New job opportunity

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Sep 13, 2017

My thoughts given what I know about the nursing field:

1. Can you survive with $24/day less than you are making now? That amount doesn't seem like much, but in a two-week pay period, it's $240 missing from the paycheck.

2. How much do you value your free time versus your career? (See #3 below). Family, I can understand; but I'd never lighten the load in my pockets for friends.

3. Leaving SNF (hands-on nursing care) for a doctor's office (limited-to-NO patient care) may prove costly in the future when trying to find other positions once (if) you become dissatisfied with the office work, and/or in need of additional dollars. Are you willing to risk that?

4. Is there a potential for advancement at the doctor's office? Probably not (you've already indicated a pay cut). But who knows?

5. There are more options available for LPNs/LVNs who maintain hands-on patient care skills than for those who have 'lost' those abilities after being in the confines of office work...unless later returning to the classroom (refresher course, higher education, etc.).

I did the doctors-office thing for 10 months once, during my LPN years. It was the worst experience of my career. The office was poorly managed, the doctor could care less about the patients (he would have us schedule patients from 9am-4:30pm; but he would not even attempt to see any of them until 4pm, at which time, he'd run them through the quickest assessments known to man and have them out of the building by 5pm).

To top that off, the humiliation for me was in having to cash my check at a liquor store (I've never even taking a drink in my life!) because no bank would touch a check with his signature on it, not even the bank where he had an account. This was because his office manager, who was also his wife, would zero-out the account every single payday before proceeding to sign our checks. (This was pre-direct-deposit days). Not all offices are as I have described, I know.

Do your research and goals-evaluation. There are some key factors in the above list that are worth a second thought, especially where the future of your nursing career is concerned. At the bare minimum, I would keep a foot in the door at the SNF in a PRN role, if possible. At least that will give you occasional access to hands-on patient care.

Talking with other nurses, or even reading further on this forum, you'll see that a little constant experience is better than none at all. There are many nurses who have left the bedside, to find out later that employers will not hire/rehire them because of the lapsed time from actual patient care. It is a myth that simply having a valid nursing license will always guarantee you a job.

Ultimately, this is all your decision. Good luck!

ironman53 · Sep 19, 2017

I say go for it and don't look back. If you truly hate the SNF and that work environment. It won't hurt to try new things, but if the salary is an issue, you need to find what is best for your finance situation. I did something like this recently, I took a small pay cut, except it's a CNA job in a amazing hospital, with a better work environment. I hated working in my SNF, but now I'm only part-time since it's my only LVN job. The place is toxic, but I like to think i'm doing good there, and i only see it once or twice a week now.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Sep 19, 2017

You won't know if it's better for you unless you try it. I'd say give it a chance, but stay PRN at your current position or something similar to it to keep that opportunity open in the future.

I'm 16 years in and if someone told me I'd be doing what I'm doing now even 5 years ago I would have thought they were nuts, because I ran from the environment like a bat out of hell almost a decade ago. Our minds change, as do our priorities in life, so it's good to keep our options open. My LPN license came up for renewal this past July and I paid the fee to maintain it, even though I went back to school and now have my RN. Why? Because I just don't know down the road if I may need it to apply for a job (some do not want to pay for an RN if they are not required to be one for the position).

y1rojas · Sep 27, 2017

Hello there, I am an LVN in Houston going on 8 years now. I am experienced in Dialysis, pediatrics, home health and LTC. I worked at a SNF for 4 years and was determined to quit because management changed. In the end I not only had to do my nursing job, I had to be a CMA and eventually a CNA (they wanted us to help get people up HA!!) Absolutely not in my lifetime.

I decided to try the clinic and have been at a general health clinic now for 9 months, also took a $4 pay cut. I do miss the extra $400-500 out of my checks but by no means do I miss the stress. I also find this job pretty boring as it entails being a "desk nurse", the only action we get are injections, we've had a pt have a CVA, and a few falls but nothing nearly as bad as SNF. I do miss the hands on and skills I used to have. It's a big decision and sometimes I do want to have SNF PRN just so I can keep up with my skills. Hope this helps!! Best of luck to you