I worked in Med-surg for almost 2 years ending in December 2018. I also worked as a CNA in an SNF for 3.5 years and a nurse there as well for 8 months. My dad received a diagnosis for HCC and was immediately put on the liver transplant list. I am his only surviving family member, daughter and best friend. So it was a no-brainer to me that I had to quit my job at the hospital (one that I was sure I would be working at for a long time) and move a state away to care for him. I thought it would only be a couple of months off work but he ended up having serious complications that continue to this day. I think he is at a place now where he will be OK with me moving out of his home (to protect him from COVID) and working again. I can still swing by and take his garbage out, mow his lawn, clean his house while wearing a mask and opening windows. I'm just really bummed right now because it seems like all the hospitals in my area aren't hiring. Even if they would, why on earth would they want me when I have less than 2 years med-surg experience and have been off the job for a year and a half?
I applied to some travel nursing jobs because I live near Bellingham WA and could easily hop around all the major hospitals in the NW area of WA. The recruiter basically told me that I didn't have a shot in hell at travel nursing because of the lapse in nursing. Believe me, I have been flexing my nursing muscles during that time off. I have a HUGE list of continuing education, I finish my BSN in 2 weeks, and I have been a patient advocate for my father (which came with a TON of research, keeping track of his meds, labs, and asking the doctors sooo many questions). I feel so hopeless right now. All the postings that I am seeing are for travel nurses.
Can someone offer me some insight and/or advice?
I don't know how to network with COVID happening and I have no friends in the medical field in this area. Any help appreciated. There is NO way that I am going to start from scratch at an SNF. I'm 36 years old and have a toddler so it's time for me to get rocking on my career!
I believe that to be true. The SNF I worked in was spectacular. I just don't want to back-peddle in my career. Plus, I've spent so much time doing that work and I'm worn out by it. I love an environment where I can focus on the whole patient in a precise way. This is why I am lusting for medsurg. I think the reality is that I may have to take a non-hospital jub right now and I accept that. You bring up some great ideas. I am totally willing to branch out to clinic work or covid related contact tracing possibly just for a short time (because a job with the least exposure risk is the best for my immunosuppressed dad and even if I move out, I want him to be able to see his granddaughter regularly). Because of my toddler, working 3 12hr shifts would be the best (she's SUCH a mommas girl). Or 4 10hr shifts. Thank you for your kind words. You helped me shake off the fear a bit about re-entering the workforce after 1.5 years during this pandemic. Lots of ppl bashing me for this post, saying things like I am whining and I just need to get real and work at a SNF but I have a complex family situation to think about too (my daughter has VSD). It's also so frustrating not to be able to get to know all of your patients on a deep level. I thrive with psychosocial engagement so home health would be great. I just hope I can find someone to take me on. Thanks again! You are very kind. Lifted my spirits when I needed it the most. ?
Jennifer
See just to explain to you why this May insult others. You assume that working in SNF is “backpedaling” in your career as if it’s a step beneath acute care...and act as if in Med surg you won't be using the same SNF nurse skills... both assumptions are incorrect.
I applied for travel nursing but was told by one recruiter that, because of the gap of a year and a half from working in the hospital, his company couldn't hire me. This was just one recruiter who seemed to think that it was like that everywhere. Usually when the job post states "recent experience", it means within 2-3 years.
Most agencies I have worked for require at least one year of verifiable RN experience within 12 months of hiring. I’ve been a nurse since 2002 as an LPN and an RN since 2016 and it still applies to me with many YEARS of hospital nursing experience, some of them only 2 years ago.
I remember reading somewhere that a lot of nurses that were hired to travel in the northeast during their rise in COVID19 cases and their contracts had to be cancelled because they couldn’t just hit the ground running after not working in that modality recently. You have to be able to just jump in almost zero orientation (computer system taught remotely before ever starting and your orientation is a few minutes before the shift to give you Pixis access and a tour of where to find everything). You will be expecting to have the experience and ability to juggle everything while short staffed and do it safely....taking more than a year off does allow for us to need a day or two to get back into the rhythm of things and agencies aren’t looking for someone that needs “a couple days” for the areas that needed a nurse desperately weeks ago. It’s unfortunate but true.
You could try private duty nursing. Some people call it home health but I’m talking about a entire shift with one patient. You manage GT and trachs which I’m sure you could handle with minimal refreshing. It may not pay the best but it’s more low key. And if you work with children you get to see them grow and do things that surprise you. I cared for a boy with a rare genetic disorder (only one other person in the county had it). No one was sure what to expect in what he would be able to do. When he said his first words it was amazing. They didn’t think he would be able to learn to speak. The other person with the disorder was older and doesn’t speak.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
On 8/3/2020 at 11:57 PM, Falcon RN said:
I applied for travel nursing but was told by one recruiter that, because of the gap of a year and a half from working in the hospital, his company couldn't hire me. This was just one recruiter who seemed to think that it was like that everywhere. Usually when the job post states "recent experience", it means within 2-3 years.
I believe that is a JCAHO thing. Accredited agencies cannot send a nurse to any area where s/he does not have experience in the previous year. I've always been inclined to take the job there is, then worry about finding the job I want. Good luck.
Try pediatric private duty nursing. It really worked well for me when I had to care for for my sister who had a very aggressive form of breast cancer as well as also help her care for her special needs son. It's very flexible. They have 8,10, and 12 hour shifts with the 8 hours being mostly your feeding tube patients and 12 hours are those that have a tracheostomy and are ventilator dependent. It's one one one patient care and alot lower stress than your nursing homes and hospitals and you can pick your schedule. A good agency will train you and put you through classes for trach and vent and allow you to shadow with nurses and get checked off in the field until you feel comfortable. Or you can just start off with your basic feeding tube patients. We treat all ages from infants to children who have aged into adults. It really helped me keep my sanity while caring for my sister and her son. She passed away this January, and now I am caring for her special needs son. The trach and vent cases pay more up to mid thirties per hour depending on location and experience and the type of Medicaid insurance your patient has and how Medicaid is funded in your state. The feeding tube cases tend to pay lower into the mid to high twenties, lower thirty per hour depending on the above mentioned factors. Try to get a low stress case to start out with because it sounds like you have a lot going on with your dad. Later as you get more comfortable upgrade to the higher paying, more complex cases. Home health visits are also a great way to pick up visits and extra money, but the OASIS assessments for admissions, recertifications and and post hospital visits can be quite daunting for RN not accustomed so pick up simple task oriented LVN type visits such as wound care, IV's or simple disease process teaching and assessment. I hope this helps!
Compassion75 has good advice. I’ve done this type of work and enjoyed it. I’ve also gone to school with special needs kids 1:1 and some substitute school nursing shifts through my agency.
See just to explain to you why this May insult others. You assume that working in SNF is “backpedaling” in your career as if it’s a step beneath acute care...and act as if in Med surg you won't be using the same SNF nurse skills... both assumptions are incorrect.
You make the assumption that you have a clue what my career goals are. You also the assumption that I don't completely understand what you are saying. Look at the page before this one and you'll find the clarification I wrote on this topic.
Try pediatric private duty nursing. It really worked well for me when I had to care for for my sister who had a very aggressive form of breast cancer as well as also help her care for her special needs son. It's very flexible. They have 8,10, and 12 hour shifts with the 8 hours being mostly your feeding tube patients and 12 hours are those that have a tracheostomy and are ventilator dependent. It's one one one patient care and alot lower stress than your nursing homes and hospitals and you can pick your schedule. A good agency will train you and put you through classes for trach and vent and allow you to shadow with nurses and get checked off in the field until you feel comfortable. Or you can just start off with your basic feeding tube patients. We treat all ages from infants to children who have aged into adults. It really helped me keep my sanity while caring for my sister and her son. She passed away this January, and now I am caring for her special needs son. The trach and vent cases pay more up to mid thirties per hour depending on location and experience and the type of Medicaid insurance your patient has and how Medicaid is funded in your state. The feeding tube cases tend to pay lower into the mid to high twenties, lower thirty per hour depending on the above mentioned factors. Try to get a low stress case to start out with because it sounds like you have a lot going on with your dad. Later as you get more comfortable upgrade to the higher paying, more complex cases. Home health visits are also a great way to pick up visits and extra money, but the OASIS assessments for admissions, recertifications and and post hospital visits can be quite daunting for RN not accustomed so pick up simple task oriented LVN type visits such as wound care, IV's or simple disease process teaching and assessment. I hope this helps!
I LOVE this!! I really want to get my foot in the door with pediatric care. My ultimate dream career is to work in administration for a pediatric hospital/clinic. This would be a perfect place to start. This might require a 2.5 hour commute for me but it would be worth it to get on track with what I am passionate about. Thank you!
I don’t know about your area but in my area nursing agencies that hired private duty nurses cover large areas. Some cover more than one county. So around here you would never need to drive that far for a case. Some cases require you to go to school with a client and that could be any school. I’m going to start a school case with a girl who lives in my town and goes to a local school. Another girl I go to school with lives about 30 min from me but she goes to a special school so she lives farther from her school.
Sometimes what employers state in their job ads and what they might do in reality are two different things. Apply, even if you think you don’t meet some specific requirement, such as recent experience. You could present yourself favorably and get hired, or perhaps even be given a valuable lead. Not unheard of for one employer to state which other employers may be hiring. That has happened to me.
direw0lf, BSN
1,069 Posts
See just to explain to you why this May insult others. You assume that working in SNF is “backpedaling” in your career as if it’s a step beneath acute care...and act as if in Med surg you won't be using the same SNF nurse skills... both assumptions are incorrect.