I am a new LPN and am having trouble finding a job due to an arrest on my record involving narcotics. I assume the issue facilities have is placing me in the position to handle narcotics. Would seeking a position as an MDS coordinator give me a better chance of being hired due to the non clinical setting I would work in? Any insight is welcome, thank you.

A new nurse has little to bring to the table in experience for doing an MDS. Coming to it with no hands on experience is not in your best interests nor theirs.

Need an RN license.

Sometimes the MDS person is considered in the On-call rotation, and this can cause issues with a restricted license. While an LPN can fill out the MDS, and RN has to sign it, and for that reason many facilities will only hire RN's, so it may not be really easy to get an MDS position.

That being said, I know of one nurse with a restricted license who did work as an MDS nurse and was on-call. The staffing coordinator made allowances for someone to be available if this restricted nurse was needed to pass meds.

Need an RN license.

Not necessarily. I am a LPN and have more than 14 years experience as a MDS Nurse. The only thing the RN has to do is the initial admission assessment and sign after completion. My reimbursement rates have always been better than average.

I have two LVN's in my facility doing MDS assessments. I complete initial assessments and sign and their assessments are consistently impeccable. We dont use our MDS nurses on the floor or in the on-call rotation because completion of their assessments is so critical - which I don't agree with.

Not true

I'm in agreement with you HeyHey. Almost all of the MDS nurses I know are LPN's with many years of experience. Never pulled to the floor-ever.

Ours don't really help out with anything at all. I adore them and understand why they don't help out, their jobs really are critical. Reckon I just wish they were at least a little able to throw in every once in awhile.

I will say that we have an MDS nurse employed by our corporate office to travel through our facilities and she was recently put on TPAPN. The company had to remove her from her position due to the stipulations placed on her license. I know that my company doesn't mind criminal records so long as there are no prohibitive stipulations to a nurse's license however - all 3x we've tried to hire them they've ended up committing some sort of illegal infraction or otherwise having serious problems with being truthful or causing problems related to their interpersonal interaction with other staff.

I also think it will be very difficult for you to do the MDS job with no experience. I had about 5 years experience when I first started doing MDS and it was still difficult for me at times. And yes, LPNs can do MDS. An RN signs after completion and the RN is only signing that the assessment is complete, not for the accuracy of the assessment.