Being a new nurse in long-term care, learning the ropes, and wondering what comes next.

Let’s talk about being a new nurse in long-term care.

Specifically, working in a memory care unit.

Because nursing school prepares you for a lot of things, but nobody can fully prepare you for repeating the same sentence approximately 47 times in one shift. 😂

And I’m not talking about repeating yourself because someone didn’t hear you.

I’m talking about answering the same question over and over again.

Redirecting someone who’s wandering into another resident’s room.

Redirecting someone who’s pacing up and down the hallway.

Redirecting someone who’s convinced they need to go somewhere, do something, or find someone.

And then there’s the intrusive behavior.

Someone is in your personal space, getting a little too close, and you’re trying to maintain your patience while internally thinking:

PLEASE GET OUT OF MY BUBBLE. 😭😂

Welcome to memory care!

It’s a different kind of nursing, that’s for sure.

🧠 The Good, the Bad, and the Redirecting

As a new nurse, I actually think long-term care has been a good starting point for me.

I’m learning how to manage a unit, prioritize tasks, administer medications, communicate with providers, document, and recognize when something isn’t quite right.

I’m getting to know my residents.

I’m learning their personalities, their routines, their preferences, and what their usual behavior looks like.

And that last part is important.

When you work with residents who have dementia, you start recognizing their baseline. You learn when someone is acting differently, when a behavior is unusual for them, and when a change deserves a closer look.

Not every change announces itself with a dramatic medical emergency.

Sometimes it’s subtle.

Sometimes it’s a resident who isn’t acting like themselves.

Sometimes it’s noticing that something is just off.

And those observations matter.

But here’s where I find myself having mixed feelings.

Am I challenging myself enough clinically?

Because some shifts feel like an endless cycle of medication passes, documentation, answering questions, redirecting behaviors, and making sure everyone is safe.

Repeat.

Repeat.

And repeat again.

Sometimes I feel like my brain is being used for everything EXCEPT the clinical thinking I imagined I’d be doing when I became a nurse.

And that makes me nervous.

🤔 I Like My Job… So Why Am I Questioning It?

Here’s the thing.

I like my job.

I like my residents.

I like the team I work with.

There are days when things go well, everyone works together, and I leave feeling good about what I’ve done.

And I appreciate that.

Especially as a new nurse, having a supportive team and an environment where you can continue learning is valuable.

But I also know myself.

I worked hard to get here.

Nursing school wasn’t a walk in the park. Becoming a nurse was something I worked toward, and I don’t want to lose the knowledge and skills I’ve worked so hard to develop.

I want to stay sharp.

I want to be able to assess a patient confidently, recognize changes in condition, understand what’s happening clinically, and know when something needs further evaluation.

I want to keep learning.

I don’t want to look back a few years from now and realize I’ve become so comfortable doing the same routine that I’ve neglected other parts of nursing.

Because if you’re not regularly practicing certain skills, you may not feel as confident using them when the opportunity finally comes.

And that’s what I’m trying to avoid.

I’m not saying I need a medical emergency every shift to feel like a nurse.

Absolutely not. 😂

Nobody is asking the healthcare gods to send me a code just so I can prove I remember what I learned in school!

We can leave that energy right where it is. Thank you very much. 👀

But I do want opportunities to use my clinical judgment, build my assessment skills, and expand my knowledge beyond my current routine.

I want to feel like I’m growing, not just getting comfortable.

🩺 Here’s What I’m Learning About Nursing

One thing I’m beginning to understand is that nursing doesn’t always look the way we imagined it would.

In memory care, clinical thinking isn’t always obvious.

It might be recognizing a change in behavior that could indicate a change in condition.

It might be considering whether restlessness is someone’s usual pattern or something new.

It might be evaluating a resident’s condition, reviewing relevant information, communicating concerns, and deciding when to escalate an issue.

And yes, sometimes it’s figuring out how to redirect someone for the fifteenth time without losing your patience.

Because keeping someone safe while preserving their dignity is nursing, too.

The challenge is making sure I continue developing the clinical skills that my current routine doesn’t always require me to use.

I can appreciate what this job is teaching me while acknowledging that I may eventually want something different.

Both things can be true.

I can enjoy my residents and coworkers while wondering whether this is the right long-term fit for my professional development.

I can be grateful for the experience while still wanting more.

And I can recognize that I’m still a new nurse with plenty left to learn.

👀 So, What’s Next?

I’m not saying I’m ready to pack up my things and leave tomorrow.

I’m not saying long-term care is a bad place to start a nursing career.

And I’m definitely not saying that dementia care doesn’t require clinical judgment.

What I am saying is that I need to be intentional about my growth.

I need to keep asking questions.

I need to take learning opportunities when they come.

I need to refresh the knowledge I don’t use regularly.

I need to keep building confidence in my assessments, recognizing changes in condition, and understanding the why behind what I’m seeing.

And eventually, I may want to explore another area of nursing that challenges me in different ways.

Maybe outpatient nursing.

Maybe triage.

Maybe something else I haven’t even considered yet.

I’m still figuring that part out.

For now, I’m learning where I am while thinking about where I want to go.

Because becoming a nurse wasn’t the finish line.

It was the beginning.

And I want to make the most of it.

I want to be the nurse who can handle the everyday routine and recognize when something isn’t right.

The nurse who can redirect a resident with patience and compassion but also confidently assess a change in condition.

The nurse who keeps learning instead of assuming that experience alone will teach her everything she needs to know.

I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

But I’m not done growing.

Not even close.

And if that means occasionally questioning whether I’m in the right place for the long haul, then maybe that’s part of figuring out the kind of nurse I want to become.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have approximately 12 more repetitions of the same conversation to get through.

And to whoever keeps wandering into someone else’s room…

FRIEND. THIS IS NOT YOUR ROOM. PLEASE EXIT. 😭😂

Scrubs and Side Eyes
— Just trying to keep it together one shift at a time.