Assisted living vs. Hospital as first job?

[Alon]

I am considering working at an assisted living home as my first nursing job for about a year or two because the location is great. Would this kill my chance of getting a job at a hospital later on in my career? Or should I try to work at a hospital right after graduation? Recommendations?

[iPink, BSN, RN]

I don't know how it is in your area, but in mine, working at an assisted living home/LTC isn't a smart move. You should go for it if you can't get a hospital job and need to start working. In my opinion some experience wherever it is, is better than none.

I do work in the hospital so I've gotten the chance to speak with nurse managers and other nurses and advisers who have honestly said to me that they rarely hire people with LTC experience. They are looking for that hospital or acute care experience. My manager would rather hire a nurse with 1 year hospital experience than a nurse with 2-5 years of LTC. As stated before, this is not true for all areas, so investigate. Good luck.

[nursel56]

I would go for the hospital job first as well. My reasoning being that the nursing job market is so uncertain lately you should do whatever it takes when you have the option to give yourself even the slightest edge when you may need it down the line.

[x19amanda]

I graduated in May and started in June in LTC....not many hospital jobs. I do not think this has caused me to lose my skills or lose knowledge. I still read and keep up to date on info all the time. If a resident comes in with a CVP line, IV ATBs, dressing changes etc I am not nervous at all to perform these tasks because it all comes back to you. As for eventually landing a hospital job, I do not believe this will stop me from doing so. My school has a great reputation, and many girls I know do not have any job yet. I still feel as though I can go onto a Medsurg floor and do great; have you seen the LTC med pass! I now have experience working the desk, supervising, and doing a med pass. My facility has 120 residents; 30 are rehab. I run both floors at nights, do the desk on both floors, and have done every halls med pass. I say I can go into a hospital and do great.

[mushyrn, BSN, RN]

I think you should take the hospital job first. It's just politics. I started my career in rehab/SNF and I will tell you that every day of that job I worked harder than I ever have had to in med/surg (where I now work), and my time management skills were basically perfected, haha. But politics are important. Hospital managers want hospital experience that I see.

So if you can, get the hospital job first. If you want SNF/assisted living/ltc, do it after a year of medical surgical nursing. Just in case. That's my advice.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

Hospital job, hands down. Acute care experience does not compare to LTC. Don't get complacent with a job because of location, you will regret it.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Assisted living isn't LTC. There are totally different regulations and standards of care; you would need to have some good assessment skills and a solid understanding of gerontology to make it there.

I could tell you horror stories about nurses who didn't know much about nursing working in ALFs. Get a job where you will have more experienced back up and more opportunities to learn.