Hello, my name is Amber and I’ve been working in long term care for the duration of my career in health care. First, I worked as a CNA, then CMA and eventually worked in a special care unit for residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. I learned quickly that it requires a unique skill set to work effectively with this patient population. During my time in the ADN program several of my instructors and classmates alike urged me to move on to acute care or critical care after graduation. I seriously considered taking that advice but ultimately I decided that while I am still in school I will continue to work in long term care. In addition to long term care nursing I am also passionate about mental health nursing. If I ever chose to focus my attention and energy in another direction other than long term care, I think I would like to explore mental health nursing.
Some of my favorite things are books, dogs, and beads. I am reader and I think out of all of the wonderful things my mother passed on to me, loving to read is the thing that I appreciate and have depended on the most. I am also an animal lover. I love all animals but especially dogs, even more especially my dogs. I have two small mixed breed dogs, Bella and Blue. I also have two very large and hairy Golden Retrievers, Paddy and Scout. I also collect beads and make jewelry that I sell at a small local shop in my area.
Every day, with almost every aspect of nursing care I provide to the residents in my care, I am utilizing and delivering evidenced based care that was developed from research. Even the simplest action of washing my hands and using an alcohol based hand sanitizer between patients is based on evidence from research. The older adult population has many more side effects and adverse reactions to many or even most medications that we learned about through research. Currently, all of the restrictions and precautions that health care facilities are implementing due to the COVID-19 pandemic are based on evidence derived from research.
I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone better and learning with you all!
Welcome to the course, Amber! Yes, everything from hand washing to protocols is evidence driven.
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Hey Amber — long term care and mental health environments need excellent nurses too! That’s wonderful that you’ve stayed with the place you enjoy most.
Have you ever done loom bead-work? I used to really enjoy that as a hobby… I’m looking to get more in to sewing this year. It’s good to have other hobbies, and what a nice added bonus of bringing in some side funds!
Hi Michelle! I haven’t done a lot with loom beading though I have tried it and I really enjoyed it. I’ve often thought of trying it again just for fun and maybe for gifting. Thanks for your response!
Amber,
I think long term care nursing needs great nurses also. Not everyone is suited for this type of nursing. My dad had an accident 6 years ago that caused him to have a TBI and he developed dementia. That can be a unique population to work with and it really does take a special skill set. I did some long term care in the beginning of my career. It took awhile to be able to work with some of them, but once you figure out what they like they are some of best patients I have ever had. Good luck this semester!
Hi Andrea. Thanks for your response. There are definitely some differences between long-term and acute care. I appreciate that nursing gives us so many avenues to take with our careers. There really is “something for everyone”! Good luck to you too!