Does LTC experience typically count as Med-Surg when applying for Med-Surg?

No. LTC, clinic and doctors' offices are not considered med surge experience.

I don't count it as med-surg if I'm interviewing someone with LTC on their resume.

Your LTC experience will count towards 'nursing' experience when applying for a med/surg position. Until you work in any other area besides LTC, all you will have is LTC experience. Med/surg is a specialty in its own right, just as LTC, ICU, ER, L&D, etc.. That's not to say that you can't or won't be hired into med/surg; your potential employer may require you to enter into a nurse residency program for about a year while you learn to be a med/surg nurse.

As for the FNP, I believe there is an FNP specializing in Geriatrics/LTC option. So, I really don't believe the lack of med/surg experience would prevent you from becoming an FNP. Unfortunately, there are even threads on this forum where APRNs/FNPs have absolutely ZERO hands-on nursing experience, which is a major disservice to the individual holding such an advanced degree, and as such, some of them remain unemployed due to the lack of much-needed experience.

Thanks. My wife is now looking into the Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at South Alabama. Thanks for the idea!

Thanks. My wife is now looking into the Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at South Alabama. Thanks for the idea!

Glad I could be of service.:)

FNP programs typically look for NURSING experience, within which pretty much everything under the Sun counts as the same. I am doing pretty high ranked program which requires at least 1 year of bedside and seems to favor applicants with 2 or more. My class has "experience" literally all over the place from NICU to LTC, nobody pays any special attention to this.

I do not even mention that for FNP/Psych program LTC may provide way better experience than typical med/surgery floor.

No personal experience with the specific question, but it sure seems like LTC experience would be significant, whether it qualifies as "med-surg" or not! I'd think a good LTC nurse would be a great candidate...lots of experience dealing with and helping to manage multiple chronic conditions??

Anyway...good luck to both of you!