rouqie

I know it's been almost a year since anyone commented on this but this is a place that I often find myself. I believe I am refered to as middle mangement. I get to know what all the big wigs are talking about and sometimes put in my opinion but I also work along side the floor nurses and techs. My job is just to keep peace is a crazy, crazy place but after a while. Peace makers can feel like they are going crazy. A few things that help I do that can help: -Remember that you did the best job that you can do with the resources that you have. No woulda or couldas, here. They don't help so try to stop. -When you go home with it all bottled up and you can't talk to your family about it write it down. I don't mean HIPPA violations. I mean just get your thougthts together and write it out. I help you organize your thoughts and deal with them instead of bottling them in that just makes you numb. -Also find a co-worker that you can talk to who will listen and help you brainstorm for a solution to your problems without adding their problems to yours. -Also most work places offer vacation and sick time, for God's sake take them. Even if it's just an extended weekend, it's something to look forward to.

Long term care is very tricky and difficult. I have been in longer term care for over 10 years. I have lost many good nurses and been left working with some nurses that you want to wonder "how did you actually pass nursing school." Also the fact above is very true. I have talked to the HR department in my facility and they have told me the same two questions. I actually was fell into love with long term care but the great idea of nurses running is far from the reality. I learned years ago that you never quit one job til another one is on the line. I learned that being an nurses aide. So I would stay at your current position, just make sure that you know what is in the scope of your practice and what isn't. Also if you don't get anywhere talking to the usual chain of command in these situations there are a few other options. If your facility gets money from Medicaid/medicare whichi odds are they do. You can notifiy the state department and they area responsible by law to look into your complaint. If you ever feel a patient is being mistreated there is also Adult protective services and they have been great whenever we have dealt with them.

I recently have been also been looking to the MD. I am currently a nursing supervisor and feel that I am burned out from nursing and I'm not even 30!!. I like the science part of nursing and figuring out how things work, so if thought I would look into what it would take to get my MD. You need a masters degrees in a scientific field plus on top of that you will take 4 years of med school. During those 4 years you can not work a second job at all they almost inforce it and give you so much work to do that it's impossible. As if you fail out of med school there is no just picking up were you left off. You are done. Even if you are in your last semester, most schools will make you retake all of med school. Just what I have came across in my research. As I researched on this allnurses.com earlier in the year and found a link to blog posting that some med school students were posting about nurse's and it wasn't flattering at all. It was down right nasty. So if you are preparing to go this path just be prepared for what your in for.

I am looking into Wound educators.com. It's a on line 6 month course and they offer free consultation resources after you graduate. Also you don't need to have your BSN

My facility has went to all online inservices. No classroom time required, unless it's for something clinical.

I have to agree with an earlier post that stated it was how society views the elderly. My sister and I are both Rns we were long term care nurses for years but recently she left to go work in the ER. Everyone tells me I am settling and that my sister is "doing something with her degree." I ways tell people we just work with different people. Now I am a supervisor and people still tell me that I am "wasting my degree." But I tell them it's what I wanna do and it makes me happy so it's not really a waste.

I found that relating the different to situations in the questions to real patients that I have encountered to be the best help. I can't remember facts very well. but when i look at a patient I can remeber what they looked like and what caused their body tolook that way. Also in fundamental remembers you ABC's it save my butt a few times.

I deal with patient census a fair amount. Your facility, I assume is a LTC facility. Has a # of LPN, RN, and aides that it has budgeted for working per patients. If the patients arent' there their isn't any money coming into pay the salaries. My place of work has threaten to cut hours before accross the board and lay off new staff because of census being low. Because most facilities are funded by medicaid and medicare, the government controls the money we have coming in based on the number of patients. My advice to find some place that isn't having the census problems, if you can?

I was thinking of going for my NP, but after reading this thread I realize that as the steady income of my family that I need to reconsider. I am all for more education and have been changing around several nurse's aides sch. to help them go through nursing school. But what is the motivation, besides to increase my base of knowledge, to go back to school? Not more money, or being able to take care of my family better as far as I can see.

What state are you in? I am working in Michigan right now and planning to move to north carolina or tennesse in a few years.

It all depends on your employeer. But if you are going to be a lpn, you may want to look into LTC, because most hospitals, at least in michigan, have stopped highering LPNs.

I would look at your facilities. Policy and procedures as a guideline because no matter what a web site says you must always follow the policy.

I would have them talk to a sex therapist or talk to a mental health specialist. Also I would tell them that their are other ways to have get sexually aroused beside having intercourse. I have seen and heard about so may different sexual things that nothing is suprising to me anymore.

I think someone needs to do a study and come up with a solution to all the depression in LTC nurses. I have been at my current job for nine years. first as a CNA, then LPN, and finally this year RN. I thought that getting my RN would make things a little better and I could get treated a little better but it didn't. I now just get more fustrated and burned out every time I go to work. I talk to my fellow nurses at least every day during my break so that i can vent. I also focus on the patient and what I can do for them. I have learned to try to focus just on the patients and not on all the bull that is flying around. In my job I have approx. 6 different supervisors all telling me different things and telling me not to listen to the other supervisors. So I understand fustration at the job. Also my new boss can't start IV's and has only been a nurse for 2 years. I have learned that in long term care that you need to keep your self educated or you get dummer by the day. I have only been out of school for approx. 6 months and I now feel like I need to go back because everything is changing.

I just wanted to post and thank everyone for the information. I am an LPN who actually loves doing feet my place of work has been having me do all the diabetic foot care trimming and monitoring in between podiatrist visits. I love it. Thanks for all the information and for letting me know that it's normal to like to take care of feet. I was begining to think I just had a crazy pruely non sexual fetish.

I am a LPN in Bellaire MIchigan I take home approx $1,200 every two weeks. I have been a nurse for 3.5 years and I work in an ECF

well i have to put in my 2 cents and tell everyone that my facility has always had the patient's attends or any other type of pad signed and dated by the cna in charge of that person for the shift. inc pads are changed every 2 hours and pads for occassional dribbling or pull ups are changed at least once a shift and that's the final rule. sure some times we are called harsh but the work has to be done. also if you are caught charting something that you didn't do. it's called fasification of documentation. the cna's charting is part of the medical record and is legal in the court of law. if a cna is noted not doing there job they are immediatly disciplined to try to correct any bad behaviors.

i think i might have driven behind that grandma once or twice.:roll

well i am glad to see that i am not the only nurse with people not being changed properly. i don't like the idea of people not having to stick to the every two hours policy. our policy at work is changed and repositioned every 2 to 2.5 hours depending on group size. i don't think my inc. patients need to be on a toilet every two hours. but i do expect my cnas to change their patient's if inc. of b&b, and reposition every 2 hours. they do it whether they have 7 or 15 resident's a piece. sometimes i have to help with the repositioning to get the work done but we get it done. i have learned that if you have most of the cnas getting the work done and couple not doing it then you need to start disciplinary action towards those staff and make them do their job or find a new one. :angryfire these cnas that you think would say they are doing it and not doing it are bad news all around. if they would lie about something little like the time of an attend change then, how can you trust them with everything else. :balloons: i have learned that truely dedicated cnas can get the job done, no matter what. i have to give a great big thank you to all the cnas that can do it all in days work. you are truely like little angels

i am a nurse in a ltc. if you already met with the don and got no good results then i think you have a right to explain your story to the state of michigan. just because you are advocating for your grandma how many people there aren't being advocated for. i don't know the laws in michigan but in our facility there are 1-800 numbers for you to call and the numbers of the state department if you suspect any wrong doings or if you don't think the situation was handled properly. it's something to check into. by the way i'm from michigan.

:uhoh21: i am currently trying to decide what to specialize in and was leaning towards crna? can any of you tell me why you decided the fields that you did?

i have been an er fan since from the begining. i watch it for entertainment and that's about it. i recently have been watching the first episodes on tnt in the mornings and i realized that the nurse manager was the one who did most of the stuff. she was the one teaching some interns on how to do simple procedures and she was one of the many nurses that kept the place going. that's just one good example, now a bad one i read on a nursing web site. where abby, the nurse turned doctor over night (yeah right), tells a patient that dosn't want a nurse caring for him, "i'm not a nurse, i'm a doctor" in a way that makes nursing sound like the crap job. i think er needs to take responsiblity for being a reprensative to the world and treat the nurses with a little respect. i think everyone one should check out the web site mentioned in the above thread if you care anything about being a nurse. i tells how to get behind and support fellow nurses. i think we all could use a little support sometimes. unless you all are getting that great respect from the doctors that we see on the tv.:rotfl:

I work in a LTC facility and it seems that every activity we nurses think they would like they hate. My patients had the best fun this summer when one volunteer brought in a little kids pool and they put their feet in it on a hot summer day. It was only their feet and they were covered by hats and other articles of clothing to prevent sun burn. But my residents talked about it for days. My facilitly also has a "happy hour" once a week were they serve pizza, cookies, chip, and other snacks. They even (with the doctors approval) have beer and other alcohlic beverage occassionally. The men love it and the ladies just sit and socialize for hours. But i have to say Bingo is still the most popular thing that we do. I happens twice a week and my ladies look forward for it. Hey sometimes an action movie and popcorn is all my men need to have a good time. The idea about asking the pateints is a good one because everyone has different interest.

The medications are probally because the patient has had uncontrolable problems at one time. Some times a doctor will just add more and more meds until a patient is stable then attempt to wean them off slowly. I work with doctors and pharmacist so where one is putting people on meds the other is trying to take them off. So in my job I would just say the doctor is winning right now.

Well you need to just do your job and she will be forced to do hers. I have been a nurse for approx. 3 years before that I was a cna for 5. I mostly worked on the dementia unit as a cna. I made lots of friends as a cna. Most of my friends still work there are now taking orders from me. I'm not saying that they like taking orders from me but they do it. I have some friends who give me grief about giving them orders but my true friends understand my position and realize that I try to do everything I can for my patients. They understand that I have a job to do and I understand they have a job to do. I think together we have a very successful unit. We always have our work done and typically on time. with nursing nothing is ever on time. Give your med nurse a little credit, as long as she gets her work done the let her do it. But if she starts to slack in a little part you need to make sure you are all over her because if you let her slack even a little everyone will know. You need to stand your ground and make sure that everyone else is doing theirs. You aren't here to make friends you are here to care for patients.