Hospice to Hospital?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Wondering if anybody out there started off in Hospice/case management, then at some later point in their career went to hospital acute care or other specialty. I am hearing of so many situations where NGs are starting in areas where previously only experienced nurses would be considered, Hospice, ICU, ER, etc.

I know some NGs going directly into hospice because of a genuine interest in the specialty, but, they also intend to try for hospital work in medsurg, etc. at some point. The hospital jobs being out of reach in this economy, and the need to begin working NOW having waited to do things in the right order for too long already.

What have you guys seen? Are hospice nurses allowed back into working with non-terminal patients?

Or is it more, that with your only experience being hospice experience, there's no chance of moving on?

[jjnmrsmom]

Well... I've been a hospice nurse for about 1 1/2 years now. I started as a new grad. It's hard to say for sure with the economy being what it is but I think it's slowed my career down. When I first graduated I would get job interviews when I applied for jobs... now I don't get any responses at all. And I've tried a few specialties with a few different hospitals. Just my own experience.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

i would be very leary of doing case mgt with hospice, I work inpatient hospice as a new grad. I think i will be able to switch specialty because I basically work on a med-surg floor but with a lot more automony. I might have to start in a hospital palliative/ oncology floor and move from there once in the system.....but i know nurses that were at our place that have successfully done that. The reason i would be hesitant to work such a job that your mentioning is you really should be a seasoned nurse in that role, and a new grad will not have a skill base or a psycho-social base to effectively advocate for their pts. Its also going to be a harder sell when you want to do bedside nursing again, because you will basically be a new grad in terms of learning to manage large pt loads, ect..... On the other hand its a rough economy and a lot of new grads are starting in non-traditional new grads role. (even mine is generally not where you start) and some of my former classmates are working as casemanagers but in a somewhat less persnickty field...but they see a long-term future in their roles.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I went from working in hospice to working in the ED. Helping them out of the world one minute, trying to keep 'em in it the next.

ETA: This was at least ten years ago, when things were not as tight as they are now.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

OCNRN63

Exactly, I can imagine an interview... some NM saying, "Now.... ehem... you do know OCNRN63, that you WILL need to resus your arresting patients... do you think you can remember to do that?"