I recently obtained a job PRN in a nursing home. I am a new grad LPN and we are only allowed a 5 day orientation (today was day 5 for me), although I was told I could have a few more days if necessary. I must say I knew this would be no bed of roses, but it has turned out to be nothing short of a nightmare:( At this point I am not sure if I am going to be able to handle this job. I feel totally overwhelmed. The med cart is a jumbled assortment that I don't think I could have memorized even in my younger years lol. I am trying hard to memorize the 30 something odd folks on this hall, but as they are all over the place it is hard to keep track of a lot of them. I have also noticed that many of the residents don't have ID bracelets on, which I thought was very strange.
I don't want to just "give up", but really feel stressed out. Everyone keeps telling me it will get better...which I truly want to believe. This job is only two days a week every other weekend and every other Monday and Friday, which would allow me to return to school in January, as I had planned. I know that LPN's seem to have limited places that they can work and I don't want to job hop all over the place.
Hopefully I can make it work. I hope everyone has a great evening!
Specializes in Mother-Baby, Rehab, Hospice, Memory Care.
Wow two weeks seems almost unheard of for LTC orientation around here! As a new grad I was supposed to get 3 days of floor orientation which actually turned into like 2 1/2 because state came and they were all running around like crazy and I was left to myself. Fortunately I worked the unit with 3 other helpful experienced nurses, but it was pretty much learn as you go!
hmmm... well if I do this, this weekend I will be the ONLY nurse on this hall. There will of course be the CNA's.
Maybe I am asking for too much or maybe this just isn't for me. I just don't want to do anything detrimental to someone because of a lack of orientation. All I know is what I have been told by my classmates in two other establishments... they got two weeks before going it alone.
I will see what happens when I call later this afternoon.
Point understood kat7ap! So ID Band is not a necessity as long as they have to types of identifiers correct...which could be name on the door of the room? Picture in the Mar? Picture in the residents chart? I definitely agree that it is easy to learn your residents in the matter of days. I was under the impression that if state came into the facility that a id band was necessary to match against the residents chart. Thanks...Good to Know! Good Luck to you!
I have been a nurse for 5 years in Feb. 4 years in Ltc, it is pretty much how you described, I t took me at least 4 to 6 months to feel confident in handling my unit and understanding my job. I f you like this kind of nursing hang in there, I find there is always a nurse that will answer questions and help as needed, you just have to find her. This past year I have been working in Assisted Living as nurse manager, No med passes, no medicare charting, managing staff and f/u on orders and charting etc, I don't miss the hetic shifts of LTC. As for training 5 days was done if you were lucky, as soon as there was a call in I was on my own. I always had a small notebook in my pocket for assessments and a small drug book,also made sure my cart was set up with everything I needed .I too pulled all my charts for charting and put them back when done.I also found the weekends where easier because no MD calls, and used them to help me get better orginized. Tube feedings and other skills take time to get comfortable with, some day you will make through a shift and think wow I am doing It .It is a very challenging job, Good luck,
Hi vslpn and again ty everyone for all the replies..
I did manage to get a couple more days to come in this week and they took me off the schedule for this weekend. I am going in Wed and Thurs of next week and then will try and take it by myself on Friday and also the following Monday, which will at least give me the "friendly" unit manager around for questions I might have.
I did most of the med pass on Wednesday alone. It was slow going and one of the resident's family members complained that her meds were late. Someone from the family pretty much stays with her all the time and frankly they seem to want to question each and every little thing. I wish I could fault them for this, but due to the stuff I have seen in this facility I can't blame them for wanting to make sure their mom is okay. I would be the same way. However, in my own defense, I had pulled her meds earlier and she was gone to physical therapy... so their wasn't much I could do but wait until she returned.
While I genuinely enjoy the elderly residents... this hostile and dishonest environment is not somewhere I care to be for very long. I don't know if all LTC facilities are this way or not, but I simply do not feel comfortable here. One of my classmates has went to work there full time on the 3-11 shift on a different hall and she is pretty much feeling the same way....(in fact she just interviewed for another job yesterday)... so I know it is NOT just MY preception of things. Everyone keeps telling me that there is going to be things you don't like at each nursing job and I can understand that.... however, I can't help but feel there has to either be a better facility for me or else another field of nursing and I think I am going to keep searching lol. What limits me is the fact that I want to return to school and I also have an elderly parent residing with me so I need either part time or a flexible schedule. Maybe something will come up soon..I am certainly going to keep my fingers crossed. In the meantime I am going to try and do this for a little while so that I can say I have at least "some" experience working.
Have you considered an Assisted Living Facility? You will likely find that the pay rate is a bit lower yet it tends to balance out with regards to stress level....enviroment etc. If you are unhappy my suggestion is to look elsewhere for employment that you will find satistiying. I began in LTC on the 3-11pm shift with 52 patients and had a three day orientation...new grad as well. This type of work is not for everyone...it was not for me...hence my employment in an Assisted Living Facility. Make no mistake in any situation there will be a certain amount of stress...drama from coworkers etc. Hang in there. You will eventually find your niche!
ty very much for the encouragement! Yes actually I had been wondering if perhaps Assisted Living would be any better than this?? The RN over the unit told me that it wasn't as intense. As I said before it is not the residents... because I love the elderly and have a ton of experience in dealing with them... hehehehe I have an 84-year-old mom who resides with my husband and I.. and boy she can be as petulant as a child at times:)
I think what is bothering me the most about my situation is the dishonesty of this place not making sure certain residents medications are administered and then me being expected to sign that it was. It really goes against my nature to do this and I also fear for my license. I went through pure h*** getting my license due to a DUI from 26 years ago (you can read about that nightmare in another of my posts lol) and I value keeping them very much! Everyone keeps telling me this goes on everywhere and that I am just a "new" nurse etc... well I might be a new nurse, but right is right and wrong is wrong and I certainly know the difference.
I just want to find somewhere that I can be reasonably happy and gain valuable knowledge/experience. It has to be out there somewhere lol. I would rather make less money and be satisfied than more money and dread going into work each time.
Expected to sign for meds you didn't pass? In the absence of further details, that's about three red flags.
Another caveat. While ID bands are usually not used in LTC, some facilities use ID bands on W/Cs, but the residents don't always end up in their own W/C. On a more positive note: don't worry about being slow for several weeks, even months. Always think safety first. When stuff gets real thick, take a two minute break. Those two minutes won't put you any further behind, but it may just clear your mind enough to tackle the job with renewed confidence. Be aware that many residents get anxious around new staff members, no matter if you just graduated or have thirty years experience, so project confidence and always remember: each shift comes to an end and you can and will make it.
I can appreciate the statement about each shift ending... it kind of reminds me of what one of my nursing instructors said...told me to remember when I was having a bad day that, "this too shall pass". lol
As far as the signing on the meds... the details on just one incident would be this particular resident who has a "nursing home" romance with another resident lol. She leaves the hall early every morning to sit in the lobby with her "friend" and does not return until afternoon... I am gone by this time. She is supposed to have her blood sugar checked each morning. I have managed to "nab" her ONE time one her way down the hall to the lobby and got it.. the rest of the times zilch.
My preceptor seems to have the attitude, "if she isn't here guess she won't get the meds". BUT then yours truly here is expected to sign the MAR that I have administered them to her. I have mentioned more than one time if it is possible that a CNA can go and get her at least long enough for me to give her what she is supposed to get.... but this hasn't been done as of yet. I am merely brushed off as the newly paranoid nurse and told I will "learn" lol. I have managed to give her meds one time since I have been there.
I left it blank a few times figuring she could put HER name. I did sign a couple of times last week, but I have decided that when I go back in next Wednesday that I will NOT sign if they cannot "retrieve" her for her med pass. I just am not going to put myself into that type of situation any longer. This is just one of many.. if a med isn't available for a resident... they sign they gave it anyways.. Most of the equipment does not work properly to monitor VS... so they just make em up. If I continue to work there then I feel I must buy some sort of BP monitor of my own because I am not doing that either.
I had such high hopes for my first nursing job. However, they are rapidly dwindling. If this is the way working in LTC is going to be in all facilities... I think perhaps I best go back to delivering mail! At least with that the only thing I could possibly harm would be the "BAD", which is post office slang for the BIG ASS DOG running loose that you have to pepper spray, as you leave a package on a porch LMAO!
I do NOT like that they are telling you not to do it "right" unless State is in. My first job as an LPN was like that and I had to unlearn a LOT of bad habits. And doing it right isn't as time-consuming as trying to take short-cuts.
Pegasus, this sounds like a terrible place to work. I have only once been asked to falsify records, and it was on that first job. The facility DOES get caught, as do the nurses.
Honestly, I would look for another opportunity. While LTC can not be prefect, this place plays awfully fast and loose with the standards.
I think I already know in my heart that is what I am going to have to do:( I didn't want to "job hop" and was told to avoid that in school. But honestly... I don't think I am going to make it here.
Have you considered an Assisted Living Facility? You will likely find that the pay rate is a bit lower yet it tends to balance out with regards to stress level....enviroment etc. If you are unhappy my suggestion is to look elsewhere for employment that you will find satistiying. I began in LTC on the 3-11pm shift with 52 patients and had a three day orientation...new grad as well. This type of work is not for everyone...it was not for me...hence my employment in an Assisted Living Facility. Make no mistake in any situation there will be a certain amount of stress...drama from coworkers etc. Hang in there. You will eventually find your niche!
kat7ap
526 Posts
Wow two weeks seems almost unheard of for LTC orientation around here! As a new grad I was supposed to get 3 days of floor orientation which actually turned into like 2 1/2 because state came and they were all running around like crazy and I was left to myself. Fortunately I worked the unit with 3 other helpful experienced nurses, but it was pretty much learn as you go!