Veteran Nurses...

LR59 · May 11, 2012

This was my personal experience. I have been an RN nearly 22 years, 13 years in a cardiac ICU. Due to needs of my family I left the hospital went to LTC with acute and long term care rehab. After 4 years situation again changed I wanted to return to hospital nursing many hospitals blatantly stated that my years in LTC had negated all previous experience. GO FIGURE

mikeicurn, ASN, RN · May 11, 2012

I had posted this in reponse to another thread. I am copying part of my previous post here.

I worked as an LPN at a LTC facility while in RN school. I went to work in a small ICU after I graduated as an RN. My manager picked out my resume because she used to work at the same LTC facility that I did. She felt that LTC experience is very beneficial for ICU nurses. Time management is important in both environments. And the majority of our patients are elderly people from nursing homes, or from home, but in the same age group. While you are treating the reason they are in ICU (resp distress, cardiac issues, etc...), you still have to deal with more routine issues such as crushing their meds, incontinence, fall risks, dementia, sundowners, family, etc... Who better to handle these issues than those with LTC experience. Most of the ICU nurses I work started out in LTC.

Hospitals don't decided who to hire, managers do. Who is to say what any certain manager is looking for. One manager might like LTC experience on a resume, another may not.

LR59 · May 11, 2012

I agree there is much to be learned in LTC and I am not knocking it. However if you are honest many nurses and management look down on LTC staff.

clahoney7 · May 11, 2012

Well, I worked LTC and got a job as an RN in a community hospital when I got my RN. However after that I was not even called for hospital jobs when I went from hosptial to LTC.

Now I have been a case manager since 2006 and I think, they may be laughing at me when I apply. They will hire a new grad over me. I have so much to give. BSN, will have my MSN in Feb 2013 major is Informatics.

I am in Middle TN and cannot find a refresher course or a job at a hospital, come to think of it, getting one at a NH has been next to impossible as well. I guess I'm branded CM....And since I have no hospital experience-I can't be a hospital CM. So I do believe that you get pigieon-holed in what you do and it takes the right hiring manager to get you out-so I guess that is LUCK :uhoh3: . Not to mention the market is depressing. I'm even willing to take a new grad position/pay to start at the bottom.

I can't count how many of the following types of posts I've read here and on other sites in the past six months:
"...I have a decent offer in an LTC, but am interviewing also for a hospital position. I know I need to get experience really however/where there may be a chance for me as a new grad, but I don't want to get stuck in LTC or assisted living as I'm passionate about 'yada yada yada' and my friend/aunt/third cousin who is a DON/MSN Administrator/Senior Case Manager in Public Health/Shareholder of a conglomerate healthcare holding TOLD me I'd be messing up my real chances at getting into a hospital position if I am start in an LTC and try to get my first year of experience there..."
Just how much of this is a myth, and or give the hard truth -- if you heart is set on at some not too distant point going into a specialty -- will working in an LTC first or for too long (and how long is too long - however subjective that length might be)...will that seriously dampen/lower/negate a real chance from being hired into a hospital position??
Thanks very much.