Accept the offer from the LTAC or wait on the med-surg interview?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 25, 2012

Hi! I'm new to this site and I know this is a post from a while back..but I have a scenario that I need help in. I am a new graduate and just got offered a job at long term acute care hospital. I also have an interview with a nearby hospital in their med-surg unit. At the long term acute care hospital, they have their own ICU and Med-surg...Should I go ahead and accept the offer from the LTAC or wait on the med-surg interview at the nearby?..also, in the future.if I want to work at another hospital, will they consider my LTAC experience as acute care?

Welcome to AN! The larget online nursing community!

LTAC's are a unique combination of very sick patients in a LTC setting. These people are the SICKEST of the sick AND they have had complicated hospital course. A 4:1 ratio may not seem like very much but in an ICU setting like kindred.....at time a nightmare. Almost always the ICU patients at Kindred are the failure to weans so you will have 4 vented patients. Most will have multiple lines including PA Catheter's/Swan , including pressors and IV's.

These patients are the ICU patients that remain critically ill but have run out of "paid days" on insurance/medicare. You have settled for nothing and I will tell you, you will see a ton of stuff.......everyone else's failure to discharge home. Open hearts with complicated post op courses, trauma's with Halo traction, many unique disease process with complicated recoveries, open wounds, chest tubes, vac dressings, wound irrigation's. You will give TPN, blood, do labs...your IV skill will make you valuable to them. These patients are mostly full codes and every attempt is made to get them home.....but withe a fraction of the nursing staff in an acute care setting.

Hospital administrators need to pull their heads out of their bottoms and find out what and LTAC really is.....other than the place where they dump the financial drain out of their system. I have to humbly admit I was one of them at one time. I knew the patients were sick but I actually went there as a supervisor to have a "slower pace":uhoh3: I was sorely mistaken. The particular LTAC I worked for had a reputation too for being as tough place to work.....they are strictly FOR PROFIT and they are strict about profit. As the super, I spend a ton of time clinically, in the UNIT because I felt bad for the staff.

You will gain a TON of experience and at least they do have great orientations. I wish you every bit of good fortune and luck in your new journey. If you have any other questions about and LTAC....PM me.:heartbeat

lycro310 · May 26, 2012

I'm an LPN and LTAC , Kindred in particular, was my first job out of nursing school. I started 3weeks after graduatio nad was the first graduate nurse of any type they had ever hired. It was my job of choice beacuase of the variety of patients you take care of. I wanted to learn as much as I can.I was there for 20months and really learned a lot. Esme12 hit the nail on the head with the type of patients and how busy it is. You have to ask yourself what type of nursing you want to get into. Good luck to you! :nurse:

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 26, 2012

I worked at a Kindred as well....

RNT1 · May 26, 2012

Thank you Esme12 and lycro310 for the post!! Your posts were very helpful. I already accepted the offer at the LTAC since it was more guaranteed than wait on the Med-SUrg interview at the nearby hospital. I'm a new RN and I hope working at the LTAC will be a good choice for me. I do want eventually want to work in the ICU or on a regular Med-Surg unit in a short term acute hospital in the future. Hopefully the transition will be good for me after one year of experience.

ukjenn231 · May 27, 2012

I know you already decided, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents... I was a med/surg & tele nurse for two years before deciding to do travel nursing... At the time, in my location the first job I could get was in LTAC. I thought, ugh, LTAC, but in the end I learned so much. I overcame my "fears" of vents, wound care, trachs. I feel alot more comfortable around critically ill and complex patients. I think you will be glad you did it, though it won't be easy!