Nurses and Agency Assignments

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Sep 12, 2004

Howdy ya'll,
Can someone explain to me why agencies tell you that if you have been out of the inpatient hospital setting for too long, they don't want to assign you to hospitals, but it's ok to assign you to LTC facilities even if you have been out of that setting even longer than the last hospital inpatient job? My work for the past 6 years has been in clinics. They said if they assigned me to a hospital, it could potentially jepordize my license...couldn't it just as easily jepordize my license in a LTC setting? Or are they saying patients in LTC setting just don't matter, so long as there is a warm body in a uniform around?

As you know, there is a very real difference between nursing home patients and acute care patients. Having been out of acute care for a while, there have been a lot of changes. Patient's are very ill and there are plenty of changes to treatments as well as medications and methods of treatment. In the nursing home, patients are chronic and in most cases, stable. There are no major clinical crisis to deal with. Now, before I get flammed by the LTC nurses, let me expalin. I think the nursing home has a pace that is generally more manageable for nurses who have been out of the field a while. If a crisis to happen, you call 911 and get the patient out of there to the ED. If you are dealing with a crisis in the acute care setting, in many cases, your ability to quickly assess changes in condition can be the difference between life and death.

I agree with your agency. If you want to get back into acute care - take a refresher course and sign on with a hospital to get refreshed. Then after a year, go back to the agency. Good luck.

jjda · Sep 12, 2004

I'm a LTC nurse and I agree. there is a difference. We have our own kind of emergencies but they are very different from the acute setting. We also need nurses who are capable and informed but we do tend to send the very ill to the ER.

Roozeyk · Sep 12, 2004

I would like to add that the past year for me has been Urgent Care. I also see that a lot of hospitals appear to be staffing with RN's, (I'm an LPN) so it's hard to get in to the area of Obstetrics in hospitals anymore like I did 6 years ago, which was my fav. area of inpatient work.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Sep 12, 2004

I would like to add that the past year for me has been Urgent Care. I also see that a lot of hospitals appear to be staffing with RN's, (I'm an LPN) so it's hard to get in to the area of Obstetrics in hospitals anymore like I did 6 years ago, which was my fav. area of inpatient work.

If you are truly interested in moving back into acute care ... try signing on with a hospital. Many offer extended orientation periods for nurses that have been out of acute care. It is worth it to try, if that is where your interest are. Please remember though .... the payrates for LPN's in most hospitals are very poor when comparing payrates for LPN's in long term care. Just something to consider.