LTC to Med/Surg

Nurses General Nursing

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:nurse: I wanted to know if the rumor is true that it is nearly impossible to go from working in LTC to Med/Surg..and that they kind of consider you damaged goods? I plan on becoming a CRNA and one of the requirements before entering the program is that you have at least a year experience Med/Surg or acute care.

I'm a new graduate and it's hard in my area to find new grad hospital jobs, but as an RN, the LTC jobs are endless. I was thinking about working in LTC for a year, and hopefully it would be easier to find a Med/Surg job seeing that I would have some experience. What do you all think???

P.S. And if I worked in LTC for a year, I would no longer be considered a new grad, so I would get less orientation time. Seeing that I would be coming from LTC I'm sure I would still need a lot of time. How much orientation time do they give to RN's who have been working only a year or so in LTC? Should I just wait and not work in LTC and keep on applying and waiting for the hospitals?

ANY thoughts or comments would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanx!!:heartbeat

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Specializes in CT ICU, OR, Orthopedic.

I don't know where you live, but here anesthesia schools will not even look at u with out at least a minimum of one year in CRITICAL care, not acute. I would check into it. You need to know how to titrate gtts, and invasive line monitoring. Good luck!! :)

For more info, go to the specialty forum, then APN.. They have a ore CRNA school inquiry..

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

The above poster gave good advice. If you are having a hard time trying to obtain ANY position, I guess anything is better than nothing, but you would probably have to aggressively seek a more appropriate situation for your future career.

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That's not quite the answer to the OP's question, DNP-student - will working LTC hurt her when she tries to get hired in a hospital. I'm facing the same issue myself with the job market the way it is here and moving NOT an option. Do I have to give up income and keep looking for hospital jobs to preserve my hospital employability?

One recruiter told me she could probably get me a job in her hospital's psych affiliate, and I'd have to work there six months before being allowed to transfer. I'm concerned that there still won't be any openings then for nurses who need a longer orientation, and I'd be stuck in psych. Even though I like psych, it's not my goal.

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Sorry to be off topic but I am new here and have finally just made the decision to get my BSN so can you please tell me what LTC and Med-Surge stand for as I have seen these a lot and dont know.

Thank you!

Christine

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long term care and medical-surgical which means routine adult care in the hospital, non-specialized.

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thatdiva, I'm here to tell you that no matter how many years you have in the nursing home (I have 9 years of nursing home experience) when you go to work at a hospital you will be a new grad. A NEW GRAD! YES!

I'm in the process of moving from LTC (which is basically maintenance of stable patients) to an acute/critical care setting (in a LTAC hospital-long term acute care-this is in no way related to long term/nursing home care by any means.)

From what I have been told, to qualify for a nurse anesthesia program a minimum on one year of some kind of ICU experience will be mandatory. Med surg isn't going to get it. The hospital where I will be in the LTAC unit is considered critical care and I will have to take critical care/telemetry courses to work there but it is still not ICU. If it isn't an ICU unit it isn't going to be what a CRNA program is looking for. However, LTAC is excellent preparation for the ICU, as far as I understand.

Anyway, regarding the LTC to hospital new grad status, I think this is unfair, because I know and can do a HECK of a lot more now than when I first got out of nursing school in 2000. I would venture to say that I could hold my own on a general med surg floor in a hospital...but I have been told by every hospital I applied to that I am still a new grad.

My reasons for deciding to move into acute care are because I plan to go on to graduate school, either FNP or CRNA and I think it will make for better business to have acute care experience. True, I waited a long time but I have a family and a lot of other obligations that made it not an option to move from my job at that time. I still have a whole heap of responsibilities but I'm getting old and it's time to get with it or forget it. Anyway, I love the patients at the nursing home, but I'm kind of bored with the work. Working in a nursing home is a noble profession but I feel stagnant and really want more of a challenge.

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hey jo dirt,

how was the transition from nursing home to acute care? did you have a hard time, or did you find work in acute care the same kind of work as ltc? so your nurse manager didnt consider your 9 years in ltc as experience at all? did you have longer orientation since you were considered a new grad?

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I don't know, I haven't made the transition yet. I'm set to start my new position March 30. I can tell you more in about a month.

The CNO (chief nursing officer) asked me a lot about working in the nursing home and made me feel like my experience was valuable, but I noticed the job description said the position I was about to enter (RN I) was for new grad nurse or a nurse who had been out of the profession for 5+ years.

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Yeah that is true about the critical care experience needed for a CRNA program, but I feel I would best be prepared for an ICU position AFTER working Med/Surg.

Jo Dirt I think you answered one of my questions about me getting enough orientation time on the floor when entering Med/Surg after being in LTC. I'd be happy to be considered a new grad!! That means more orientation time! :yeah:

So I guess what I'm going to do is apply both at nursing homes and hospitals, and whoever calls me first, that's where I'll go. If I get hired at a nursing home though, I'll still be applying at area hospitals for any open position, until I can transfer (hopefully after just six months) to Med/Surg, then after a year, move to some type of critical care unit. I still have time seeing as though I still have a year for my bachelor's.

Thanx all!!!!:up:

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Specializes in CT ICU, OR, Orthopedic.
Yeah that is true about the critical care experience needed for a CRNA program, but I feel I would best be prepared for an ICU position AFTER working Med/Surg.

Jo Dirt I think you answered one of my questions about me getting enough orientation time on the floor when entering Med/Surg after being in LTC. I'd be happy to be considered a new grad!! That means more orientation time! :yeah:

So I guess what I'm going to do is apply both at nursing homes and hospitals, and whoever calls me first, that's where I'll go. If I get hired at a nursing home though, I'll still be applying at area hospitals for any open position, until I can transfer (hopefully after just six months) to Med/Surg, then after a year, move to some type of critical care unit. I still have time seeing as though I still have a year for my bachelor's.

Thanx all!!!!:up:

Sounds wise :). Good luck!

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