More to being a LPN than LTC?....

[CantWait2Nurse]

I keep hearing that most LPN go to LTC and no offense to anyone here but I really really don't want to work TLC. I chose the LPN route first simply because the RN schedule wouldn't accomodate my work schedule so I had to do what I had to do. I plan to bridge later however somebody please tell me I will have more options than TLC.

[Brittanyk039]

Doing LTC when you first graduate as an LPN is a rite of passage. I don't want to be an OB nurse but I still had to take the class type thing. Where I'm from you can barely get an interview for any place if you don't have any experience so unless you know someone you're not getting into anything else until you have that experience. You might find something about it you like. I don't want to work in a nursing home the rest of my life but I know it is something I have to do right now to get to where I want to be. You could try to find something else but I wouldn't get too excited. Good luck though.

[WldChrry]

First let me say that before I graduated nursing school, I told myself that I absolutely was not going to work in a nursing home. We did clinicals in school at nursing homes, and I just didn't feel it was the place for me. Needless to say, I am still at the first job I got after nursing school, which is at a LTC/Rehab facility. I love it! I love all of my patients, and while the work can be somewhat monotenous, and the conditions sometimes not the best, don't count nursing homes completely out. As for other jobs, they are out there. I had several other offers before I decided on the LTC job. I had an offer at a doctor's office, one at a drug and eating disorder rehab, one working with developmentally disabled individuals. I decided to go the LTC route because I felt that I would get more hands on practice with certain skills, like inserting foleys, suctioning trachs, dressing changes, etc. There are so many opportunities out there for LPNs. One of the LPNs I work with now has just taken a job with Hospice, and an old classmate of mine has taken a job with the VA. The only thing that will limit you is you. Don't listen to people who say that because you're not an RN you don't have options.

[ChristinP]

As an LPN I worked LTC which was not my favorite, currently I work mornings in a school nurses office and afternoons for a home care agency. I love both those jobs! I am no looking for 1 single job and have an interview as an Intake Nurse for a homecare company this afternoon. I also applied to a wound care center and an urgent care clinic. There are other opportunities out there keep looking :)

[shamrokks, ADN, ASN, RN]

It's great to read all of these opportunities for LPN's. Thank you everyone for sharing them. It gets frustrating at times and it is sad that we are looked down upon by some.

[donna67]

Was your first job in LTC? I have applied and the ones I have heard back from want a year of experience. I have a few I would like to call back and see if I can get an interview? I live in New Jersey and finding a job as a LPN is not easy at all.

[mizfradd, CNA]

Public health welcomes LPN's & also helps pay for bridging to RN after a set amount of employment time.

[lauranurselaura, BSN, RN]

Yes! There are definitely more options than LTC nursing for LPNs!

I'm currently a research nurse with the Dept. of Emergency Medicine at a large teaching hospital. I love it and was specifically hired because I had nursing experience! They needed someone who had the ability to talk to (aka: obtain a consent appropriately) patients had prior experience just being around very sick patients and their families. I had been on a med-surg. floor along with years of ambulatory care nursing, so I was a good fit.

I am so lucky and very grateful to have gotten this job! I have finally found my niche and really enjoy the flexibility, hours, constant learning (medicine, nursing, research regulations, etc.)!

You won't find many advertisements that will outright say "LPN required/preferred" though. It'll look more like "background in the medical field, knowledge of medical terminology, etc. preferred." Of course sometimes, the job description will say "RN required or BA/BS required", but I always encourage LPNs, EMTs, Paramedics, Medical Assistants, etc. to look if they're interested. I work with all of the above and it's great!

Just another option!

[CloudySue]

I, too, did my time in LTC. I initially loved it. I loved working with the seniors, some who really became like surrogate grandparents. Often I was put on the Alzheimer's wing, and I loved caring for those people as well as interacting with the families. If you have a caring personality and enjoy getting to know people well, LTC is it. I think it was a great experience. I learned my meds well, had opportunities to perform all sorts of procedures ie: foley caths, tube feeds, colostomy bag changes, trach suctioning, wound vacs, dressing changes, I even tapped a pleural effusion via intercostal drain! I had lots of practice doing initial assessments, neural checks, taking blood pressures, hearing all sorts of lung sounds, heart sounds, bowel sounds... by the end of my first year I felt quite proficient with my skills, and then...

I started to notice more about what was going on around me, the understaffing, the problems and risks of managing malcontented subordinates, the danger my license was in from the nurse to resident ratios. Once I learned the basics of nursing, I started to pay more attention to management, the underfunding, the greed of the corporation for which I worked. The tags we got from inspections, no matter how hard we tried to do everything right. The mounds and mounds of paperwork. The enormity of it all was not worth the pittance they were paying me, so I put in my two weeks' notice (never burn your bridges!) and then...

I now work for a pediatric private duty staffing agency. And I LOVE it! I work with all sorts of kids. I go to school with them in the day, I monitor bipaps at night. I've worked w kids w Rett Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Lissencephaly, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, 6Q Deletion, Shaken Baby Syndrome, premature births, trachs, GT's, bipaps, etc. I learn so much about childhood diseases/conditions with every case. Sometimes the case is quite a sad situation, but getting to know the family so personally and receiving the appreciation from them when your shift offers the respite they need to get a good night's sleep makes it a fantastic way to earn a living as an LPN. Plus... agencies often pay one rate: it's not so great for RN's, but great pay for an LPN! Sometimes last-minute shifts come with a huge bonus rate to entice nurses to work an undesirable shift, like overnights on Saturdays. I made 25% more money doing agency work in a year than I did at in LTC, and with 90% less stress.

This summer I am taking a break from private peds duty for a new adventure: being a summer camp nurse! It's not phenomenal pay, but I'm able to take my two daughters for free. Considering the camp costs over $8000/camper, it's a great deal! So keep looking out for opportunities! And don't discount LTC. It was a fantastic start for me.