New Grad LTAC

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Hi all! I'm a new grad as of May 2020 and have been job hunting since then (and before if you count applying to new grad residencies!). I was just offered a job at an LTAC, noc shift and have been reading through this forum on everyone's experience. The facility gets some really bad reviews both from patients' families and some pretty mixed (low) reviews from employees. I'm genuinely excited about the challenge and know it'll have a pretty big learning curve, so trying to go into it with open eyes. How can I tell if the facility will be good and I'll be supported ahead of time? Any big questions I should ask before accepting the position? They said I'd get 18 training shifts, which would end up being 6 weeks if I'm doing 3 12s. Is that pretty typical?

Thank you for any advice you can give! 

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Specializes in retired LTC.
On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2020 at 2:27 PM, tori24 said:

.....  How can I tell if the facility will be good and I'll be supported ahead of time?

Thank you for any advice you can give! 

Tall order question there. Just know that what I, personally, may consider as a good facility with good support and good training, etc may SIGNIFICANTLY differ from your opinion and/or needs. You may need & want more; I prob expect less.

Always, always, always remember that disgruntled employees/families are a gazillion times more likely to be negatively vocal with their opinions than the satisfied ones. They're the unhappy ones to run to social media to complain about the sour grapes.

Go with your gut. If you felt good with the interview, go for it. It's a learning opp'ty that will bring you experience and a salary as versus just staying home and wondering & job seeking & wondering & job seeking, etc. (And getting 'rusty' and becoming THAT 'old new grad'.

Good luck.

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As the previous poster stated, everyone's views on adequate training and a good facility will differ between opinions. Personally, 6 weeks for a new grad in an LTAC seems kind of short, but it's better than what most places would offer (I only got 1 week at a skilled nursing facility as a new grad, I jumped at the first offer that came my way.) You weren't specific with the facility details, but LTACHs do have different units. Will you also be floated to the ICU? Considering many of these patients are very sick, I would clarify what kind of patients you would be handling and your responsibilities. And as the previous poster also mentioned, it's better to have a job than no job at all. If you end up not liking the job, I would use this as a stepping stone for the next one. Good luck!

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On 9/12/2020 at 1:27 PM, tori24 said:

Hi all! I'm a new grad as of May 2020 and have been job hunting since then (and before if you count applying to new grad residencies!). I was just offered a job at an LTAC, noc shift and have been reading through this forum on everyone's experience. The facility gets some really bad reviews both from patients' families and some pretty mixed (low) reviews from employees. I'm genuinely excited about the challenge and know it'll have a pretty big learning curve, so trying to go into it with open eyes. How can I tell if the facility will be good and I'll be supported ahead of time? Any big questions I should ask before accepting the position? They said I'd get 18 training shifts, which would end up being 6 weeks if I'm doing 3 12s. Is that pretty typical?

 

Thank you for any advice you can give! 

tori24,

Any updates? Just wondering; I'm curious about how LTACs are?

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On 8/11/2021 at 1:03 PM, Hopeful RN said:

tori24,

Any updates? Just wondering; I'm curious about how LTACs are?

Hi Hopeful RN!

I ended up working at an LTAC for about 7 mos before landing a job at an acute care hospital on a tele floor. Looking back, I would not recommend it for new grads as the training and support you'll get on the floor was just...abysmal for me. I had my good coworkers and my bad but I didn't realize how unsupported I was until I started my new job. Of course, your mileage will vary depending on the facility and even within any acute care hospital if that's the kind of job you're looking for. As a new grad, for acute care experience I would recommend trying to get into a hospital ideally in a new grad program (although things have been weird with COVID, know nurses who were pulled off orientation early d/t short staffing etc.)

That all being said, I know the struggle of needing to start a job quickly after graduation for whatever reason that may be, usually financial. I also know how hard it is to get into an acute care hospital as a new grad depending on your area. If you can financially wait, I know classmates who held off and ended up getting their dream jobs simply by waiting and persistently applying. LTACs are definitely a high learning curve and you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, knowing when to ask for help, sticking to your guns for patient safety. I learned valuable time management skills and got to work with patients on drips, multiple abx, ventilators, PEG tubes, complicated wounds....it was stuff I would never see on a med surg floor. Emotionally and physically draining and honestly, generally unsafe where I worked but I loved working with some of my patients and it WAS rewarding when I saw people improve. It's not for the faint of heart and not all hospitals will see it as valuable experience...but I know for me, the skills I learned were directly transferrable to my current job and I did a lot of stuff my coworkers have not. So it's just up to you if it's something you want to deal with. happy to answer any questions you may have! Sorry for the novel!

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On 8/14/2021 at 4:43 PM, tori24 said:

Hi Hopeful RN!

I ended up working at an LTAC for about 7 mos before landing a job at an acute care hospital on a tele floor. Looking back, I would not recommend it for new grads as the training and support you'll get on the floor was just...abysmal for me. I had my good coworkers and my bad but I didn't realize how unsupported I was until I started my new job. Of course, your mileage will vary depending on the facility and even within any acute care hospital if that's the kind of job you're looking for. As a new grad, for acute care experience I would recommend trying to get into a hospital ideally in a new grad program (although things have been weird with COVID, know nurses who were pulled off orientation early d/t short staffing etc.)

That all being said, I know the struggle of needing to start a job quickly after graduation for whatever reason that may be, usually financial. I also know how hard it is to get into an acute care hospital as a new grad depending on your area. If you can financially wait, I know classmates who held off and ended up getting their dream jobs simply by waiting and persistently applying. LTACs are definitely a high learning curve and you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, knowing when to ask for help, sticking to your guns for patient safety. I learned valuable time management skills and got to work with patients on drips, multiple abx, ventilators, PEG tubes, complicated wounds....it was stuff I would never see on a med surg floor. Emotionally and physically draining and honestly, generally unsafe where I worked but I loved working with some of my patients and it WAS rewarding when I saw people improve. It's not for the faint of heart and not all hospitals will see it as valuable experience...but I know for me, the skills I learned were directly transferrable to my current job and I did a lot of stuff my coworkers have not. So it's just up to you if it's something you want to deal with. happy to answer any questions you may have! Sorry for the novel!

Thank you for the insight!

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