New RN hired on the spot during an interview in a Assisted Living

Published

Hi, last thursday I submitted an application on several skilled and assisted living facilities . Then the day after that, I got a phone call, I got a job interview and was hired on the spot by the wellness director of an assisted living.

The director and her assistant were the ones who did the interview, They knew I am a new nurse and is currently employed as a C.N.A position in a assisted living where I do most meds and is a team lead. In short, no working background as an RN.

They took an interest on my resume because I am working in AL.

Then at the end of the resume, I asked them how many RN's working now. They said I will be the first RN if ever because they're both LPNs. Meaning, I was hired on the spot. They don't even call or asked my reference. They said the previous ones are pretty old school (considering I'm young).

I was so thrilled I snag a RN job but I'm worried I might be thrown to the wolves. Or am I being paranoid?

Do they really hire entry level RNs at assisted living?

Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I was hired in an assisted living facility as an RN a few months after I got my license.

but I know RNs in AL facilities are similar to managerial positions and has to have experience.

Will it be alright if I work in a AL even I have no working background as a RN in Assisted livings though I have worked in assisted living as a CNA for years? It just scares me compare to hospital jobs!

Help. Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Tour thread was moved for best response and duplicate merged

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

you will be fine, you do have AL experience, just not as a RN.....

Up Vote Up Vote ×

you will be alright to work in AL. You do lose a lot of skills because all residents in AL are independent and so basically you are just giving them their medicines and doing monthly weights/vitals. you will be fine there. there is not a lot of skills and they can't have a pressure ulcer more than stage 2 and with ostomies they have to be independent in care and if they aren't then they will be transferred to a SNF. a lot of times AL is staffed with LPNS and RMA's/CNA's and usually RNs are DONS and supervisors. I am a DON of an assisted living facility and I love it!!! let me know if you have any questions! if I were you I would still work PRN on med surg or home health to keep up your skills

Up Vote Up Vote ×
you will be alright to work in AL. You do lose a lot of skills because all residents in AL are independent and so basically you are just giving them their medicines and doing monthly weights/vitals. you will be fine there. there is not a lot of skills and they can't have a pressure ulcer more than stage 2 and with ostomies they have to be independent in care and if they aren't then they will be transferred to a SNF. a lot of times AL is staffed with LPNS and RMA's/CNA's and usually RNs are DONS and supervisors. I am a DON of an assisted living facility and I love it!!! let me know if you have any questions! if I were you I would still work PRN on med surg or home health to keep up your skills

Thanks. But my soon to be work place has a memory care too! And I have no familiarity how RN function in memory care. :o any idea?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You will be held to your highest license level, irregardless of the job, not sure what state you're in but you do know that you have risk issues performing what a CNA or RN should do and not do. Sometimes getting hired on the spot can be "too good to be true" and be careful of what's expected of you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am also a new grad who was hired on the spot at a 55+ bed AL and mainly I've just been prepping, passing, and charting meds. As the post above me mentioned, there aren't a lot of skills, and as a new grad I feel that it would be more beneficial to at least start at a SNF...but of course I took what I could get and my supervisor was well aware of that. I’ve only been there for about two weeks and I already feel like quitting because of all the red flags I’ve been noticing. It feels unsafe to be the only nurse handling 55+ residents and I don't have a nurse manager, don, or RN supervisor to turn to (during the interview I was under the impression that there would be one)…and my supervisor is not a nurse. Every time I come in, my nurse will constantly vent about all the issues going on, how she’s ready to leave, how dangerous it is to be working there, etc. which stresses me out and makes me want to quit. For the sake of my license, the smart thing would be to get out and run…but at the same time I keep telling myself to just hang in there because it hasn’t even been a month yet, and if I can't even handle working at AL, then what more at a SNF or hospital.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello KellyRN2013. I was a DON for 8 months for a nursing home and since I had to move to another state, I took a DON position for an assisted living facility. I'm a little nervous of the difference between a nursing home and AL. Any advice or suggestions would be great??? Thank you :-)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Sometimes there's not that great a difference.....in the ALs where I've been a DON in recent years, we had a good number of heavy-care residents who should have been in nursing homes and people who belonged in memory care. The major differences are that AL is cheaper than LTC, the aides are usually not certified, and the staffing is terrible. I wouldn't do AL again for anything, unless I stopped caring about my license and didn't give a darn about the residents.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

twife02 You will be just fine! Sorry for the late post! I am sure you know the difference by now though. The regulations are completely different. It is not as much for at the AL versus the SNF. If you have any specific questions please let me know :) I will be glad to answer them. Typically I do a lot of healthcare over sight, budget for nursing, hire and fire, I do all of my education and inspection preparations. Also the levels of care in an AL have increased in acuity over the years. Our level 4 is pretty much someone who is about to transition over to long term care they just don't quite meet the requirements yet. Another difference that you will notice is that most of the staff is made up of CNA/RMA (med techs) and the LPN's are the charge nurses, etc. Our assisted living has more LPN's because the acuity is getting so high in AL and we are having to do a lot more assessments. I know this is very vague but there is a lot of job duties in the AL. I don't believe the DON in an AL facility is a stressful or as strenuous as a SNF. I wish you the best of luck and you will do great!!! Please let me know if I can help you in any way.

Kelly R.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you Kelly. I really appreciate your response. Are you a delegating nurse too? I just finished that course. Would you mind sharing any information on where you obtained your education material for staff? I'm trying to start an assisted living DON support group. So we can share information and ideas.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion