nursing home or hospital?

BetterMeRN · Jul 18, 2007

Waiting for my ATT as well.....newgrad from LPN program....I am going to work in a hospital....considering that I want to go on for my RN i think its best for me. In a NH granted you can be in charge but what are we really in charge of......pushing meds all day.....go for more hospital may pay less but experience is what holes weight.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 18, 2007

I am still waiting for my NCLEX-ATT. I am a fresh graduate of LPN from the Philippines, presently in the US. I've been thinking about where I would fit best whenever I get my license, in a nursing home or in a hospital. My concern with a nursing home is that as a novice coming from another country with a different cultural background, I am an in-charge being an LPN to the CNAs. I feel like there are so much I have to learn, considering that these CNA's are probably very experienced already. In a hospital, there is an RN in charge of me, who can guide me for things I do not know or not accustomed yet. Any advice?

You'd first have to do some checking around, in that many hospitals do not hire LPNs at all. If you are near one that does, then you'd need to ask the unit manager or director of nursing what exactly your role in the hospital will be. For instance, my hospital no longer hires LPNs, but the ones we do have are not "guided" by the RNs at all. Technically, they are supervised by the charge nurse (always an RN) but in reality, they are expected to do the job without alot of questions. But then again, they have all been there for several years, are not new nurses.

Nursing homes do hire many LPNs, straight out of school, so a lack of experience doesn't work against you there.