I think NOT!!!! I have been so insanely busy with things at work, and it just makes me so mad when nurses say that I will lose my skills in LTC. today- PICC line, Central line,IV on 3 residents, TPN, trache care, G tubes, J tubes, not to mention all the neb tx, meds, eye gtts, nasal sprays, inhalers, families, doctors not returning calls, resident falls, another one in resp distress, dealing with paramedics who cant believe we gotta do CPR on someone 90. on and on and on!!!!! Here is a note to all the folks who dont or have never worked in LTC- we do not just write letters for sweet old ladies!!!!!! Thank you for letting me vent!!!!!
Loved the above post about what a wound vac is. During clinicals in the hospitals, I never saw one. I never had a patient that needed trach care. Never dealt with TPN. I get to do it all and more in my rehab wing of LTC.
And try doing a wound vac right next to an ostomy! What a mess. We usually have to clean and change it every shift!
I saw this thread and I had to comment! I am an RN and I am currently ADON of a SNF. We are high acuity (LOTS of iv's, central lines, wound vacs, etc) and I would definitely say that "skill loss" is not a problem. That being said, I come from a nontraditional background for a SNF nurse. Previously, my experience has been in CCU and ED. I have absolutely loved critical care. I was offered my current job by a DON who is an amazing mentor, and thought that I might like a change of pace. I am a Navy wife, and the places we have moved have not always given me the luxury of picking the "perfect" job. I was uncertain at first, but I love my current job. I'm not saying that the skills I use are the same as they were in the CCU, although my assessment skills are EXACTLY the same, I'm just saying that I think the most important thing is for nurses to stick together. We are all on the same team, and we all (hopefully) thoroughly assess our patients, and do the best we can with the situation at hand. Some of us hang dopamine, some of us deliver babies, some of us teach, and some of us do the MDS (haha, I have learned to hate that thing), but at the end of the day we all play an important role in healing our patients and their families. None of us could exist without eachother, not effectively anyway, and we should all do a better job of appreciating the work done by our peers.
Dalla
157 Posts
Loved the above post about what a wound vac is. During clinicals in the hospitals, I never saw one. I never had a patient that needed trach care. Never dealt with TPN. I get to do it all and more in my rehab wing of LTC.
And try doing a wound vac right next to an ostomy! What a mess. We usually have to clean and change it every shift!