What lies were you told when you were first hired in LTC?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I was told that I was hired to work on one specific unit only. I then discovered one day that I was actually the "float nurse." No one bothered to tell me that I was now the "float nurse." I was told that I was going to make a certain amount of money per hour. When I got my paycheck it was $2 an hour less then what I was told. I had to "fight" to finally get the wages I was promised. So what about you? What kind of lies were you told?

Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Feel your pain, Iowa. So many facilities really don't care a bit about staff anymore. They just wanna squeeze employees more and more... no matter the sacrifices already being made.

The only thing to do is hopefully find a better employer... one that realizes that staff dissatisfaction leads to increased overall costs, lower patient satisfaction, and reduced profits in the long run.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med/Surg, hospice.

That I was going to be working on the medicare unit which guaranteed only 10 - 12 patients per nurse. That lasted all of two months and then it was decided that the medicare nurse would have the same ratios as the LTC nurses (20 - 30 depending on census). But each medicare resident was to have a private room and therefore these residents had to be split between two separate halls. This nurse was now required to run between two halls all shift, sometimes being stuck on one hall for extended periods of time to give care, all the while having NO idea what was going on on the other hall. Before pt and family complaints got really bad, they actually only had one CNA on these halls too. Not to mention 90% of the residents we seemed to get were confused and had bed/chair alarms. I probably had at least 2 falls a week. And we had to do all of the admissions and discharges. Oh and our admissions/marketing person lied to residents families and told them they would get services that were virtually impossible. I was scared every day I went to work there.

No, I'm not bitter....

(But I'm in school for my RN now and found a new LTC facility that I LOVE going to work at and actually feel safe and proud to be a nurse there. More importantly, I feel good that the patients are in a safe place.)

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Raise? We NEVER get raises!

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In LTC it's mostly paperwork & meds & we have almost no time for the residents.

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Specializes in home health, LTC, assisted living.

I work at the "Anything Goes" LTC facility. Sometimes a nurse or CNA will arrive to work and find out that they are not on "the unit they wanted". Instead of just accepting their new assignment, they get upset, clock out and go home. I don't act like a "2 year old" when I am asked to go to other units. I just go where I am needed. I think that is why they made me the "float nurse."

do they still have a job?

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... Instead of just accepting their new assignment, they get upset, clock out and go home...

These folks aren't written up???

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Yes they still have jobs and no they are not written up. The only reason a nurse is written up here is if she has "too much overtime."

So the good nurses who stay over to do their "required charting" are the only ones who are in danger of being written up.

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They told me they actually cared about the residents. Turns out that was a big fat lie.
Yes it seems that is a "very popular lie" at many LTC's.
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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... So the good nurses who stay over to do their "required charting" are the only ones who are in danger of being written up.

Don't ya just love modern nursing? ;>)

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