Got my foot stuck in the door...

CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

At this time, I would be grateful just to have work. However, if you are able to find work in an acute hospital setting, this will surely help your skill level. And possibly you'd find a heftier paycheck. You will be better prepared to deal with acute issues with your clients/residents, which may not be as apparent to you when working in a LTC setting.

Not trying to say LTC nurses are any better or worse than any other nurse.

For instance, I would say that my skill level is principally medsurge, if I were to go to ICU, I know I would encounter skill sets that I would not customarily need to know or tasks I would not normally do (not allowed to do on a medsurge floor) that may help me to be a better medsurge nurse.

So, if this option is up for grabs and you are willing to take the risk of leaving a comfortable setting, I'd say go for it!

Jolie, BSN · Mar 17, 2009

Would you consider remaining at the nursing home in a per diem position? You could work a shift here and there while you decide whether or not the hospital is a good fit for you.

Most employers are willing to arrange something l ike this for their good employes, rather than risk losing them altogether.

LesMonsterRN, ADN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

Jo, this will be me next fall as I get ready to graduate RN school. I've had a long career in LTC as an LPN.

caliotter3 · Mar 17, 2009

Hospital jobs can be impossible to find. Acute care experience is valuable. There are many departments where you can get experience in different specialties. Don't pass up this opportunity. Offer to work at the nursing home on a fill in or occasional basis but don't let the hospital offer go.

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

I wanted to get my foot in the door of a hospital, now it's stuck. The nursing home is begging me not to leave. It would be easier to stay, because that is what I know.
I want to know what advantages I can expect to working in a hospital over a nursing home? If I have hospital experience could I expect to get PRN jobs that pay really good?
How long will it take my salary to increase in a hospital?
I hate having to make these major decisions. I need help.

Hey Jo! Been there done that! I started out in LTC as an LPN and had applied at a hospital. The facility didn't want me to leave, and I almost decided to stay there, it was where I had worked and knew my stuff. I was going back to RN school and wanted to eventually work in the ER at a hospital. I did go ahead and take the plunge and leave LTC, and that was the best decision I could have made. In the hospital, I got to experience different types of patients, and a more acute subset of patients. I got to work codes and more critical situations, which I had been nervous around.

Getting hospital experience, you can get prn jobs at outpatient facilities, dialysis centers, ect, that pay well, or work for a staffing agency. When I took a job at my first hospital, I got my first raise after 3 months, then after 6 months. I also got my ER position I had wanted. Good luck to you in your decision making.

Anne, RNC

Magsulfate, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

IMO , unless you want to stay in a nursing home forever, you need to get acute care experience at a hospital. If you ever want to work per diem at an agency or at a hospital, you will need acute care experience. You've got your foot in the door, now get all the way in!

I know from experience that change is scary and sometimes it's hard to do when you're comfortable where you're at. But don't you want to broaden your skill set? Gain experience and be more 'marketable' , therefore raising your pay.

Sarcolemma · Mar 18, 2009

Hospital jobs can be impossible to find.

what? as a nurse? in the united states? in the age of the baby boomer?

Jo Dirt · Mar 18, 2009

I just don't like how the DON is pressuring me to stay, and trying to butter me up with, "we don't just hire any old RN, you're the best we've got and the only one who doesn't mind working the floor."

On top of that my toddler cries for me all night. The hospital said they had day openings but wanted me to start on nights to learn.

I wonder if I can prove to them I can handle the day shift? What can I do to prove it to them?

CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2009

what? as a nurse? in the united states? in the age of the baby boomer?

Yep, and is there really a nursing shortage, really?!!

CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2009

I just don't like how the DON is pressuring me to stay, and trying to butter me up with, "we don't just hire any old RN, you're the best we've got and the only one who doesn't mind working the floor."
On top of that my toddler cries for me all night. The hospital said they had day openings but wanted me to start on nights to learn.
I wonder if I can prove to them I can handle the day shift? What can I do to prove it to them?

Approach the management and demand they put you on the list for days at once!

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Mar 18, 2009

Good point, easttexas! You are right, change can really be scary. I'll bet you will do really well once you got into working in the hospital atmosphere, OP. I say go for it. You'll be glad you did!

Anne, RNC