Lpn who cant find a job other than LTC

[Nurse-Tee]

Hello fellow Lpns.I have been a Lpn here in Ct For six years and currentley at home with my small children(4) due to not bieng able to find work. There are some LTC positions open but i am so burned out with working at Facilitys with 40+ pts and being the only nurse on the floor i dare not work under these conditions any longer. The only other jobs open are agencey staffing LTC and you never no what you are going to walk into. I have sent resumes to diffrent areas in nursing but they prefer RN, any other LPN finding this problem?

[mrnurse2]

Unfornately when you work in area for a long time employers assume you are a nurse who can only do the area you have been doing.

What I have done is sometimes take a job I didn't like but then look for another job to work part time or PRN to fill in then you start getting experience in that area. Check out hospice agencies, home health agencies, registry's. A lot will say recent "acute experience" tell the interviewer or cover page on your resume that you want to fill in and are willing to learn. In California the latest thing in ER is employed to cover RN lunch relief. The other things I found is look for classroom CEU's that offer certification in a field that interest you. When you go on the interview or apply for job bring/copy your recently obtained certification. Usually facilities no matter how bad they are offer some type of documented review of performance, I ask for copies. You want performance reviews that show you are a dependable, hard worker, willing to go above and beyond.

I started out initially in LTC that I hated, then I covered for the TX nurse on her days off. Next thing you know the vendors Hillrom, Pegasus Airwave needed a nurse consultant. I told them I really didn't have the training. They sent me to training for wound care in exchange for my services. Eventually, I accumulated a lot of experience and was being paid good. I visited facilities and put my name out and was giving the opportunity by the networking to do other things.

Hang in there and don't give up! Nursing is a great profession, one that has always had some type of job for me especially when I needed food on the table.