First job in LTC,,,will I ever be able to get a hospital job?

[KarriRN]

I just started orientation for my first RN job!! Its at a LTC facility with a rehab wing and a secure Alzheimers unit. I know there are tons of positives about this job and frankly just having a job right now is a blessing. But my husband is military and we will be moving in 8months-1 1/2 yrs. I plan on staying in my current position till then. I am worried about not being able to find a hospital job at that time. I would love to hear everyones thoughts on this.

[westieluv]

Congratulations on your first job! You will learn a lot about medications, time management, and symptom management and hone your bedside nursing skills considerably, so it definitely is good experience, even if it isn't in a hospital. I recently worked at a facility that sounds exactly like what you are describing because I couldn't get a hospital to hire me after taking seven years off to stay home with our kids, even though I had some previous hospital experience. Guess what? I got hired by a hospital three months ago because the nurse recruiter appreciated that I had that recent LTC/rehab experience. She understood that that type of nursing is hard and that you have to be very good at time management and physical assessment to be successful in that type of setting. If she could see that, then others will too. And hey, LTC/rehab experience is definitely better than no experience at all.

Good luck with the new job!