Long-term care offers nurses many opportunities
Friday, May 11, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
We are approaching the time of year when nursing graduates are looking for work. According to Melissa Kendrick, there’s no better place for nurses to practice than in long-term homes.

Long-term care, unlike other health care sectors, allows nurses to develop close relationships with residents and their families, says Kendrick, a registered practical nurse at Frost Manor in Lindsay.

Kendrick, who graduated from the nursing program at Peterborough’s Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2006, says there is also a feeling of accomplishment that comes from long-term care nursing.

For one thing, Kendrick says long-term care offers a personalized approach to caregiving. She says she leaves the home each day feeling like she made a difference in residents’ lives.

“That’s the reason I got into long-term care,” she says. “In hospitals, people are coming and going every day. In long-term care, you make a difference and you can see the difference. In hospitals, nurses are making a difference every day, but you don’t get to see the outcome.”

Part of her job as a long-term care nurse is to help give residents a new lease on life.

“One of the big things is to me is that we put independence back into their lives,” she says.

Kendrick adds that as a long-term care nurse, she can set different goals than she could in hospital care.

“In any facility, you can make goals for yourself, but in long-term care I can make goals for each resident,” she says.

Linda Burr, Frost Manor’s administrator, says the home has had a “difficult time” recruiting nurses.

“We are really lucky to get a nurse like Melissa,” she says.

Burr says one of the problems long-term care homes face when it comes to attracting staff is trying to dispel preconceived notions nursing graduates have about the sector.

“The biggest misconception out there is that it is for end-of-the-road nurses; that they come to work in long-term care because they can’t keep up in hospitals,” she says. "I think that if we can come up with a plan to attract nurses to long-term care . . . they would be very surprised at how much of a rewarding experience it is.”

For more information on careers in long-term care nursing, contact OMNI’s home office at (705) 748-6631.