Will I ever get out of LTC or am I doomed?

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · May 2, 2012

All I do is pass meds, do basic, and rushed assessments, irrigate foleys, change bedsore dressings, chart, do fall work, and get yelled at, and the population I care for (elderly, dementia, or rehab and very needy and frankly a lot of them are abusive and drug-seeking) feels like glorified babysitting.

Oddly enough I see much of the same type of comments posted from the hospital nurses. I would imagine with the baby boom generation exploding into the geriatric population that they will take up the bulk of hospital type admissions.

egglady, LPN · May 2, 2012

Oh please, egglady. As if you do not have patients that drive you nuts. I go out of my way to make sandwiches for people at 3 AM. I ambulate patients who just want to walk but it's night and the aides are all busy. I love my residents, but this is NOT the nursing I wanted to do, SO SORRY I am not so self-righteous as to not admit my frustrations. If you love every part of your job while getting punched by alzheimer's patients just because you approach them and said "Good morning" when they were already awake, you must be some kind of angel that I know doesn't exist. I will sit and have nonsense conversations with patients when they are confused. But I am not gonna sit and listen to a patient complain for 2 hours or call me every swear word and name on earth and pretend to love it. I won't pretend like passing pills for 5 hours a night is giving me useful "skills." I don't have disrespect for my patients, it is the care style in LTC facilities that I can't stand, 50 patients for one nurse, please. Just, please. If you have never felt compassion fatigue you must be some kind of saint, but I am sure that your post is just someone on their high horse while someone else vents. Like you've never felt burnout because of your work environment. Please get over yourself, oh mighty respectful of the elderly, always positive, never frustrated super-nurse. I feel sorry for your patients, if they complain you must give them a lecture. Can't someone just vent, jeezus.

yup, I have those that do drive me nuts, and yup, I have been hit, kicked, spit on and everything else. It is the disease of dementia doing the combative behavior. you need to separate the disease from the resident. My grandmother wouldnt have hurt anyone for any reason ever, ever. Her dementia caused her combativeness. LTC isnt for everyone. My post wasnt made as a personal attack on you. LTC isnt a "stepping stone" like some may think. It just could end up being the hardest job you will ever love!! sincere good luck to you, again my post wasnt and isnt a personal attack...

JZ_RN · May 2, 2012

I'd say those of you who hate it...get out. We don't need people who hate their job so much taking care of frail people. Don't you think they get that you don't like being there so it makes them feel you don't like them. And for the person who said the patients mess up YOUR routine??? Really??? Being old and having to live in a nursing home is messing up their lives. Go work in a derm clinic.

I doubt it, because I am always kind and pleasant to them, and I never get upset at work, I stay calm and smile. So no. Just because I don't love every minute of it doesn't mean i am bad at my job or that I don't care about my patients. Really? If you guys are so un-frustrat-able, maybe you should be canonized. Honestly I never expected so much rudeness from fellow nurses, you of all people should know the difficulties that come with this job.

Nurse456 · May 2, 2012

I hear you JZ. It's definitely frustrating. I have been doing LTC for 9 months - only job available after graduation last year. I have been applying to hospitals. I recently called a family friend who is an MD to ask for some help. It was kinda humiliating but after much prodding from friends I did it - they say "its called networking!" I say it's groveling. Anyway he was more than happy to help and placed a call to HR. He called me back and said "they are reviewing your resume as we speak!". For days I jumped for joy every time my phone rang. Well, it's been 2 weeks. I think what's missing is acute care experience. (duh!) So I decided to get ACLS certified. Maybe it will boost my chances of getting hired in a hospital, who knows. It can't hurt to have it, it's a good refresher after not being in school for a year. In the meantime, keep the smile plastered on. Give the best care you can - given our limited staff/supplies/support. After a recent heinous day from hell my nurse manager came out of her office (rare) and said "i don't know how you do it! I really don't!!" Really?!!

JZ_RN · May 3, 2012

Nurse 456- thanks for understanding and offering advice rather than just bashing when I am frustrated clearly. Some of our managers have come in to work shifts recently to cover call-offs (people hate coming to work, not just me, guess we're all bad nurses) and they struggled, sweated, made mistakes, and barely made it through.. hope some of that reflects in our next nurses's meeting instead of them just yelling at us like slaves who didn't work hard enough.

ClearBlueOctoberSky · May 4, 2012

I'm sorry, JZ, that you are feeling this way. However, it is coming across in your posts, and not just on this thread, that you are more than frustrated. IMHO, you are burnt out. I think you need to take a vacation, look at where you are at right this moment, and make a decision and then follow through with it.

It is fine to vent and rant, however, when your feelings are starting to color your objectivity, it is time to step back. Only you are able to make the changes that will make you happy.

Hope things start to improve for you.

JZ_RN · May 4, 2012

I had had a particularly bad day this day so maybe it does seem like I am more than frustrated. I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by this job. Because of my exhaustion I can't have any life outside of work. I wish I could take a vacation. I really do. I love my patients, but when I literally run for 13 straight hours without so much as a break, lunch, or pee break (yeah I have a UTI right now) and the patients are demanding more, management is demanding more, and everyone piles on the work but never offers help, I feel like, what am I supposed to do? I want nothing more than to do a good job, but this place is killing me. 4 hours of med pass, then 3 of treatments, then 2 of charting, then usually a fall or a skin tear or a foley issue, or a screaming person, it takes 15 minutes of forms to give a PRN, no one to cosign anything, no one to relieve me, aides don't want to help, it's like drowning, never catching up.

I have this weekend off so at least I can sleep more than 6 hours before another 13 hour shift.

Heavenly4505 · May 5, 2012

I'd say those of you who hate it...get out. We don't need people who hate their job so much taking care of frail people. Don't you think they get that you don't like being there so it makes them feel you don't like them. And for the person who said the patients mess up YOUR routine??? Really??? Being old and having to live in a nursing home is messing up their lives. Go work in a derm clinic.

Really CapCodMermaid??? You make it sound like it's so easy to just quit and find a new job. Well, I got news for you--IT'S NOT! And just because someone doesn't enjoy LTC most certainly does not mean they are abusing their residents (you're dangerously close to accusing previous posters of abuse with your comment "We don't need people who hate their job so much taking care of frail people.").

If you would take the time to read my previous posts, you would see that I did NOT say the residents mess up my routine. I said a skin tear or fall messes up my routine, meaning that all the paperwork I have to fill out is monotonous (was talking about the facility making my night difficult, not the residents). I am well aware of how living in a nursing home affects their lives. My dad ended up in a nursing home and then PASSED AWAY in one. And for your information, I would love to work in a clinic. However, none of them in my area are hiring LPNs at the moment--they all want medical assistants. I've applied at every single one within driving distance. I have a family to support and cannot afford to quit my LTC job just because people like you think they know everything and are perfect.

student forever · May 5, 2012

All I do is pass meds, do basic, and rushed assessments, irrigate foleys, change bedsore dressings, chart, do fall work, and get yelled at, and the population I care for (elderly, dementia, or rehab and very needy and frankly a lot of them are abusive and drug-seeking) feels like glorified babysitting.

Believe it or not, this post was extremely comforting to me! As a cna in AL I am considering lpn and I watch what the lpn's do and have decided for sure that I want to do this glorified babysitting for the decent wage that the lpn makes!

Just goes to show that each one has to find the "fit" for themselves, and that "fit" will absolutely change overt time and the flexible person will be most contented if he/she goes for what drives them!

Good luck finding that new "fit" for yourself!

student forever · May 5, 2012

I had had a particularly bad day this day so maybe it does seem like I am more than frustrated. I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by this job. Because of my exhaustion I can't have any life outside of work. I wish I could take a vacation. I really do. I love my patients, but when I literally run for 13 straight hours without so much as a break, lunch, or pee break (yeah I have a UTI right now) and the patients are demanding more, management is demanding more, and everyone piles on the work but never offers help, I feel like, what am I supposed to do? I want nothing more than to do a good job, but this place is killing me. 4 hours of med pass, then 3 of treatments, then 2 of charting, then usually a fall or a skin tear or a foley issue, or a screaming person, it takes 15 minutes of forms to give a PRN, no one to cosign anything, no one to relieve me, aides don't want to help, it's like drowning, never catching up.
I have this weekend off so at least I can sleep more than 6 hours before another 13 hour shift.

The lpn's at our place are stressed out, too, and there is a lot of turnover of cna's and lpn's. The newest lpn told me "don't work here" when I told her i had decided to enroll in lpn school nearby. One beef she mentioned is that the lpn's have to leave at 6:30 pm sharp because mgt does not want to pay over time and they usually stay till 8 or even 9 pm to get it all done!!!!! Her comment was right on: the 2nd shift res aren't done with dinner until 7 pm and the lpn's have to leave at 6:30!!!! YIKES. Makes one wonder, doesn't it?

JZ_RN · May 5, 2012

The lpn's at our place are stressed out, too, and there is a lot of turnover of cna's and lpn's. The newest lpn told me "don't work here" when I told her i had decided to enroll in lpn school nearby. One beef she mentioned is that the lpn's have to leave at 6:30 pm sharp because mgt does not want to pay over time and they usually stay till 8 or even 9 pm to get it all done!!!!! Her comment was right on: the 2nd shift res aren't done with dinner until 7 pm and the lpn's have to leave at 6:30!!!! YIKES. Makes one wonder, doesn't it?

Yeah we are not allowed any overtime either, but if I pass 3 hours of work onto the next shift they will hate me, I will get written up for not completing my tasks. and then they will get stuck staying too. I used to stay and finish it after I clocked out. But then I realized, that's illegal for them to force me to do it. So I called the manager one day and told her that if I was required to do this work they were required to pay me for it, or I was going home and she could come and finish all the paperwork since the next shift was already busy with their work.. she finally approved 1.5 hours of overtime, I got most of the hard stuff done for the next shift lol.

Nurseof2012 · May 5, 2012

hi, im a new working lpn, and just the other day i did a double shift for the first time, and i'm not sure what was wrong with me, but i seemed to have counted one of the narcotics wrong, or i accidently popped it out... one of the other nurses noticed this. so ive been written up, and have gotten counseled/ lectured about it from the supervisor and the don.... to make it worse, the facility is filled with mostly one type of nationality of people, and they all seem to be talking alot in their own language... and i know news spreads fast around there, which just makes it embarrassing... ugh.. but does anybody know what happens after this? because the don did mention that she would have to tell the pharmacist, dr, and administrator... would they take further action other then the write up? this is all so depressing.. i feel like it should never of happened..