Is it easy to get re-hired into acute care???

[Fiesta Red]

How easy is it to get re-hired into acute care after you have been in a home-based position (home health or hospice) for a year or two? I imagine the longer your are out of acute care, the harder it is to get back in. Do RN Managers and recruiters value home-based care experience or do they consider it time away?

I just started in a hospice position after 5 years in the ER, and I am wondering how difficult it would be to return to acute care if I ever wanted to or needed to?

Thanks!

-Mark

[Sabby_NC]

I do not see it as a problem with the preceptorships that are available. I wish you well your change of position. :)

[caliotter3]

A good number of the nurses that I meet in home care keep full or part time jobs in acute care and do home care shifts on the side for extra money. If this is a concern for you, you might consider staying per diem, part time, or in the float pool of your acute care hospital for occasional acute care shifts. This way, no one can state that your skills are rusty. Good luck and I hope you enjoy hospice. It can be very rewarding.

[RN1989]

Would probably depend on what type of acute care you were trying to get into. Would also depend on how much of a "shortage" of acute care nurses there are in your area. If you find there is a problem, start taking CE that pertains to acute care. You can show your employer/prospective employer that you ARE keeping up with the trends in acute care and haven't lost your touch. Also, your resume should reflect an emphasis on skills that you use in HH/hospice that are desired in an acute care nurse - prioritization, recognition of problems, emergency patient management, etc. How hard you would have to sell yourself really depends on how many vacancies the hospital is actually planning on filling, as well as if you are trying to compete for jobs with new grads (they cost less than you do), and again what acute care specialty you are trying to work in.