slower paced nursing in long term care?

[pepsi115]

I'm 50+ years old and just started nursing after getting laid off 4 years ago and not being able to find a job. I just started working in a hospital in an area that I am told is the best place to work in the hospital. Unfortunately, the pace is too fast for me and at this stage in my life I am just interested in a steady job until I retire. I am not interested in working codes, giving blood, or anything remotely risky or invasive and want something with low stress and slower pace. Is long term care a better fit for me? Please help. I'm at my wits end and dread going to work every day.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Perhaps you should look into why at the age of 50 you're out of energy to the point that you think you can't work in a hospital. Are there physical problems? No matter where you work you will need to be able to be an effective nurse. I know many nurses 50, 60 and then a few in their 70's who physically and mentally run circles around the younger crowd. You must come to terms with the fact that no matter where you are as a nurse these days management will pile it on no matter what and you need to bring your A game to the table.

What's really up? How's your diet, do you smoke/drink, do you exercise on a regular basis, when was your last physical, are you letting the sunlight hit your skin ... you know the drill. What do you do for your mental health ... what do you do for you? Of course these questions are not to be answered on this forum but are posted as food for thought.

BTW; LTC is on of the hardest nursing jobs I've ever had. If you don't feel old when you go in no matter what age you are you will if you stay too long in a position you loathe (that goes for any area of nursing one doesn't want to really be in).

Stress and RN are synonyms.

[DixieRedHead, ASN, RN]

I have worked in the ED and LTC. LTC is faster and harder.

[pepsi115]

Thanks Capecodmermaid. Your right, I don't want to work for you.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

It's a full moon. Maybe we should all retire for the night and just cool down.

[seizetheday]

It is a constant source of frustration among ltc nurses that the public, and other nurses, feel that ltc is an easy job -- the original post is indication of that. You made a comment about an enormously difficult job, for which the nurses doing it receive no validation, that was very specific to your specific experience and completely different from what the majority of ltc nurses deal with.

I'm sure your intentions were good, but you touched a nerve. I think that instead of jumping to the defensive because a poster pointed that out to you, maybe you should just let this go.

Your grandmother is lucky to be in a facility like that. My feeling is that either the nurses are not doing as good a job as you think they are, or, they are doing such a fantastic job that you don't even realize how difficult they have it.

Or, your grandmother is living in some kind of parallel universe where people are actually treated with kindness and respect. If so, point me in that direction.:)

I understand that perception. I work psych, and area of nursing that gets similar if not less validation than LTC. Many people suggest psych is easier, slower paced or less difficult/demanding than other areas of nursing which it isn't based on the experiences that I have had and that of the psych nurses I know. That said I can accept that maybe others have had a different experience. I wasn't trying to say LTC was a joke job. I apologize for posting again after you have told me not to but I wanted to clear up that.

And the nurses in my grandmother's facility do treat her with kindness and respect and they do a good job. We wouldn't have her there if they didn't. They have been wonderful. She cherishes the time the nurse spends with her as it makes her feel special.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

Like someone mentioned, maybe you should look into working @ an ALF. Or maybe a position as a utilization review nurse (sorry if that's already been mentioned)?

I'm still in NS, and doing my clinicals @ a nursing home..but I've worked in a few nursing homes as a GNA & let me tell you..those nurses work HARD! I tip my hat to all the nurses who work in LTC :)

[beast master RN]

it all depends on the place and unit, iv had 30 plus resident halls that were busy!, but at the same time i worked with a lady that was get this, 76 years old for real 76 years old , and still doing it , she worked in a 15 or so pt locked unit for dementia residents , so it is 100% def possible

[pepsi115]

Most of these postings have confirmed what I suspected, that LTC is just as stressfull and fast paced as any other nursing job. I am also getting the impression that there is no such thing as an easy nursing job. Guess I'll have to either learn to like it or go back to school and be a paralegal.

[beast master RN]

also if your not opposed to doing nights , you might want to go there , talk about Slow paced easy , easy , easy job , some people may say other wise but from my experiences the hardest part about working nights at my LTC facilty is staying awake some nights, lol, all so try just about any psych unit if that doesn't drive you crazy

[GimiRN]

Have you thought about a doctors office? health department? home health? hospice? insurance company?

To the OP, no doubt you'll find stress in every job, nursing or otherwise. But I agree that you should look into some of the above mentioned areas, as well as private duty, school nursing, or ALF (as mentioned by others). I've worked both hospital and LTC, and while there are differences, the pace is relatively the same.

[JenniferSews]

I think you can find a place that is slower paced if you look hard in LTC or other specialties. Like a night shift in a med surg in a rural community with low census that transfers acute patients to a major city. Or my facility on the wing ltc on the day shift. 20 patients and once you get the flow it's not unreasonable. Maybe a doctors office with a lower patient load. It just takes some looking.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

also if your not opposed to doing nights , you might want to go there , talk about Slow paced easy , easy , easy job , some people may say other wise but from my experiences the hardest part about working nights at my LTC facilty is staying awake some nights, lol, all so try just about any psych unit if that doesn't drive you crazy

How long did you work nights?

Seriously, if someplace really was that slow, it's definitely not the norm (for any night shift- acute, or LTC...some places may be slowER but still enough to stay busy)