Just plain NEW

[LTC LPN 2006]

Hello Everyone
I'm new to this site as well as a new LPN. I completed my schooling in June, got my license in September and I've worked for the last 2 months at a nursing home working full time 3rd shift.
I'm having a lot of frustrations with the facility I work at and my fiance suggested I look for a nursing forum to see if other nurses experience the same struggles or if maybe it really is the facility I am at. I'm thinking of looking for a new job but hate change and I'm finally familiar with the place I'm at.
Anyway, I'm glad to have found this forum. I've already posted a few things and replied to a few other posts.

[cougarnurse]

Welcome to the site! Nice to have you with us.

I work LTC, also, and believe me, I know where you are coming from. I have been at my facility for a little over 7 years, and have daze (er....days! ) like that.

We have a LTC forum, so let's blow off steam there! Maybe we can find a happy medium somewhere.....

'Cat'

[LydiaRN99]

I can understand your frustrations with other employees not doing their part as you do. I was an LPN for a while until I completed my RN. I was working agency in local nursing homes/assisted living (since that is where most LPN's are used in IL) and GOD BLESS YOU! I believe that everyone finds the area they like and fit in most, and I was always very frustrated there. I never felt like I could give the patients the time and care they deserved/wanted. I remember having 27 patients once! And I would also get frustrated when nurses would "stroll in" when they saw fit! That happens everywhere! I now work in the ER as an RN and you're right, it seems like day shift just can't make it on time. That 30 minute overlap is for report, and I don't think people get that. I live 20 miles from where I work right now (still doing agency) and I leave 45-60 min before my shift starts. That allows me time to fight traffic, trains, accidents, etc. There are people who live closer than me who can't seem to make it on time.

You're right in saying it has alot to do with work ethic. We don't have carts in the ER, but we have work stations, and I hate it when I have to throw out someone elses coffee cup or extra blood that always manages to be sitting on the counter! Yuck! I am also one of those people who sterilizes my area before work. We are exposed to so many illnesses in the ER, I just always try to avoid getting them!

Where did you go to school? I also live in IL. Gotta love winter! NOT!

[cougarnurse]

Yeah, what IS with people who can't get to work on time? Or call off 1/2 an hour before the shift starts (and rules say 4 hours before....!)

Sounds like we have alot to grouse about.

'Cat'

[SoldierNurse]

Hello Everyone
I'm new to this site as well as a new LPN. I completed my schooling in June, got my license in September and I've worked for the last 2 months at a nursing home working full time 3rd shift.
I'm having a lot of frustrations with the facility I work at and my fiance suggested I look for a nursing forum to see if other nurses experience the same struggles or if maybe it really is the facility I am at. I'm thinking of looking for a new job but hate change and I'm finally familiar with the place I'm at.
Anyway, I'm glad to have found this forum. I've already posted a few things and replied to a few other posts.

Your fiance made an excellent suggestion! Glad you listened.

Welcome & post often!

[cougarnurse]

OK, you Illinois nurses....what's going on lately?

[nursinghumor]

Welcome to the forums, glad to hear you're out in the field working

It's natural to have concerns about work conditions and how you are treated. You can find detailed discussions in our forums. You may find that your concerns are not just your own. That they are shared by many others.

Visit: http://www.ultimatenurse.com/forum/f124/

Find out what others are thinking and have to say. You may realize that similar concerns are being raised and it "is not just you."

Try to stick it out in your new job at lease six months to a year. By then you'll be accustomed to the facility and the people you're working with. You'll be in a better position to decide if you should stay or not. In addition, you'll also have a year of experience by then which will make it easier to find a new job. Before you know it, an opening may come up on days or 3-11 and it will make all the difference in the world to change shifts.

Hang in there, give it some time, find out what others are saying in similar situations.

Best wishes for a great 2009!

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursefriendly.com