SNFs PDX

I have worked all four facilities through agency.

Harborcare is very nice; I think the biggest reason is there is a lot of family involovement with the residents. Acuity is low and nurses have plenty of time to get their nursing tasks done; I remember on occasion even asking the aides if they needed help, LOL. And the aides are very good and know the patients really well.

Town Center is also a very decent facility. The DNS is a wonderful woman and the two RCMs I worked with are very capable and nice too. If you work the skilled side, your typical caseload would be 10-12 patients as opposed to up to 20-30 in some other facilities. It's a little different because although you have a med aide, you pass all the bowel, PRNs, coumadins and I think some other heart meds. Still, most shifts there are very manageable and the other nurses are easy to get along with and helpful.

I would stay far, far, FAR away from Laurelhurst and especially Porthaven. Laurelhurst is probably the "typical" nursing home scenario that you hear people gripe about; nothing stands out, really...just not enough staffing. When I worked there I had one floor to myself plus half of another floor that I shared with another nurse. The upshot is that the shared floor tended to get neglected by both nurses, who also had to share a key to the treatment cart. Very much a logisital nightmare and you had to run run run your behind off with a "typical" 15 minute lunch break if you were lucky.

Porthaven BY FAR is the worst facility I've been to as an agency nurse. The double whammy is I was also a pretty new agency nurse at the time. I showed up and got a very scant report for one group of patients from another agency nurse who said "I don't know much about these people." I got no report at all from the other nurse (this was evening shift; apparently they used two nurses for days, one for evening). The nurse working the other side for the evening shift handed me a stack of labs and said "I have the MD on the line, read these to him." One of the labs was a very critical platelet value and when I read it to the MD he freaked out and told me to send the pt. out 911 right away but then asked if there was a regular staff nurse who knew the patient; thankfully the RCM was in her office and willing to take the call (turns out the pt. had advanced HIV and was sent out 2-3 times a week to receive packed platelets and his appt was for the next day). I got NO report on this patient. On top of that the staff could never be found (I'm sure they were also running their buts off b/c of the acuity level). Never again!

I know I'm responding to this pretty late in the game...curious as to where you wound up. Let me know! :)

Simba&NalasMom,

What agency do you work through and how much experience do you need to become a LTC agency nurse? I have worked at a Farmington Centers subsidiary (BayCrest) for 4 months. Laurelhurst is part of Farmington Centers. Both sound identical. Thanks for giving us the heads up about places. It really helps when making a decision.

God Bless!!

Always glad to help. :)

I work for Nursefinders and am probably going to sign on with Medical Staffing Network. Most agencies require a y ear of experience.

Let me warn you: there is NO work for LTC agency LPNs at this time; I don't know if it's any better for RNs. My staffing manager has told me that nothing has been moving in the last week. I've spoken to other agencies and they're telling me the same thing; MSN is willing to hire me on because they are going to start aggressively marketing the LTC market.

I was pre-booked for four weekend shifts and they all cancelled. Times are pretty tough for me these days; I'm applying for emergency food stamps tomorrow, and because I was terminated from my last job my unemployment is in a holding pattern until the unemployment people make a decision on whether or not I even qualify.

Just out of curiosity, I'd love to hear from other LPNs who are struggling to find work at this time...I'm beginning to feel like the loser of the nursing world here.

So sorry about your situation. Mine is not that much better. I am an RN who graduated last May (so I'm new, but not new any more) and worked at BayCrest like I said for 4 months working NOC shift. Then I took a job at what "appeared" to be a nice place working days with weekends off in another LTC facility in an Alzheimer's ward. I quit there after only a week because my "supposed boss" was not allowing me to function as a nurse. Her medical background consisted of being a care-giver. Have you ever heard of anything so rediculous? I mean, I came from a place where at least I was the boss except for the RCM's over me and my DON to working UNDER A CAREGIVER!! It was just too weird and frustrating. Plus there were other pt. safety issues going on.

Anyway, I'm unemployed right now and am seriously considering having to move in with some of our relatives. We have family that live in Gresham and Molalla. So you are not the biggest loser in the nursing world as my situation has put me in a depression d/t my own stupidity.

Things have got to get better for us nurses.

Oh, wow...sorry for your situation too! It seems like OR is one of the more depressed markets for nurses. And yes, it is totally ridiculous to have a crazy boss situation like that. I did an agency shift in a group home which had a similar situation; one of the caregivers had been promoted and had the same know-it-all attitude. I call these types of caregivers "Nancy Nurses." Anyway, the other caregivers told me that they could not stand working with her because she is so bossy and hyper. It s**cks that ignorant, annoying people like that are costing good people jobs!

Hang in there and keep praying...message me if you want. :)

I love that, "Nancy Nurses". You are so right on. Seems like too, that many people don't appreciate or respect the profession either. I found out that I was the 7th nurse they had had in 9 months. You'd think that the people above her head would get a clue as to what the common denominator was. Hmmm. I would message you if I knew how to do it...LOL :)

I did have an interview at a local hospital last week, but I didn't want to lie about what happened and I know I didn't get the position because it was the weirdest interview I'd ever had. They barely asked me any technical questions or critical thinking scenarios and the week prior the nursing manager said they had a couple of part-time positions and last week it was "well, we only have an on-call position open right now". I drove over 30 miles to get there, they could have just said we're sorry but we have filled the position. Instead of having me come in for some fake interview.

Anyway, I'm frustrated and I will probably have to go back to BayCrest. I didn't like that place very much. Most of my co-workers were nice though.

Any advice as to what I should say in a future interview? That is to say if I don't go back or get to go back to my first job (I left in good standing).

I did have an interview at a local hospital last week, but I didn't want to lie about what happened and I know I didn't get the position because it was the weirdest interview I'd ever had. They barely asked me any technical questions or critical thinking scenarios and the week prior the nursing manager said they had a couple of part-time positions and last week it was "well, we only have an on-call position open right now". I drove over 30 miles to get there, they could have just said we're sorry but we have filled the position. Instead of having me come in for some fake interview.

Anyway, I'm frustrated and I will probably have to go back to BayCrest. I didn't like that place very much. Most of my co-workers were nice though.

Any advice as to what I should say in a future interview? That is to say if I don't go back or get to go back to my first job (I left in good standing).

Wow, that does sound frustrating. I did a lot of job hopping the first couple of years that I was a nurse and got called for an interview for a home health position, only to be harrassed about why I've changed jobs so much. I flat out asked them why they called me for an interview if they had a problem with my having multiple jobs in a couple years and one of them said "I was just curious as to what you'd say." UGH!

It's always a tough call when deciding what reasons to give for leaving jobs. One thing to never do is badmouth your old boss; it's seen as unprofessional. Try to keep it focused on you: for example, when I interviewed for my last position, I had left my last job because the boss was pretty much out of control...calling the nurses several times a day, repeatedly asking nurses to case manage patients that were not theirs, etc. At my interview I put a sympathetic spin on it and said my last boss was a wonderful person, but I felt she was so overwhelmed by her duties that it made the work environment very challenging to thrive in. Apparently that worked as I got the job.

There are also lots of sites that offer interview tips: here's one:

http://www.jobinterviewquestions.org/questions/interview-questions.asp

Keep your chin up: it sounds as if lots of us are in the position where we're going to be stuck taking less than ideal jobs and/or getting unemployment.

If you're still thinking of moving up here (I'm assuming you're in the Bend area?) it looks like some RN opportunities are starting to open up. You will not get on at the hospitals as a new grad but I'm seeing some assisted living and home health positions. www.indeed.com is a good place to start.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's trying to find her "niche". Per diem and contract work has got to be challenging, so I give you a big thumbs up and good for you for what you said to that employer who wasted your time. Thanks for the advice of keeping it positive and focused on me.

I will keep my chin up and you do the same.... :)