Sbrewster

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm trying to improve daily. I think what gets to me most is the residents who are not suffering from dementia. Like I said, a have a much easier time dealing with them. It's the ones who know where they are, what they're doing, and make us out to be evil, lazy bleepity bleeps. Coffee guy will not be here in about 4 weeks. And the nurses don't have a coffee machine. Nor do we have instant. But maybe I'll have to splurge and get some because I can only take so many cups thrown towards me in one shift.

Brattygirl it's not like I wouldn't give him some if I could. The kitchen is locked up and they don't let us have a key. They just leave snacks outside on a cart for the residents. I feel for him, but there's nothing I can do and there are better ways of dealing with anger than throwing childish fits.

I'm sorry I forgot I had edited my post earlier and it didn't say half the things I wanted it to. I had several examples of things residents were doing but edited it all out because after re reading it sounded really specific to each resident and I was afraid it could possibly flag a hipaa thing. So the things I re typed in are definitely not psych worthy, no. My post before I edited it mentioned people throwing their walkers and coffee cups for not being able to drink coffee at 2:00am, constantly hollering HELP all hours of the day and night for no reason and a few others that I felt were a little too specific (like if someone happened to read this and knew them they would know who I was talking about). But I see what you're saying. My post doesn't make as sense without all the major problem residents in it. Lol

We send all psych/behavioral res to a local mental health facility and they observe and adjust their meds before sending them back. I don't think we have in house psych.

How do you deal with residents who test your limits? I've only been a nurse one month and I feel like I want to scream seeing certain residents tread up the hall to the nurses station because I know exactly what they are coming there for. They are the ones with all the behavioral issues that the DON and Administrator refuse to have sent out for evaluation. The pain pill seekers. The attention seekers. The confused residents who are yelling because they are convinced something has been stolen. (I'm a little less impatient with them, because they really just are lost and helpless.) I just feel like I'm at a breaking point and have only just begun my nursing career. Any advice besides starting a yoga class to deal with stress? Lol

I have 40 residents. It's definitely not easy!

I don't think it should be required, but it was definitely helpful and gave me am advantage over my classmates. There were a lot of times they would come to me during basic nursing clinicals asking for help with skills because they were honestly lost. I'm pretty sure though that the Basic Nursing area of nursing school covers most CNA skills, and a lot of people are able to test as a CNA of they want after they have completed basic nursing!

Good luck! I finished my LPN program this past June. It was 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, my child turned 2 halfway through the year, AND I worked as a CNA on the weekends! Talk about sweet baby Jesus of relief when I graduated! Lol I have never been much for school or motivation, so I know if someone like me can do it, than you definitely can. ?

I worked as a CNA in a LTC facility while I was in school and my clinical group had clinicals at the facility where I worked! I was actually excited because I knew all the residents and staff, knew where all the supplies were, knew the routine of the day. And it wasn't weird at all. All my co workers gave me hugs and congratulations when they saw me in my school uniform and helped me in any ways that thy could. One of my favorite clinicals! :)

Wow I already have my license and the new PV website took me to the credit card page! That is crazy! I guess the trick really is dead!

I see a lot of negativity surrounding becoming an LPN first, and idk why! It has been my saving grace. I enrolled in an 11 month LPN Course at my local community college and graduated this past June. I have since passed the NCLEX, and began my new job at a LTC facility at the beginning of this month. (Just so you know, there is ALWAYS work for an LPN in long term care. Yes, they are being phased out of hospitals.) The hospitals around here pay LPNs around $12-$13 an hour starting out and I was making almost that working as an aid! At my new job I get MUCH better wages. I needed a better job and FAST because I had a 2 year old to raise and decided to do my community college's LPN transition program where you can transition to get your associate degree while working as an LPN. This is what I am currently doing. I'm also able to say that I am gaining valuable work experience for when I DO get my RN, so that I won't have a blank work history section on future job applications. So even if I do only get my associates RN in the beginning, I will still be more valuable than a new grad bachelor degree with ZERO experience as a nurse. Becoming an LPN first has truly been an eye opening experience to me, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get their foot in the door but either can't afford RN school or wants to be able to work as a nurse while they are enrolled in RN school (my schools RN program is set up to where you can still work full time and attend classes). It's all up to you and your agenda and what type of programs your local schools offer!

I know we can't ask for medical advice, but I am seeking some knowledge about if anyone else who works nights has had this happen and what helped for them? I have been a headache/migraine sufferer my whole life, but I just started a job working nights (7p-7a) at the beginning of August and it seems like I am having an average of 3-4 headaches a week, occasionally one of them turning into a full blown migraine. These headaches don't occur until after I sleep when I get off work and I will wake up with them. I end up sleeping from about 8am to 1-3pm. It seems like when I wake up my head feels like it's being smushed by pressure and I feel like I haven't slept for days. My only relief is when I get my 3 day weekend every other weekend and I can sleep during the night, but even then instill have to take meds for headache. Anyone else experience anything like this and know why?

Just chiming in here as a recent new grad who passed boards and just began working as an official nurse: Kesh, there is no way in hell you have fully prepared for what you're getting into just by doing "research". Being a student was a cake walk. I didn't have a license to worry about keeping or CNAs working under, or any major worries besides passing tests and taking care of my 2 year old when I wasn't at a clinical (which I basically just wiped butts and gave baths at) After my first time pulling 4 12 hour shifts in a row and not finishing my med pass until 3 hours after everything was actually due on my first night alone I went home in tears feeling like I was in the wrong profession. I felt that I had let my 40 residents down because I wasn't quick enough and didn't know what to tell them when they kept asking what every single pill was for. I have 6 breathing treatments and anywhere from 19-25 accu checks due every morning depending on what day of the week it is. Not to mention our 7pm-7am shift is more like a 6:30pm-8:30am shift due to paperwork and surprise INA's that seems to happen EVERY TIME i happen to be working! I have never felt so much stress in my life. So I, like you, am very inexperienced. I basically CLING to any shred of advice an experienced nurse can give to me, because they have been there. And believe it or not, the majority of nurses start out the exact same way. Terrified. So don't be afraid to take advice from a more "experienced" nurse just because you are prideful. Chances are, they know what they're talking about and you should take notes.

I recently started at my current job in a LTC facility, and I can remember all throughout my CNA career and through nursing school that incident reports are to stay FAR away from a residents chart. Don't mention them in the chart, don't put them in the chart, they are ONLY for the facility. But this facility I started working for requires you to put all of the residents' INAs Aaand unusual occurrences inside their chart. I found that weird! Does anyone else know of work somewhere where they require this?? I was always taught it was a big no no!

I would definitely go in as a CNA getting paid my nursing pay! Do a few baths, change a couple of diapers, feed a few people their lunch? Of course! Beats the stress of getting med pass done on time, charting, dealing with docs and appointments and other nursley duties! I never had an issue when I was an aid with my work!

I had a bunch of SATA on my NCLEX. And I'm no good at them either! The best thing any teacher ever told me to do was to view each response as a true or false statement. For example (and this is fairly easy, just to make a point): You attended a conference about patient safety in the LTC setting. Which of the following would you educate your fellow staff members about? A.) Turn off all the lights in a dementia patients room so they will fall asleep easier. B.) Remove all throw rugs from the residents room to prevent falls. C.) Ground all electrical chords and tape along the baseboards. D.) Let the resident go without shoes during activity. Now obviously these are easy, but you can see how you can go through each one and decide "Yes this is true. This will prevent accidents." Or "No, this could cause an accident." Just try to relate your true/false responses with the main point the the question is trying to convey, (in this case it is patient safety!)

During regular class days we wore whatever we wanted. For skills we could wear scrubs of any color. And for clinical we wore our uniform scrubs with our patches and lab coats.

I am a new grad and started my first job this past week working nights 7pm-7am. I'll be making 16.50 with a $1.50 shift differential, so $18 an hour total.

As far as I know, you carry a trash bag (or 2) in there with you and put all your dirty linens in one and trash (bm or urine) in the other, then take them from the room to the designated laundry/trash bin.

My first day of class we went over 3 chapters and had our first test the next day! GOOD LUCK! Lol ? It will be a fun/scary/crazy ride!

Hi all, I just posted last week about being excited to have my first job, and am now posting about how overwhelmed I am at this new job. Lol. I just took my NCLEX August 1st, and I took a full time overnights position at a LTC facility last Monday, and started on Tuesday. I've been orienting on day shift this week and I am beyond overwhelmed. I realize just how many meds I don't know yet, how many skills I didn't get to practice in clinicals (that I sure made up for this week!), and how I took for granted the job my nurses did when I was an aid! I will be the single LPN over 40 residents, 6 of them who require breathing treatments, 2 pegs, 1 trach, 19 accu checks due in the morning, not to mention the other things we have to do as the nurse at night like change out the O2 tubing and masks, and the 8pm and 12am med pass and night time treatments. Also, as you know, most of the UAs are done at this time and as a brand new nurse I came home from my 3rd 12 hr shift in a row wore out and tired and I had been with another nurse all 3 days! I cried to my boyfriend about how it was so much and all he could say is "at least you only work 3 days a week. Could be 5 day like me". I could've slapped him!!! Anyways... If you could give advice on how to adjust to all this madness I would appreciate it.. I know I'm just a baby nurse and this is just how things are going to be for awhile... But that's doesn't make it any easier.

YES! It posted Tuesday and I started my first job as an LPN this past Wednesday!

Just found out I passed my NCLEX! Hello workforce!

I PASSED! It showed up this morning sometime between midnight and 6:00am! I'm a nurse!! :)

Hi all! I'm fairly new to the boards, just opened an account today but have always used the site for info and advice during school. I just wanted to express my happiness that I got my first job as an LPN at a LTC facility today! I have been an aid in LTC for about 2 years, so I know how difficult it can be, but so worth it. Today I broke out of my comfort zone and accepted a job at a different facility than the one I have been in the last 2 years. I chose this place for the awesome benefits, awesome pay, beautiful facility, and very friendly staff every time I have been there. I can start training as soon as my license shows up on the BON registry! (Hopefully tomorrow) I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life. I can finally say I am a nurse! I am not stopping at LPN, I am already enrolled for classes to begin my RN, but this is a great start for me. Thanks for listening, and any advice about this field of nursing is greatly appreciated!