Debbie_LPN

Ok, me and hubby have been trying for 3 years to have a baby. One of my residents came up to me and asked "When are you due???" I stepped back a second, and told her about trying, and that I wasn't pregnant. She then said "Oh, yes you are!!!". I took a test last night, and still negative. However, This happened to 2 other coworkers, and they are 5 months. I think our geriatric residents know things sometimes. What do you think?

Ohio here---I'm making 16.00 including my shift differential. I'm in LTC.

At the end of nursing school, we did a survey and the average weight gain was 20 pounds. I thought that after I started working, the weight would come off as easily as I put it on (HA) I find now that I'm working, it is not coming off as easy d/t constantly picking up shifts and no time to go to the gym(I barely have enough time to sleep!). Is any one else having trouble taking the extra weight off? And if so, what are you doing to help???

THANK YOU EVERYONE SOOOO MUCH!!! I am taking a lot in, and yes, it is getting better. I think now that I'm there for awhile, they see that they don't run the show. I've started calling them on things like not taking vitals, and they seem to be doing better. I guess it just takes time. They have also begun to listen to me when I tell them to do something(not boss them around, just if they forgot to to something). I love all the advice. I will be using it eveyday!!! Debbie

Let's see..... I am a new nurse, started working 4 months ago in LTC. I am 23 years old. The problem is: Where I work, there is 1 nurse on the floor, and 2 to 3 aides. They are all older than me, and doing this for years. I love my aides(I really do, I was an aide for 5 years), but sometimes I feel like they walk all over me. The one night, after I had made the temp board out, they took it and withiin 10 minutes, they had it all filled out(7 pts TPR). The numbers were all so close. But I didn't see them make them up, so I asked them: Wow, that was quick. Are you sure these are the real temps? Well, as you can guess, they were PO'd. They constantly try to get out of assignments and work. They skip over residents during rounds, and when I say something, they ALWAYS have an excuse. Then this one is the best one yet. They will ask me about a condition or a med, and when I don't know the answer, they will give that look(you know the one, it's like well you're the nurse, so you SHOULD know everything). Then they giggle. It's so childish, these are grown women I work with. Sorry so long, just needed to vent. I hope I am not the only one who has ever had this happen to. Some nights, I just feel like maybe nursing is not for me. But then that one patient who kicked your butt earlier gives you a hug, and it's all worth it.

Ok, 5 months now into my 1st nursing job in LTC. I am told I am the "midnight nurse supervisor", because basically I am the only nurse who actually works full time. I am getting burned out and FAST. I don't know if I'm coming or going anymore. We have one midnight nurse who just doesn't want to work(she is supposedly the other FT nurse). So, she called off for 5 days stating she has "Pink eye". Then, on her night back, she called off stating --ok, now get ready for this one--cellulitis of the face. :roll So put me on my schedule now of : 9 days on, 1 night off, 5 days on, and 2 nights off. I am so furious how the DON doesn't do anything about this. It really upsets me having to work ALL THE TIME. :angryfire I guess I just needed to vent. So now I will get ready to go to work, lol, and try to stay awake!!! :selfbonk:

lucky dog!!!

I work 11-7:30, and I feel like I can't get a break. We have SOOOO much work at night. We are responsible for everything, b/c "you have a lot of down-time on the midnight shift". Which brings me to my next question: Is the nurse to pt ratio different on midnights? Normally it is 1:36, but often there is one nurse for 2 wings, which puts us at 1:67. I was told that it is ok on midnights...any input???

Ah, yes, I have 6-7 skin checks 5 nights a week. We have about 5 tx's, and my med pass starts at 0330. Yes, it is unreal. I got the response "We are trying to help out the dayturn pass, so now all the G-tube meds are in the am." We have 5 tubes, and they each have 15 meds a piece!!! We also have lab at 0400. And on top of it all, I am the only nurse on my wing for 36 pts. So if 1 thing goes wrong, I will be way behind!

Hey! Live in Ohio, but worked in PA my whole life. Some that accepted students while I was an aide: Nugents(Hermitage) Hospitality Care Center(Hermitage) Countryside Convalescent(Mercer) Clepper Manor(Sharon) Alot of them got through SRHS school of nursing, but they might be willing to let you come in. I am doing an online course, but my preceptorship will be done where I work. The problem is that you are putting another nurse's license on the line, it is not the school. Good luck and keep us posted!!! Debbie

In LTC nursing, when changing a catheter, do you ALWAYS get urine return??? In school, we are always told that u will get a return if u are in the right spot. I'm asking b/c the other day, I changed a catheter and got no return. So I got the other nurse, and as it turns out, I was in the right place but there wasn't a return right away. So he tells me if you are unsure, inflate the balloon and if you tug and it comes out you're wrong. I did that on another catheter, and it stayed in there so I left it go. The dayturn nurse then had to change it cause 2 shifts had no output. Thanks in advance!!! Debbie

In ohio, nurse ratio is 1:50. YES, 1:50! I'm not sure on CNA's. We have 1:36 where I work(in LTC), and that is every shift. The dayturn 9 am med pass starts at 7:30am and ends around 11:30am. Thank goodness I work midnights.

Northeastern Ohio here...on the border of PA, and I work in an LTC facility. Going on to RN school soon!!! :)

No, it's how the schedule falls. Don't get me wrong, the $$$ is good, but I don't like having $800 taken out in taxes!!! I requested off the 4th of July and 5 days after that, so hopefully, I can get some r&r.

i just got my first nursing job 3 months ago. we are so short(i work ltc), that i have already oriented 2 new nurses and worked several 12 hr shifts. i just got off of an 11 day stretch(including 3 12s!!!), and having the 2 days off wasn't enough. so the new schedule comes out today, and i see that i have 8 days straight at the beginning of the month and 10 at the end. i don't know how i am going to get through it! yes,as a new nurse, i am totally burned out! i am even considering a career change, although i do like my job and i love being a nurse. i talked to the hr lady and she told me that it would be like this for the next several months due to there is nobody else. anyone else feeling burned out???

I would just like to say thank you to all the nurses. I was on the other end of care, giving up my baby at the age of 18, and the nurses made it go a lot smoother for me. At first, I said I just want to know what it is. Then When I heard my son cry, I changed my mind, I took care of him while in the hospital. It was hard. But having nurses there that were so compassionate made all the difference. That is the one of the things that I will never forget: The care I recieved in such a tough time. I just want to say thank-you to all the nurses who go that extra mile to make sure the pt is number 1.

Well, I called 2 pharmacies. The first one (a huge chain which shall remain nameless) didn't tell me anything, and they said they couldn't help. The 2nd one gave me the number to poison control center. I called them, and she said that oral can be absorbed through the skin, BUT since it was only 10 mg, and it was a g-tube med that I already diluted before it splashed on me, it is highly unlikely of absorbtion. LOL-I will be more careful next time, but I'm sure other nurses have had tubes clog and when you push, you get more of the med than the pt! :)

We have a resident on the drug Soriatane. I was told during orientation that since I am a woman of childbearing age, that I should not touch the drug with bare hands. They are in a timed-release capsule, and the woman has a G-tube, so we do break it open. Well, I looked it up, and it told me that only women TAKING the drug were at risk. Well, we were putting meds away, and now on the new package, it says"HAZARDOUS DRUG: HANDLE WITH GLOVES". It never bothered me until last night. I was giving it in the tube, and the tube got clogged and squirted all over my arms. So I looked on the web and in my drug book again today, and can't find anything about worker precautions. Does anyone know about this drug??? I was told by a more experienced LPN that as long as I don't ingest it I will be fine(I am married, and pregnancy could be possible at any time). But seeing that on the box, I was wondering how come I can't find any worker precautoins.

Well, I went to work the last 2 nights, and all the other aides on my shift, and ALL the nurses are behind me. They said it has ALWAYS been a rule, and this certain aide doesn't like to have authority. They said she is like that over EVERYTHING!!! They told me to let it go, you told her what you needed to, and if she doesn't listen write her up. Oh well. The one aide even asked me "Why are you telling her something she already knows?" LOL.

HEY GIRL!!! I got a job too! It took me until march to find one though---it sucked! But now I am a full time midnight charge nurse. I am the only nurse there...and it's hard when I have no nursing experience to be in charge of 4 aides a night, and 45 pts to myself. Mom is working too, she is also on the midnight shift at another facility. Well, I guess thats all for now! Talk to ya soon!!

Thanks everyone so much for all the support. I am about to go to work. The DON wasn't in today but I am talking with her tomorrow.

ok, now this is why I am so upset. I didn't understand how to go about the whole situation. I was very nice about it, and I ALWAYS help my aides. It was clearly in the inservice about the whole thing, cause stuff was coming up missing(meds, supplies, ect...). I even tried talking to her after the whole incident, but she just walked away from me. I have NEVER been a charge nurse, I am a new LPN out of school 3 months ago. I had 4 days of orientation. I don't know what else to do. I don't want to apologize, because it will look like I am not going to enforce the policy. I always thought that you'd attract bees with honey...lol, boy was I wrong.

Oh, lol, I did clarify that they cannot sit behind the desk. I didn't have an attitude, I also explained that with changeover, the DON can walk in at anytime and that would be my butt.

I am so frustrated! I am the charge nurse at my facility and I am having a problem with this STNA. The STNA's are not allowed behind the nurses station desk or in the med room. This certain aide, I'll call her sarah, has been sitting behind the desk all night and going in the med room for coffee. Well, at the inservice last week, the DON made it clear that NO ONE is allowed in the med room UNLESS a licenced nurse is back there. So I called all the aides last night to the desk(including sarah). I told them that on my shift, I would appreciate it if they didn't sit back there or go in the med room. Well, she FLIPPED!!!! I explained that they could go behind the desk and get a cup or straw off the cart if they needed it, and if they want coffee, they could get it theirselves as long as I'm at the desk. She came back with "I'll just bring my own pot from home. I don't need anything from back there" and she stormed off. So, I was in a residents room doing a treatment when I heard another aide tell sarah that a hearing aid wasn't taken out from the previous shift(we keep them on top of the nurses desk). Sarah then snapped "well, I'm not touching it since we can't go behind the desk. The nurse can do our job". I came strait out of the room and said "You know, I don't appreciate the attitude you have. I am just covering myself. Put yourself in my shoes, and you'd understand". Needless to say, she didn't talk to me all night, and was really ignorant with patient care. I didn't just tell her, I told all the aides. It is the rule, and even though she's been there longer(she was there for 5 months) and she is twice my age, I don't think it's right to be treated like that. I had to set the limit. What do I do now? Should I tell the DON what is going on? Should I write her up? Sorry so long....I am just upset and haven't been to bed yet.

lmao!!!!!!