Trying to Hang In There

Nurses New Nurse

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Hi, fellow nurses. I am a RN, I have roughly 4 months of experience at my first nursing job in long term care. I work 3-11 shift and I have to vent. I get a lot of admissions on this shift and I always stay and complete them. The problem is my facility does not pay overtime. Meaning I have stayed 1-3 hours after work completing an admission. At my facility if a new admission comes before 10pm it is my responsibility, not the next shift. I end up staying so late because not only do I have to finish the admission but I also have to do Medicare Charting, Quarterly MDS Assesement if any, chart on falls and any other pertinent circumstances. I am trying to get my one year experience and rough it out another 8 months, but I feel drained. Then on top of that the DON is chewing me out about a shower room the CNAs left dirty. I always go behind their work but that one day I remember I had two falls and forgot.

Specializes in Hospice.
3-11 is always the hardest shift. You didn't know that?

As for not being paid overtime I would look into that with the US Department of Labor. I know that nursing falls into a special category like farmers and theater workers where normal labor laws don't apply but it doesn't seem right. You might be entitled to compensation but I'm not a lawyer or know the terms of your employment.

Best of luck with your career. I myself would be looking for something better

Federal and most state labor laws forbid requiring hourly workers to work "off the clock" and this includes nurses paid on an hourly basis. There was an attempt made a few years ago to have all RNs designated as salaried managers because we "supervise" CNAs and LPNs, thus exempt from federal overtime laws. It failed.

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One of the jobs I was unofficially offered is for 2-10 shift. As a new grad, I have no idea before that it is the hardest one. Anyway, I wish you can find the way to handle it and able to stick with it long enough until you find another job that suits you better. Hang in there :-)

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I wish you well, always prioritize.

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It's your first job, why should you hang in there for much longer, if you don't like it?

I would say hang on but they don't even pay you for overtime!!! Thievery in broad daylight!

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Hi, fellow nurses. I am a RN, I have roughly 4 months of experience at my first nursing job in long term care. I work 3-11 shift and I have to vent. I get a lot of admissions on this shift and I always stay and complete them. The problem is my facility does not pay overtime. Meaning I have stayed 1-3 hours after work completing an admission. At my facility if a new admission comes before 10pm it is my responsibility, not the next shift. I end up staying so late because not only do I have to finish the admission but I also have to do Medicare Charting, Quarterly MDS Assesement if any, chart on falls and any other pertinent circumstances. I am trying to get my one year experience and rough it out another 8 months, but I feel drained. Then on top of that the DON is chewing me out about a shower room the CNAs left dirty. I always go behind their work but that one day I remember I had two falls and forgot.

I'm sorry this is happening to you and I am once again thanking my lucky stars I am in a union.

Keep toughing it out, do the best you can, and get the heck outta there.

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I respectfully disagree. Yes LTC is not acute care experience but it is experience. Hanging in there for a year will atleast show the employer that she can keep a job and be stable. Employers understand the job market and sometimes we have to take a job when it come up. If the OP gets another job offer that is better then by all means go for it but until then, try your best to hang in there.

I'm not trying to say anything bad about LTC or the experience you get there. It's alot of work and it definitely shows employers that you can keep a job and that your a stable employee. I was not trying to say quit without another job secured, that wouldn't be smart with the job market today. What I was saying is that when the job requires 1 year acute care experience which must hospital jobs do, you won't qualify with one year LTC experience. What makes this worse is that you also won't be considered a new grad anymore so you won't qualify for any new grad programs. This could put you in a tough situation so you should still be applying to other jobs and not waiting for your year at this job to come because of the reasons I just stated, good luck.

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Specializes in LTC.
I'm not trying to say anything bad about LTC or the experience you get there. It's alot of work and it definitely shows employers that you can keep a job and that your a stable employee. I was not trying to say quit without another job secured, that wouldn't be smart with the job market today. What I was saying is that when the job requires 1 year acute care experience which must hospital jobs do, you won't qualify with one year LTC experience. What makes this worse is that you also won't be considered a new grad anymore so you won't qualify for any new grad programs. This could put you in a tough situation so you should still be applying to other jobs and not waiting for your year at this job to come because of the reasons I just stated, good luck.

I agree. :D

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I respectfully disagree about not applying for new grad jobs. I worked in LTC for a year after I graduated and was licensed. It was way harder and demanding than I ever thought it would be. I worked 2-10 mostly. I fell in love with my residents and enjoyed my job (for the most part). Thankfully, the facility I was at was a decent one (compared to what I have read on here). I understand the OP's frustrations in dealing with the admissions and also got the same feedback from the oncoming midnight shift in regards to admission paperwork not completed. It is difficult to get everything done. Do what you can and what needs to be done to get that resident settled. During my time at the LTC facility, I still wanted that hospital experience. I applied for tons of new grad positions, even though I wasn't a "new grad" anymore. I only applied to those positions I was truly interested in. After a year, I finally landed a residency (new grad position). If I am not mistaken, I was the only RN when the program started. The rest of the class were GN's upon hire and have since obtained their RN license. My point to all this is that you can apply to those positions and you may get hired. But, do not settle. Make sure a new position is going to be a positive one for you. It sounds as if you like your job now (for the most part). Take your time and find something that really interests you. What you have going for you now is that you are not "desperate" and feel the need to take anything that comes your way - taking that stance usually ends in a worse situation. BTW, I am totally in love with my new position and continue to work PRN at the LTC facility as well. I miss my residents and co-workers!

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Sorry this is happening to you. First of all nursing is 24 hr a day. You should be able to pass something on to the next shift, so that you get out of there on time. Have you spoke with your DON about this? If not I think she should know that admissions tend to come when your shift is almost over and you end up staying. If they cant find some way to work this out, I would find a new job. You have only put in four months, why waste a year at a nursing home. In a hospital setting, they dont even look at this as experience because its not considered an acute care facility. Why don't you focus on a specialty and get into a hospital setting. You will find that you will have back up from a team leader when you get in situations like that. Don/t waste your time in a nursing home setting. Trust me, I did it for years and wish I would have focused on something like ICU or mother/baby or something like that. You have nothing to lose but stress.

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Sorry this is happening to you. First of all nursing is 24 hr a day. You should be able to pass something on to the next shift, so that you get out of there on time. Have you spoke with your DON about this? If not I think she should know that admissions tend to come when your shift is almost over and you end up staying. If they cant find some way to work this out, I would find a new job. You have only put in four months, why waste a year at a nursing home. In a hospital setting, they dont even look at this as experience because its not considered an acute care facility. Why don't you focus on a specialty and get into a hospital setting. You will find that you will have back up from a team leader when you get in situations like that. Don/t waste your time in a nursing home setting. Trust me, I did it for years and wish I would have focused on something like ICU or mother/baby or something like that. You have nothing to lose but stress.

Please speak for yourself.... many of us started in LTC and moved on to acute care and other specialties with NO problems just because of starting in LTC. NurseryRN14.... you sound like you'd might know more about mother/baby nursing.

Nursing homes are not a waste of time for experience.... just the target of those who dislike them

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.
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Please speak for yourself.... many of us started in LTC and moved on to acute care and other specialties with NO problems just because of starting in LTC. NurseryRN14.... you sound like you'd might know more about mother/baby nursing.

Nursing homes are not a waste of time for experience.... just the target of those who dislike them

I worked for 3 years in LTC and loved every minute of it. Sure, there's lots to do and some days you run like a chicken with your head cut off. I learned so much while I was there. Now I work in hospice and love that, also. I don't know why some people are so down on LTC's. We all have a particular area of nursing we enjoy. I love geriatric pts. You couldn't pay me enough to work w/ babies.

I'm currently in a BSN program and so many of my classmates talk about wanting to work in ER or ICU. They can have it! I'm planning to stay in hospice after graduation. I'll probably work there until the day they admit me to services.

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You sound like a great nurse. The majority of my classmates wanted to work in ER, ICU or Mother/Baby. I was one of a few who wanted to work in Geriatrics or Psych. Maybe someday I will work in a hospital setting but I really don't see that happening. I enjoy working with the elderly and I would have it no other way. I don't know why people come down so hard on LTC. We work hard and take good care of our residents. To each their own. Also, congrats on obtaining your BSN, I hope to go back to school next year to obtain mine.

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