How to prepare for new career in long term care?

[Prosperity8]

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I have an interview for full time long term care position and confident I will land this job. I have been a retail rph my entire career with no clinical experience. Anyone who made this transition, how big was the learning curve? I'm thinking of reading Dipiro and going over all my therapeutic notes again. Are there any other reading materials I should use to refresh my clinical knowledge in preparation for my new job? Should I take a course in IV preparations ahead of time?

 

[owlegrad]

Are you for real right now? LTC is cake compared to retail. You are over-prepared as it is. To "prepare" for LTC all you need to do is develop a super petty attitude about everyone and everything around you and develop those griping muscles so you don't get fatigued too early on in a shift. Also you need to train your thighs and butt to sit down for long periods of time without getting cramped or uncomfortable. It would help if you could spontaneously forget everything you ever knew about answering a phone or even the most basic problem solving skills.

I kid. Knowledge of IVs will be the hardest thing for you to pick up and it will come with time. Just ask your coworkers what they use as an IV reference and learn to use that quickly and efficiently. No one will expect you to be an expert overnight. You might think Beer's List or geriatric knowledge in general would be useful, but it's not. LTC is mostly about checking orders quickly and safely, same as retail but with far ore help and far fewer distractions. Assuming you come from a traditional retail experience you will love it. If you are anything like me the hardest part will be putting up with techs who fill less than 15 scripts an hour (not kidding) complaining about how much work they have and how it isn't fair, etc etc. 🙂

And congrats for getting out of retail!

 

[Prosperity8]

Are you for real right now? LTC is cake compared to retail. You are over-prepared as it is. To "prepare" for LTC all you need to do is develop a super petty attitude about everyone and everything around you and develop those griping muscles so you don't get fatigued too early on in a shift. Also you need to train your thighs and butt to sit down for long periods of time without getting cramped or uncomfortable. It would help if you could spontaneously forget everything you ever knew about answering a phone or even the most basic problem solving skills.

I kid. Knowledge of IVs will be the hardest thing for you to pick up and it will come with time. Just ask your coworkers what they use as an IV reference and learn to use that quickly and efficiently. No one will expect you to be an expert overnight. You might think Beer's List or geriatric knowledge in general would be useful, but it's not. LTC is mostly about checking orders quickly and safely, same as retail but with far ore help and far fewer distractions. Assuming you come from a traditional retail experience you will love it. If you are anything like me the hardest part will be putting up with techs who fill less than 15 scripts an hour (not kidding) complaining about how much work they have and how it isn't fair, etc etc. 🙂

And congrats for getting out of retail!

Thank You. I'm just a little nervous. Retail is the only job I know after graduation. It's going to feel weird because I come from a high volume 400+ scripts/day and difficult store. I have to make this move for my own health. I had a panic attack last week and my blood pressure was 180/120 during middle of my shift.

 

[johnpharm01]

Thank You. I'm just a little nervous. Retail is the only job I know after graduation. It's going to feel weird because I come from a high volume 400+ scripts/day and difficult store. I have to make this move for my own health. I had a panic attack last week and my blood pressure was 180/120 during middle of my shift.

did you go to the er?

 

[Prosperity8]

did you go to the er?

No I had to sit down and rest for 30 minutes. My anxiety subsided and BP went down to normal level.

 

[SoylentGreen]

How did you manage to escape retail hell?

The biggest thing you have to know in LTC is all the rules that your state, Medicare etc have for LTC facilities of the type that you will be dealing with, at least if you are going to do consulting.

 

[Prosperity8]

How did you manage to escape retail hell?

The biggest thing you have to know in LTC is all the rules that your state, Medicare etc have for LTC facilities of the type that you will be dealing with, at least if you are going to do consulting.

Lots of prayers and apply every single day for 2 years. It's not easy and if you stay persistent something good will occur.

 

[johnpharm01]

Lots of prayers and apply every single day for 2 years. It's not easy and if you stay persistent something good will occur.

So what did you dm say when you told him you were quitting?

 

[Prosperity8]

So what did you dm say when you told him you were quitting?

Not even a flinch lol. He has line of floaters waiting for a staff position.

 

[mentos]

Hi OP just wondering how you like your decision? Was the paycut worth it? How much of a paycut would you have accepted? Are the benefits comparable?

 

[Robbin]

Before start your career or before going to any sector You have to get fully knowledge about that so that after starting your career you can go staright forword towards to your destination. Otherwise if you haven't pre-knowledge reagarding your career you get confused and may b go down in that journey.