Transitioning to transitional care

[mtjoanna]

I am currently in orientation in transitional care. I've worked at this facility for 6 months in one of their long-term care units and have loved it but they didn't have full time hours for me there and the transitional care unit did, so I've moved departments. I had some transitional care residents at my previous facility but they generally were recovering from falls or pneumonia, things like that.

So far, I've oriented 2 of my 6 nocs of orientation and one was very, very quiet, the other showed me that I have a LOT to learn about dressings and post-op care. I'm seeing fresh CABGs, hips, total knees, a fresh abdominal surgery with wet-to-dry dressings, am told that there are often PICCs. I'll be working nights, so won't have much in the way of back up available and am feeling excited about how much I'll be learning but also a bit overwhelmed and not wanting to screw up. Those who have made this transition, what words of wisdom do you have? What resources would you suggest?

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Is this in a hospital or free standing facility. What are the staffing ratios there? We get alot of the same type of patients in our LTC, but they are normally at post op day 2 or 3.

[mtjoanna]

It's a long-term care facility, not in a hospital, though they have PAs and NPs that round daily from both local hospitals. There are actually 2 transitional care units, both set up very similarly to each other and I'll be working in both units. During the day there are 2 nurses and 2-3 transitional-care aids (CNAs with extra training) for 16 residents. My shift will be 1800-0600, will have all of the 16 residents, and from 1800-2300 will have two transitional-care aids and one aid after 2300. I came from a facility where I worked the same hours and was the only nurse in the building for 45-53 residents, so the 1:16 sounds pretty good.