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Discussion

Student needing advice

Hi,

I'm an older nursing student, 44, about to graduate next year. I'm a good student on full scholarship. Now the hook. I may just be burned out already but I'm having doubts about this profession. For 8 years prior to school I've worked as a CNA and do the same, full time, through school, for an agency. To say I'm skilled in geriatric care would be an understatement. I am also a dual psych major and planned to practice geri-psych. However, I just do not think I can do this any longer. I rarely encounter any happy seniors--ever. In fact, the two steady home clients I have now are both complex physical and psychological cases, with both patients exclaiming hourly that they "want to die". I do my best to keep them comfortable, clean, cared for, even entertained...yet nothing changes and I feel helpless and depressed. I realize that I cannot fix everything. But it scares me to question why medically we are prolonging lives of the elderly who clearly experience little to no joy and express no desire to continue what they perceive to be meaningless "existences". I use that term as that is what they tell me...they are merely "existing". The families rarely if ever visit. Many clients are verbally abusive and just plain nasty. Some of my shifts have been...hold on...36 hours straight with no sleep. I complained to my agency and apparently they cannot find fill ins for my shift because NOBODY ELSE WANTS MY CLIENTS. Also, since we are a non-medical agency, I am concerned about a client that has developed leg ulcers due to diabetic neuropathy and cellulitis. He refuses to see a doctor and I cannot get a visiting wound care nurse in here! Am I insane? Can someone please respond. Anyone?

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    Here is the beauty about nursing, you are not STUCK doing geriatrics. I think that you need to start thinking about what other types of nursing you would enjoy. What would those be..so many options that you may not even know all the options that will be available to once you have that RN license in your hands! It does not matter that you are a dual psych major,you can even stay on that path if you like because you can still do things in nursing with it that will not require you to be constantly providing direct care to geriatric patients. It can also be something you have in your back pocket in case you need or want to use it since so many specialties involve taking care of geriatric patients along with all the rest

    You are doing a lot with school and working very long hours taking care of of the vulnerable elderly,of course you are emotionally spent! If possible you need to schedule some mini breaks and plan things that you can do that can inject some joy back into your life as well as to plan little mini rewards for things well done or accomplished. This will help you get through this last hurdle until you can get your license. You must also let you agency figure out their staffing issues and stop rescuing them. It is their problem to find staff for those clients they claim no one wants to take! The price you have to pay working long 36 hour shifts is just too much for you.You need to put your foot down and take control of your schedule. I learned this lesson long ago as a young nurse that I must do this and say no to overtime,no to extra shifts and no to anything extra unless I wanted to do it and the benefit was worth the sacrifice and cost to me.

    Is there any family involved in the care of this diabetic patient that you can get involved in the care of this patient? Also remember that if this person is of sound mind and they do not want to seek medical care that is their right.

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    I worked geriatrics for about five years. I had many, many clients who were not as you describe emotionally. They were sweet, caring, smiley, and accepting that they weren't as healthy as they would have liked.

    I grew up thinking all elders were like my parents and all the elders I had seen in clinicals...grumpy, nasty, complaining, and a real pain to be around. I got the geriatric job because it was all there was, and I needed to work. It was a blessing that fell into my lap, and changed my attitude toward elders. Wow, did I ever have a slanted attitude before!

    Maybe you need to find a different place to work? One that has elders in the integrity rather than the despair part of their developmental phase...

    Is working 36 hours straight even legal??

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