Scared, excited, nervous, anxious.....

Marylou1102 · Feb 28, 2006

Jenny, Congratulations on your graduation! It is scary to go from student to nurse. I was petrified. Most facilities are supportive of their new nurses and try not to overwhelm them. After all they want you to stay. I would tell you to concentrate on what you know, remember what you have learned. Never be afraid to ask for help. Never underestimate your CNAs, they will be your biggest help at times. They can teach you a lot. Concentrate on learning your residents first. Don't think you have to know all the answers right away and give yourself permission to make a few mistakes. You can't walk of the floor and expect to know everything. Please don't be a "know it all" new grad. Thats the surest way to make enemies and ultimately fail at your new job.

Good luck, I'm sure you will do fine.

HeatherLPN · Feb 28, 2006

Make sure you get enough orientation time--if you're not comfortable when it's over, ask for more. Don't be afraid to do things on your own while orienting. Don't be a know it all, but don't be afraid to say that you haven't had much experience with something and ask a nurse to go in with you. Treat your aides well, you need them. It's hard to start a new job, especially going from being "the student" to being "the new girl", but it does get easier.

Town & Country · Feb 28, 2006

First, FIND OUT HOW MUCH ORIENTATION YOU ARE GOING TO GET.

Insist on enough.

They will probably give you as little as they can get by with....

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Feb 28, 2006

Get a ton of orientation. Concentrate on paperwork and their rules for everything. You know patient care and how to do dressings and meds and foleys and that stuff. Even if you didn't get much experience in school w/ these things, you have the knowledge to think those things through. Make sure you learn the policy's since they are different everywhere. And don't be afraid to ask for help if you are sinking. Try to get a nurse to give you a list of residents and how they take their meds. (crushed in applesauce, or pudding or whole in whatever or just w/ water) b/c a lot will refuse them if you give them what they aren't used to. Good luck! We need loving LTC nurses!

dekatn · Feb 28, 2006

Congratulations!!!! I agree with all the above. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

snowfreeze, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2006

You will do well I am sure. LTC can be so rewarding, your transition from student to independant nurse should be no less than 8 weeks. You are going to have to learn a lot of procedures and lots more charting. During that time the residents and their families will get to know you and so will the staff. As GooeyRN mentioned, get other nurses to tell you how residents take their meds and their normal routine. This will help you develop a routine of your own and help you to recognize when a resident is acting out of their norm. Once you are on your own, make sure you have a good reference nurse to call on when you are not sure of something.

Shadowing another nurse for a day or two is very helpful as far as looking at someone elses routine. Take a day with the secretary to understand the paperwork. If you have a respiratory department ask to spend a day with them also. If you have a wound nurse, plan to make rounds with them one day. Although most people prefer to work one shift, learning other shifts routines is also a very good experience. Near the end of your orientation consider orienting on other shifts too. And Dont let them take you off orientation too soon. Sit down with your preceptor and outline what you want to accomplish...and stick to it.

LoriAlabamaRN · Mar 1, 2006

You didn't mention if you were an LPN or an RN, their roles in the LTC facility are quite different in most instances although both are extremely important and rewarding. I'm an RN at a 168-bed LTC facility, and am the night shift supervisor. It's a great deal of work and responsibility, but I absolutely love it and would not take another job for twice the money. There are some ignorant, horribly unfair nurses on this board who have made comments that LTC nurses only work in LTC because they are incabable of "hacking it" in the real world. I found this insulting and absolutely ignorant. As a long term care nurse, you will have a job rooted in compassion and you will know that every day you have the opportunity to make a huge difference in someone's life.

My tips: Always remember that the resident's room is their home. You are a guest there. They stay when you leave, and they deserve respect and whatever sense of privacy they can be given. Also, I have found that many residents will open up when asked about the family pictures in their rooms... and so many of them have led such fascinating lives. Bring cheer into their lives, try to be upbeat and never let them realize when you are having a bad day. Many of them already feel like a burden and it only makes it worse if they sense that you are too busy to take care of them. Find out the nuruse to resident ratio at the facilities you consider. At my LTC it can be as high as 1:55. The night shift is a good place for a new nuruse to start because it alows you to completely familiarize yourself with the paperwork and the environment at a slower pace than during the day.

You strike me as someone who fully understands the blessing that this type of work can be. I'm sure you will love it as much as I do, and the residents will be doubly blessed to have you.

jennyga · Mar 1, 2006

Oh gosh, thank you all for your advice and complements. I will be an LPN. You all had such good advice and I will take it to heart.

Momto2Boys · Mar 1, 2006

Wow this was some really great advise. I had my first day today at a LTC as a new nurse and I enjoyed reading this post!!

Welcoming · Mar 1, 2006

I'm a student working in LTC and I love it too. :) The residents are a wellspring of joy :heartbeatGood luck!

dawnb70 · Mar 4, 2006

Find a mentor. It really helped me, anyhow. And never be afraid that any question is stupid. I've been in LTC for 4 yrs. and I still ask for help if I'm uncertain of something. And like everyone else has said, make sure you've had enough orientation. Oh...and listen to your CNAs. They are your eyes and your ears. If they tell you that a resident is "just not acting right", then take it very seriously. And lastly, be careful of "burnout". It seems so common in LTC to me. We've lost quite a few awesome nurses because of it, anyhow. Best of luck to you!!!!!!!! :)