Assisted Living for Resume

[amjowens]

I am working at an assisted living facility and don't get a lot of experience other than passing meds and doing general assessments...I mean, we have a few foley catheters, but we contact the home care nurse instead of inserting a new one if it a new one is needed. The owner/DON does new admission assessments. I am in RN school, and want to eventually work in a hospital after I graduate. The assisted living people speak of nursing homes as though they are horrible places to work, but I wonder. We only have one nurse per shift, and do have over 50 residents, so the med pass is crazy, and if things go wrong with a resident, that time spent can really knock you for a loop...it's not as though our job is cake, so I'm willing to work hard. I keep thinking that I need to get into at least a nursing home where I can practice skills...is this assisted living experience hurting me in this tight job market when I go to apply for a hospital position down the road?

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I don't think so. Any healthcare experience is good, and if you're passing meds and evaluating residents, you are probably also doing blood-glucose monitoring and insulin administration.....all useful and important skills which will give you a head start in the acute care environment.

In fact, NAs in assisted living are generally permitted to learn and practice more skills through a state's nurse delegation statutes than CNAs in LTC. The nursing home CNA's scope of practice is actually very narrow---they are mostly limited to checking vital signs and performing ADLs, and perhaps putting creams and lotions on intact skin. If you want hospital experience, however, you may want to consider becoming a CNA II, which, in my state (OR) allows a broader range of duties and skills, such as accu-checks, Foley insertions, simple wound care, and even phlebotomy in some places.

Good luck to you!

[amjowens]

Thanks for the reply! I am already a LPN.

I do think the practice of passing meds and checking insulin, etc. is providing me amazing experience. I just am aware that most of my former classmates are doing a LOT more skills-they say it's more like the med-surg experience we had as students in school-where they are working in nursing homes.

I just want to make wise career decisions, and what a great opportunity on this site to be able to learn from those in the know so as to help avoid regret!