Advice for new Florida LPN

MissNurse1105 · Jun 29, 2011

I got my seating pass 2 wks after submiting my application and passed my nclex the first time about a month and half after graduation, It took me about a month to find a fulltime job but i signed up with an agency almost immediatly after i passed nclex(which sends you on hospice or home health cases), i got a job at a long term care/skilled nursing facility which i was started at 17 and hr, I absolutely was miserable for quite a few months becuase i had 20-30 patients on a regular basis, things got better as i got more skilled and learned the facility and patients but I knew still that this area of nursing is not for me...when i cut my hours down to part time I didnt hate my job anymore but fulltime was just exhausting, i was on 7-3 shift and it was really tough for a first nursing job, but i learned the hard way and now i know what im doing and am confident in my nursing ability, i wanted a hospital job but i couldnt seemed to get hired at any hospitals in my area, i used to apply twice a month every month, calling them bugging for an interview and NOTHING, i didnt have enough hospital experience or someone else got the job so now ive quit my LTC job and am in school for my RN fulltime becuase i refused to go back LTC, if you have no choice but to take one of these jobs my adivce is learn to manage ur time and prioritize, you wont be able to do everything the "right" way and you figure out short cuts, i didnt mind the idea of a nursing home or the old crazy people lol that part was rather entertaining and i loved my crazy old people lol it was the management and the workload that I did not love, Im sure not all places are like mine but sometimes your first year you have to just take anything you can get...after that you canbe mroe picky....hospice and home health is much easier because you only have one patient instead of 30 lol and not as overwhelming and night shift is also better to learn on. thats my advice:)

MissNurse1105 · Jun 29, 2011

oh and one more tip, if you do end up going to a long term care facility, it helps to find out which ones the hospitals refer thier discharges to first because those facilities make more money so they tend not to understaff nurses quite at much and they have better benefits and shift differential....ask in the interview you patient load because 20 is super easy once you get your feet wet, but 30 or more is exhausting and you will get burned out quickly...at least this is how it was for me

LPNRead · Jul 11, 2011

MissNurse1105,

Where in Florida are you located? And what agency are you with? If you don't mind me asking?

gatoraims RN · Jul 12, 2011

I am a recent PN grad. It took almost two weeks from applying with the BON to getting my ath to test (att). I am going to sit for the boards in about two weeks. So all in all almost a month after graduation is when I will be sitting for the boards.

Good luck!

I have no job info for you. I have been applying like crazy have had two interviews. One with a dr office. I tried to get a job at local hospitals while in school as a tech. But I never got one call back. I really wanted a hospital job but I am not sure any in my area hire LPN's.

sweetrose407 · Mar 18, 2012

i am a pn student, and theres is NO WAY that i want to work in a hospital!! I really want to work in LTC. I am a cna, and that is what i Love to do. I honestly dont see what the big deal is about everyone wanting to work in a hospital..

frogandcrown · Mar 18, 2012

I think "most" new nurses want to work in a hospital - as we believe (maybe wrongly?) that our skills can best be honed in a hospital. After all, most of us are planning to go on to become RN's. In a nursing home all I ever saw a LPN do was pass out medications.

In actuality, that is a pretty sweet job since from my job searches and my friends' experiences nursing home LPNs are paid way better than new LPNs at hospitals.

I am currently making 4.50 less an hour than my friends who are working as LPNs in nursing homes in exchange for the opportunity I was offered to work in an ER.

Once I become an RN I will explore other options. :)

P.S. I NEVER ruled out working in a nursing home nor would I have considered it "settling".

Julie