Navigating Long-Term Care: A Practical Approach for Nurses

Despite the training nurses receive in school, nothing prepares them for the reality of working in a long-term care facility. Achieving success as a long-term care nurse requires understanding organizational structures, state and federal regulations, and work processes. It can be discouraging when the quality of one's work is questioned, especially after putting in hard work. It is even more morally distressing when one is hardly oriented to or trained in their work processes, as is common in long-term care practice. Feeling morally distressed creates a toxic work environment, leading to burnout and turnover among nurses. Change must happen, and it must be sooner if we are looking to recruit and retain more nurses and achieve quality care in facilities throughout the United States and beyond. Navigating Long-Term Care: A Practical Approach for Nurses is a comprehensive guide for long-term care nurses to enhance their understanding of organizational structures, state and federal regulations, and work processes. This 15-chapter manual uses the nursing process as a critical thinking framework and covers crucial aspects of resident care. In this book, you will learn new strategies on how to: Navigate your role as a long-term care nurseCommunicate effectively with clinicians and the interdisciplinary teamAccurately complete resident admission processes -assessments, medication reconciliation, and order transcriptionsManage discharge procedures, including acute transfers and RN pronouncementsNavigate the care planning processPrevent and manage infectious disease outbreaksPrevent and manage resident fall incidents and other sentinel eventsNavigate Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) processes and much more.Also included are case studies and post-chapter questions to evaluate understanding, making it an excellent resource for facility educators and training purposes. This book differs from what already exists as it is candid and geared to empower long-term care nurses to provide high-quality care that meets the standards set by the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and their organizations. Facility educators will benefit from the unique approach presented in this book, as it offers engaging and interactive methods for new hire orientations, annual staff retreats, and ad-hoc training. This book is an essential tool for new grads and all long-term care nurses seeking to improve their practice and provide the best care possible to residents and their families.