Does LTAC count as critical care?

[Jo Dirt]

I've been hired on at a hospital that offers extended acute care. I will be taking critical care training and working with drips and ventilators and all that. Will it count as critical care experience toward anesthetist school?

[HT3RN]

I have worked in two different LTAC's in two different states as well as ICU's in 6 states. An LTAC is not critical care period. If the patient gets "unstable" then they get shipped out to a critical care setting. Like I read earlier they are mostly failure to wean from vent patients. They can't breathe effectively on their own but everything else works okay.... relatively speaking. They may require dialysis, tpn etc. Some eventually go home and some go home. If you know what I mean.

[Jo Dirt]

So...it's like a nursing home, correct?

If it's not med surg, or critical care, or acute care, it can only be comparable ro a nursing home, right?

[Jo Dirt]

I have worked in two different LTAC's in two different states as well as ICU's in 6 states. An LTAC is not critical care period. If the patient gets "unstable" then they get shipped out to a critical care setting. Like I read earlier they are mostly failure to wean from vent patients. They can't breathe effectively on their own but everything else works okay.... relatively speaking. They may require dialysis, tpn etc. Some eventually go home and some go home. If you know what I mean.

Why is the hospital wasting money to send their nurses through critical care and telemetry courses and all that junk if all they do is babysit vent patients and wipe butts? And are these DNR patients? Because I was told when they are trying to go home (you know what I mean) there is a resp therapist on duty and whichever nurse is on that shift fo their rapid response team.

[Jo Dirt]

Well....?

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

As stated, Jo Dirt, LTAC is not a critical care environment that would be accepted as you pursue experience as an RN in a critical care environment. All the answers provided you are correct. There's no other way to explain this.

You need to seek experience in Critical Care in a hospital if you wish to pursue CRNA.

[Sarcolemma]

Why is the hospital wasting money to send their nurses through critical care and telemetry courses and all that junk if all they do is babysit vent patients and wipe butts? And are these DNR patients? Because I was told when they are trying to go home (you know what I mean) there is a resp therapist on duty and whichever nurse is on that shift fo their rapid response team.

have you (or anyone working in the facility you're referring to).....had someone on bi-level/inverse ratio vent settings, interpreted a swan-ganz, titrated pressors, or had an IABP lately?

As stated, Jo Dirt, LTAC is not a critical care environment that would be accepted as you pursue experience as an RN in a critical care environment. All the answers provided you are correct. There's no other way to explain this.

:up:

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

skill set sarcolemma presents are utilized by rn's in high acuity intensive care units and would not be found in majority of long term acute hospitals (ltac's). since they are licensed as hospitals, nursing care experience counts as hospital experience.

we direct you to consult with the don of facility for detailed information on exact services they provide as individual to each institution.