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Discussion

Did I make the wrong choice?

Hello, just looking for feed back. I graduated a little over a year ago with my BScN RN. I accepted somewhat of a 'sponsership' from the LTC facility I am employed with and have been employed with since my first year in the nursing program.

During the summer prior to my last year as a student I was offered a handsome sum of money if I promised to remain with the company and work as an RN once I graduated. I readily agreed. The money played a big part in my decision BUT frankly....I LOVED MY JOB as a PSW and I LOVE MY JOB as a Registered Nurse. The issue is I recently ran into one of my advisors from school. She seemed a bit surprised and disappointed that I was still employed in LTC. She suggested I may want to strongly look for another RN position very soon now that I have put my year in. Her reasoning is that since nursing continually changes that I might end up not finding a job in say three or four years if I ever decided to work in the hospital setting. I seriously did think that I was not going to stay with LTC forever BUT I wanted to stay a lot longer than one year. OH BOY....now what?

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    • Featured Replies

    Was it just her comment that made you second-guess your choice? Because if that's all it was, and YOU love your work, I wouldn't worry much. Who knows what the job market will be like in 3-4 years? It is constantly changing...which means that we can't exactly predict the future. Do you want to leave a job you love and spend 3 or 4 years doing something you don't enjoy as much "just in case"?

    We need people in LTC who love their jobs. I'm glad you're one of them!

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    • Experts

    I don't know why people seem to think that nurses working in LTC facilities are somehow not going to be hired anywhere else. I have never seen anyone discriminated against because of a LTC background and I have seen people go from LTC to the hospital setting.LTC provides valuable experience in time management,leadership and dealing with a wide array of ailments.If you are happy in your job then stay there as long as it suits you. There is absolutely no reason for her to be disappointed, please don't take it to heart.Having a job that you like is bonus these days. What if you left and hated where you ended up?I love my job and I couldn't imagine getting up to go to a job that I hated.

    No I don't think you have made the wrong choice.

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    • Author

    Thank you for all the kind words and support.

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    I went from LTC to Acute Care after 2.5 years. The manager that hired me told me that her best nurses had come from LTC. She liked the work ethic that is required to work there. Like Lori said, time management skills are honed there! Med knowledge is usually good, the patients in LTC are often on the same meds forever, so you have time to research them, observe them in use, and become aware of adverese effects.

    Nursing Instructors always are surpized where there students end up. One of mine thought I'd do well in Palliative Care. I probably would in the correct environment but there isn't one in my city that works with the population I'd prefer to work with.

    Three years from now, we could all be unemployed and replaced by med dispensing robots...

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    long term care is a difficult job, and someone has to do it. if you love your job, you're among the luckiest nurses around. stay and enjoy it; as long as you love it, it's the right thing to do!

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    I work LTC in a rural area, and it's Acute Care. We do not have the luxury of transferring people out. I love my seniors, and I'm happy with my job....except for the staffing. I have known many people to leave and find work in other areas.

    There are far too many misconceptions about LTC and the staff who work there.

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