Long-term care ‘a very challenging job’
Thursday, May 17, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Intimate working environments, exciting challenges and skill development – these are just a few of the benefits to nursing in the long-term care sector, says Dori Bigg, clinical care co-ordinator at West Lake Terrace.

“It’s a very challenging job,” says Bigg, who has worked at the Picton long-term care home since February 2006. “If (nurses) want to be challenged, then long-term care is the place to be.”

One of the things making long-term care nursing so challenging, she says, is the increase in the number of younger residents in homes. Long-term care homes are no longer restricted to elderly people who are physically unable to care for themselves, she says. With psychiatric hospitals at full capacity, long-term care has become an option for people with mental health issues.

“We’re getting younger residents all the time,” says Bigg. “(Long-term care) is not just the elderly”

There are several reasons for the intake of younger residents.

“People are getting sick younger because of prescription drug abuse, alcoholism and even the environment,” says Bigg.

Bigg entered the long-term care sector in 1980. She has been at West Lake Terrace since February 2006. She also works part time at Kentwood Park, also in Picton.

Bigg admits there is a problem attracting nursing graduates to the long-term care sector. She feels there is a lack of education concerning what long-term nursing entails.

“The younger generation is not being educated on the opportunities that a nursing home can give them as far as skills go,” she says.

Additionally, long-term care offers many promotional opportunities for nurses, says Bigg. Long-term care has a level of intimacy that nurses will not find in other health care sectors, she points out. Part of the reason for this is the fact that long-term care homes are smaller than most hospitals.

“(Residents are) treated as more of a family than a just a bed,” she says.

There is also a feeling of fulfillment that comes with caring for residents in long-term care.

“It makes your day when you see a smile on their faces,” says Bigg. “I impact their lives, but they have an impact on my life as well.”