if your day and leaves me with no "family" time because my husband works days. Nights are 11-7 so I can sleep while my baby is in daycare and be with them in the evening when my husband and daughter are home. They are both "for profit" although I don't really understand that difference between for and non profit. If someone could clear that up for me. One offers benefits because its full time and the other does to full time but they have been recently sold and aren't real sure of the ins and outs of the insurance yet. Also, the part time job has no benefits at all. Unless you go full time and then you have to wait another 90 days, other than the initial probationary period, to be able to have benefits. I know one person at the part time, larger, night shift facility. She loves it. But she also has no kids and doesn't have a need for benefits quite like I do. She also can work all the overtime she wants to make up for the hours of part time status and I cannot do that. The smaller facility, I don't know anyone there or anything about it. I know it's 50 beds with 2 LPNs and 4 aides on each shift so about 25 residents to nurse. The larger one, I'm not sure if the ratio but i assume its a higher nurse to pt ratio.