Since graduating I have been employed at a local nursing home. It was been a wonderful experience! Long term care nursing is totally different from working in a hospital setting, the residents are more like a family. You begin to know your patients or residents as we call them very well.
It is a very demanding & challenging career, it is also very rewarding and can be heartbreaking. Some call nurses in LTC " pill pushers" true part of your work is passing medications.
But there is much more to it than that! You are always assessing your residents, whether it be by examination, or just by noticing that something is different about them.
I have noticed the better you know your patient the quicker you pick up on something. What better place to find that than in a nuring home.
Many times I have noticed that just by being able to tell that a resident was acting a little differently and doing a simple Urinalysis. You will find they will have a UTI.
The residents become a part of your life. You look forward to seeing them, you worry about them, you laugh with them, you cry with them.
The hardest part is to watch them die. It is the part of the job you never get used to. Sometimes you can see it coming before there is any outward signs.
Even though you know it is a release for most of them, it doesn't stop the pain. You cry for them, you miss them.
They touch a part of you & it stays with you always. As time passes their names may fade from your memory, you may not even remember what they look like, but you still carry a piece of them in your heart.
LTC Nursing is not for everyone. It takes alot of stamina, caring & determination.
But if you are ever in a nursing home look with you ears and your heart, not just your eyes. It is a learning experience in so many ways, that you won't find anywhere else.
This page is devoted to LTC Nursing, while it will never be complete. I hope to bring you a picture of this wonderful nursing field.
Please stay & browse awhile!
Links in LONG-TERM CARE
Annals of Long-Term Care
Directory of State Long Term Care
Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care
Geriatric Nursing
Gerontology
Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home
JoyRN60000's Page
Lesli's Long Term Care Nursing
Lise's Nursing Home Page
Long-Term Care Insurance
Long Term Care Jobs
Long Term Care Nursing
MsPatLPN
MyNursingHomes.com
NADONA-LTC
Nursing Home Information
Nursing Home Page
Nursing Home Visits
Nursing Homes, Long Term Care
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