Would love to hear your stories of rewards of long term care nursing.

Published

Hi. I am a new graduate RN, second career nurse, after being a stay home mom. I am interested in working in long term care. I have heard only negative stories from disgruntled nurses I met in school who worked in LTC. Please tell me they are the minority. They paint a picture that is not at all what I was expecting. Complaining about the physicians not caring about patients, the CNAs not doing their jobs and being rude about it, and heartless nurse supervisors. This is not at all what I envisioned. I realize that they aren't me, and their preception creates their reality, but these are the only LTC nurses I have ever met and the four of them were on the same page :-(

If you work in LTC and find it rewarding, please, tell me about it. I would like to start out in LTC of LTAC. I am new to nursing, but have EMS background and ACLS certification. It would be refreshing to actually have time to get to know my patients :) Thank you for any advice you have to offer.

I love LTC, I love being able to treat the entire person, not just their acute illness. My friends that work in the hospital setting are not even allowed to trim a jagged fingernail to bring a pt comfort if that is not part of their admitting dx.

Specializes in LTC.

In even my worst moments, most miserable days/shifts, having a resident smile at me makes it all worth it. Imagine that quite a few residents do not have family that visits, and find rare occasions to smile or laugh. When I have done something that brings a smile to their lips or a laugh to their voice, my God, I can't describe how good that makes me feel. All of the negative of LTC is forgotten, and I'm reminded once again why I show up for this every day.

Specializes in Geriatrics.

I love LTC. It surprised me, too. I started out in Peds, which is what I wanted to do. After 5 years, I took 7 years off to be a stay at home mom. When I took my refresher course, I did my clinical hours in a LTC facility, and enjoyed it so much. I took a job there after I finished the course.

By reading these forums, I realize how fortunate I am. I have an excellent Administrator, DON, and Unit Managers, and we don't typically have a problem with supplies. Yes, there will always be drama/shift wars, etc., and yes, we all feel we could use more staff. But we are supported.

The residents make me smile every day, and I get to work with great staff (for the most part...). I love the long term relationships. I love getting to know residents so well that I can just tell something is "off". I love their stories and their jokes.

I hope you enjoy LTC. If it's the right area for you, I think you'll "know"

Specializes in Psych.

I have worked as ADON and DON for 1.5 years so far. Honestly I had reservations at first because I started out in med-surg. It didn't take me long to realize that I had reached my destination! I absolutely love the residents. Even the mean and cranky ones! You see them on a daily basis and they become your family.

Like any other field of nursing, there is always staffing concerns, drama queens,, call-ins, and etc. Plus LTC facilities are regulated by the state, so you have to learn the regulations, but don't let that worry you, a lot of it is common sense.

Like the above posters mentioned, on my worst days when I walk through the hallways and see the residents with a smile on their face, or I shake their hands or give them a hug, all the bad goes away. I am blessed on a daily basis just by working with geriatric residents. I think once you try it you will love it. Good luck with your venture...and ignore the negativity. Obviously those individuals you mentioned are in the wrong field of nursing!!

Thank you for sharing MarggoRita. I look forward to being able to do the same :-)

bluegeegoo2, than you for your response. I hadn't even thought about the fact that some residents have no family or visitors. You are their family and caregiver. What a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. I loved your your reply. :-)

Thank you Fedide, I am looking forward to long term relationships with my patients as well. How rewarding. I hope I am lucky enough to be empmloyed in a facility like yours. :-)

RN/DON, thank you for your response. I think geriatrics is going to be my niche! I can hardly wait to get hired :-)

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Hi. I am a new graduate RN, second career nurse, after being a stay home mom. I am interested in working in long term care. I have heard only negative stories from disgruntled nurses I met in school who worked in LTC. Please tell me they are the minority. They paint a picture that is not at all what I was expecting. Complaining about the physicians not caring about patients, the CNAs not doing their jobs and being rude about it, and heartless nurse supervisors. This is not at all what I envisioned. I realize that they aren't me, and their preception creates their reality, but these are the only LTC nurses I have ever met and the four of them were on the same page :-(

If you work in LTC and find it rewarding, please, tell me about it. I would like to start out in LTC of LTAC. I am new to nursing, but have EMS background and ACLS certification. It would be refreshing to actually have time to get to know my patients :) Thank you for any advice you have to offer.

Let me start by saying that I have never been an LTC nurse, nor would I ever be. I don't have the patience for it. Nor do I have any nurse friends who work in LTC. What I do have is both a Mom and a Mother-in-law in LTC.

Mamita, my mother-in-law is housed in a facility up north where the physicians don't care, the CNAs don't do their jobs and are rude and confrontative about it and the supervisors appear to be perfectly lovely people -- to the families -- but maybe aren't. Those places do exist. I have nothing to say about Mamita's situation -- her daughter is in charge. My sister-in-law says all the places around her are like that. I don't know, but I doubt it. I think there are good people everywhere.

Mom is currently in her fourth nursing home. She has Alzheimer's and as her disease progresses, so does her level of care. The people in her first, the assisted living facility were wonderful. They took great care of Mom and of me, too! From the janitor who shoveled my car out after a snowstorm (not his job, but he did it anyway!) to the director of the facility, they all seemed to love their jobs and their residents. Mom was happy there -- she said she could always get a hug when she needed it.

The second nursing home was staffed with wonderful, caring people who went out of their way for my mother and for me when I visited. The DON is someone a year behind me in high school, and she'd worked at the same facility since high school, starting as an NA and getting her MSN in geriatric nursing because she loved it so much. We chatted over coffee, and her love for her job and her residents was obvious. Mom's caregivers knew her well and went out of their way to let her "help" with meal preparation, etc. because that was what she needed/wanted to do. One day she folded towels all day. When she finished folding all the towels they'd washed and was looking for more to do, someone unfolded the towels and brought them back to her. Mom said she loved the people there because they let her help others.

The third was a geri-psych facility where she went to get her meds tuned up after she became violent. I only met a couple of people there, but one hated her job and was moving on. (I have to say, she'd probably hate any job that involved getting her hands dirty.) The other was fascinated with Alzheimer's, with med interactions, with programs for getting my mother the proper mix of medications to allow her to participate in life but not to get out of control. She loved her job and the people she worked with.

And the fourth -- current facility -- is staffed with wonderful people who make the effort to make sure Mom is clean and dressed every day in a color-coordinated outfit with some of her favorite costume jewelry. They've asked to hear stories about Mom when she was younger, are fascinated with the pictures my sister and I have sent and seem truly interested in Mom as a person and not just "The Alzheimer's in room 21." If you've never experienced meal times in a LTC facility, you're in for a challenge, but these women and men make it all seem normal and OK.

I cannot say enough about the wonderful people who have cared for my mother for nearly five years. If it's your dream to work in LTC, then I'm sure you'll be one of those wonderful people. You're going to run into a few bad apples anywhere you work, but your wonderful attitude cannot help but be contagious. Good luck!

Specializes in Med-Surg, LTC, Psych, Addictions..

I grew up without grandparents. I never experienced the loving wisdom and nurturing nature of the elderly until I became a nurse. The elderly are so multifaceted in their perspectives, disease processes and familial relationships. I love being a part of their lives. Its hard work, ocassionally disgusting, smelly, stressful and sad, but that's no reason to avoid LTC. The people that we care for make it all worth while. They're so special and I really enjoy seeing their pictures and hearing about what they did in their youth. I look into their twinkling eyes and see beauty, not what most of society see. They are not stupid, crazy or worthless. We are privileged to have the opportunity to be the ones to care for them in their "golden years".

Specializes in Psych.

Wokini1, good luck to you, you'll feel it in your heart if it's the right place for you!

+ Join the Discussion