Tips to be a good LTC Nurse on 3pm-11pm

[downsouthlaff, LPN]

Hello all as you all know ive been a member of this site for 3 years now, been inactive for awhile. Little update i attended Practical Nursing school at a vo tech from august 2013 until December 2014. Early this year i took NCLEX-PN passed the exam and i have been a Nurse now for a few days. It still hasnt quite sunk in yet. (The PVT worked for me ;-) just throwing that out there. Lol. But anyways i will be very soon starting the 3pm-11pm shift as an LPN at the nursing home where i spent most of my CNA days. Any good qulaities that you guys noticed about veteran LTC Nurses, proper approach to being a good team leader when it comes to CNAs and tips for managing med pass, charting, admits etc. it seemd that LTC can be overwhelming for a new LPN and i wanna be the best LPN possible ! Thanks everyone in advance for input and its good to be back !

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

Learn from those who train you. I kept notes on how long it took my trainer to pour meds, as well as how long it took her to pass the meds. Speed is very important when working LTC/ SNF/ alf because we often have 40-50+ clients.

Work hard to learn your clients names. That will speed up your med pass.

In time, you will basically memorize your Pts meds. It may take a few weeks, but you will be able to do your 5 rights and triple checks easier once it all becomes routine.