Nursing Home or No?

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Among the many other newly graduated RNs out there, I have had no luck finding a job. Specifically in the hospital. I graduated May 2013 and pass the NCLEX in September. I have been applying like crazy since November and there's been no response back.

My question has to do with the nursing home job openings. I've considered applying to a couple near me but I can't make up my mind. I've heard many say to skip the nursing home and unless I want to work there avoid applying or accepting a job. One person who told me was a nurse practitioner and another was a nurse recruiter of a traveling agency. The rest of the word as come from random sources. And yet, I talk to others who say go for it if you can find a job, at least is some type of experience, you can always go to the hospitals later.

Right now I'm struggling with what to do. What is the right answer? Do hospitals really not want new grads to accept a job in a nursing home first?

At this point I want to say who cares, a job is a job and I have loans to start paying back. I already deferred them and my time is running out. If anyone has any input about this please share! You can see how stressed I'm getting my post just rambles haha

Thanks,

New grad pulling her hair out

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In the perfect world everyone would get the positions they wanted, but that can't be the way it is. You need to take care of your finances because they have a major impact on the rest of your life. My philosophy is apply to any and all positions in your area. If you get an offer for more than one, then you can be a little more picky. I am also in your position. I feel the time slipping away, adding more pressure everyday to get a job.

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Specializes in ER.

Once upon a time nurses were offered sign on bonuses and were hunted by hospitals to fill positions. However, those times aren't now. Take a position and learn how to spin it to your advantage after a few months of working there. Nursing home has taught me X, Y, Z. It allows me to see the patient as an individual and how each piece fits into their health. It allows me to assess and monitor changes. It allows me to see a variety of chronic conditions. Time management to get everything done in a day. A lot of medications in the hospital. Communicating with doctors over the phone.

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I am an LPN and I have worked in LTC/Skilled Nursing for 3 years. I loved it at first because I was actually working as a nurse, but now I am completly burned out. I just graduated with my BSN and am waiting to take the NCLEX. Nursing home work is intense and is not for everyone simply because not everyone can do it. I say that because I have seen it. In my Gero book I remember it saying that nursing home nursing is equally intense in the area of nursing care as ICU nursing is in medical/technical work/knowledge (or something like that, I don't remember the exact words the book used). Basically, its just as intense as the ICU but just in different ways. The book discussed research to back that up. I completly agree. I can't tell you the number of nurses (LPN's and RN's) who disappear after a few weeks. Either they were let go for not being able to cut it or they just suddenly quit because it was too much. Where I work they want me to stay when I become an RN. There is no way I would unless I can't find another job! And its not the people who work there that make me want to leave, its the intense workload that is never ending that always has me staying past the end of my shift to complete. I come to the conclusion that the entire nursing home system is flawed. I truly believe that it needs a drastic change, but I do not believe it will happen any time soon.

With all that said, I would do it for a few months to a year while I looked for another job. I mean its money and it will put food on the table and pay the bills. However, I am going to try as hard as I can to not have to do it any longer than I have to. I don't know how hiring managers feel about hiring a new grad who only has nursing home experience, but I do know 2 RN's who started out in nursing homes and worked for 6mo-1year and they finally found hospital jobs.

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Thank you for all your opinions and advice!! I ended up accepting the job I was offered recently for the nursing home and my first day will be in the next couple days. As unsure as I am/was about starting there, I am definitely excited! This is my first job as a nurse and when I got my name tag that said RN on it I couldn't wipe the huge grin my face!

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.

I did 3.5 years of sub-acute rehab, it was a glorified nursing home. I moved to med-surg at the first opportunity and did very well.

Long term care is acceptable if you are facing long-term unemployment but try to find sub-acute rehabilitation so at least you can practice some med-surg skills like wound dressing changes, IV antibiotics, assessments, etc. Sub-acute rehab is like a mini-hospital, they have post-op patients, esp. orthopedic cases, that will be good to work with and learn as an introduction to med-surg. However, don't fall into a nursing home slump, but have a sense of urgency and develop networks as you work in LTC, so people know you are available and you are eager.

I would say don't work in a classic nursing home where the patient population lives as in a hotel and plays bingo all day. Your day will consist of passing so many pills, you won't even have time for assessments or other basic functions of a nurse. Also, those places are very depressing because work is very hard and your customers generally don't say thank you. They take everything for granted and they can be very self-centered.

Also...the less time you spend there the better. After 5 years (according to the hospital recruiter who hired me) in a nursing home most hospitals will no longer consider you as a candidate, unless you take refresher courses.

My long term care experience did not make me marketable, on the contrary-it made me feel unwanted outside of the nursing home industry-but it bought me time so it was helpful in that sense because I was working and making good money in 2008 and 2009 and 2010 when 14 million people lost their jobs. There was a lot of overtime in long term care-nobody cared, nobody had issues as long as you got your job done. I made 70 thousand dollars in my first year as a nurse-in the nursing home. I could have done worse when the economy was going down the toilet during a time of great tribulations for the country.

Good luck.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Congratulations! My advice was going to be that if there were hospital jobs available to you, you could afford to "skip" the LTC ones... but you need to work. And you are. :nurse: You may well get a hospital job down the road, but for now enjoy what you've been given. You'll hone your assessment skills the good ol' fashioned way--by examining the resident. You'll develop professional relationships with your clients that a lot of us don't b/c you'll know them so well. You'll be able to pay your bills! :)

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Specializes in LTC, Agency, HHC.

Take it. LTC experience is better than no experience. I think all new grads should start out in LTC. (I did it for 6 years). At least that way, the hospitals will know that you have experience taking care of more than one patient.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.
Take it. LTC experience is better than no experience. I think all new grads should start out in LTC. (I did it for 6 years). At least that way, the hospitals will know that you have experience taking care of more than one patient.

I beg to differ. Hospital recruiters believe if you come from LTC you are a stupid nurse. It took me a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices to overcome this stigma, but still occasionally my boss would point out "you don't get it because you came from a nursing home (where idiots work-that's what she implies) this is a hospital where we do things differently".

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Asimon, the travel agency's recruiter forgot to tell you that you can actually travel with LTC experience. Many LTC places are happy with just one year experience and the pay is compatible to med surg positions. Something to consider if you are interested in traveling.

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