Tell me the good things about LTC!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Brief summary:

I worked as an RN in the hospital environment for 2+ years (Med-Surg/NICU); I even tried Home Health Care for a few months. I just cannot seem to find my spot in Nursing and don't want to keep jumping positions.

So, I sat down and made a list of what I like/ do not like about Nursing:

I like providing continuity of care, getting to know my patients and their families. I also like leadership and do well in a supervisory role. I love patient education.

I did not like the constant anxiety I felt in the NICU setting, wondering what horrible thing could happen next.

I have just accepted a Baylor position in an LTC/ rehab facility. But, after reading many posts here, it sounds like it is a "step-down" for me as an RN. This facility will advance me in a supervisory role, and I like the extra responsibility that comes with it.

Can someone please share the positives of working in an LTC environment?

Many thanks!

:redpinkhe

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Wellllll.....first of all, I don't think of it as a step down. You will be learning and using different skills than that of the NICU.

Find a LTC that has skilled care and not just LTC/ intermediate care. You will find tons of wound care, IVs for abtx, tpn, fluids, Tube feedings, teaching for diabetic, cardiac wounds...etc. We have trachs, but no vents (some subacute faclities will)...you will see a mix.

Positives....I like the continutity of care..after a while, you feel like family.

oops...I have more on this, but the kids are bothering me..

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Specializes in geriatrics / peds private duty.

I'm a LPN and I worked LTC / Rehab for a couple of years, and then I left to take a fulltime private duty position, BUT.... I keep going back to the LTC facility. I take a shift about once a week or so. I just CAN'T leave my "old" friends. They need me. We've bonded. I just love them. :heartbeat They're friendly and sensitive. (for the most part!!) They love to talk and feel wanted. :heartbeat Even when I can't pick up a shift, I stop by as a friend just to check on them and make sure they're being taken care of!! I guess in a way when I'm with them I feel needed.

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Specializes in Hem/Onc, LTC, AL, Homecare, Mgmt, Psych.

I don't consider it a step down either. Some LTC's don't pay as much vs hospital pay and some pay more so go figure. For me LTC was a job where I only had a 5 minute commute. That's what got me in here as an LPN and what is holding me here until I get my RN.

You do get to know your pts very well, and they look forward to seeing you. And having that breakthrough and establishing a good relationship with difficult family members is awesome. There is teaching, and wound care and trach care and hemovacs and lab draws and PICC lines etc. Geriatrics is such a fragile population that there is always something going on to keep you thinking.

Over time.... you control the care that enables pts to get better and leave, or maintain, you help people be comfortable as they die. You develop a good rapport with the visiting MD's and pharmacists. As a clinical mgr, supervisory position, you'll have more politics and paperwork than I do as a wing nurse but some people really enjoy and excel in those positions. Supervisors don't seem to go as crazy as fast as the wing nurses IMHO. :p

Sara

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I have never worked NICU but I still have stress in LTC. Although I am a new nurse, and I am still scared of things that I do not know about. However, I love LTC. You get to know the patients and their families very well. There are residents who are absolutly so funny you can not stop laughing, and there are other patients who need extra care, like little old ladies who just like the one on one attention. But I think that if you are in upper management you might not even deal with patients. You know, I have never seen our DON visit with our residents. If I were in her shoes, I would do rounds everyday and ask how everyone is doing, just so I would know. Anyway, I love it.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I have worked in LTC for > 16 yrs. I love it! You really get to know the residents and the staff becomes almost like family. The residents come to know you and the continuity of care is phenomenal. I love that we get to be there for them from admittance to discharge (or if D/C is not possible) to support them as they pass. Hope you have found your niche. Good Luck!!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, WCC.

Actually, you will need to use your critical thinking and assessment skills more than ever as there is not a doctor around every corner when in LTC.

It also becomes a large family atmosphere with the residents, staff and families interacting over a longer period of time than you would have in a hospital setting. But, this is coming from a nurse that has never been interested in working in a hospital and would only ever work in a LTC facility.

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in september, i will have worked in ltc for four years! :yeah: i love my job. i love the patient education. i love the night shift. some residents are awake during the night and it makes for very interesting conversations. i love that the residents trust me enough to feel safe when they are sleeping. i love it when they tell me they are happy to see me. i enjoy working with my coworkers. most of the time, working in long term care is very fun for me. i don't enjoy the paperwork. but, i enjoy being there for them and their families. i do think it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle this type of work. it does come with it's own challenges too. when i read the original post, i had to laugh because in ltc, we are also worry about what's going to go wrong next. but, it's fun none the less.

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Wellllll.....first of all, I don't think of it as a step down. You will be learning and using different skills than that of the NICU.

Find a LTC that has skilled care and not just LTC/ intermediate care. You will find tons of wound care, IVs for abtx, tpn, fluids, Tube feedings, teaching for diabetic, cardiac wounds...etc. We have trachs, but no vents (some subacute faclities will)...you will see a mix.

Positives....I like the continutity of care..after a while, you feel like family.

oops...I have more on this, but the kids are bothering me..

What are some of the things you would do working for a Mental State Hospital's Nursing home? Would it be considered skill care or intermediate care? The reason why I'm asking is because I'm thinking about working at a State Hospital upon graduation and I was trying to decide if I wanted to do psych nursing or nursing home. I'm thinking that I'm going to choose nursing home because some of those psych units are just plain out scary.

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Positives in long term care include time for more assessment... I get time to think about and assess patient problems which can often be complex due to multiple diagnoses. LTC includes mental and medical nursing skills and Palliative care.

You get to know your patients and their families quite well. The care becomes more indepth.

I find there to be more laughter in the long term care facilities.

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Specializes in Med/Surg...psych...ortho...geriatrics....
What are some of the things you would do working for a Mental State Hospital's Nursing home? Would it be considered skill care or intermediate care? The reason why I'm asking is because I'm thinking about working at a State Hospital upon graduation and I was trying to decide if I wanted to do psych nursing or nursing home. I'm thinking that I'm going to choose nursing home because some of those psych units are just plain out scary.

I couldn't help but comment on this one....If your LTC is anything like the one I work in, you will get PLENTY of PSYCH experience:bugeyes:

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Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU, Psych, Med-surg...etc....

The staff and residents become like a family and the staff really care about what they do and about giving the best care for their "family".

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