New grad in LTC as first job .. Good idea?

Nurses Job Hunt

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I graduated in may 2012 and I still have yet to find a job. I am from Harrisburg pa. I was wondering if I should start applying to nursing homes. Is this good experience?Any other may graduates with no job?

I went on an interview about for months ago at a hospital n the manager of the floor told me that they don't count LTC as experience to get a job in the hospital...

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Oh really? Did you get a job at a hospital?

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No I work at a LTC as weekend supervisor

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Do you like it so far? I am going to start applying cause who knows how long it will take me to get into a hospital where I live

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It's not as bad as most people say once u get ur own routine....I want to get in a hospital so my hands on will not dwindle n I want to do other thing with my nursing degree

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Did you graduate in may 2012?

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No I didn't ....

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Specializes in geriatrics.
are you an RN in a LTC unit?
Yes I am, for 2 years now.
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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

When attempting to land a hospital job after having accrued only LTC/nursing home experience, it really depends on how open-minded the HR people and nurse managers are at the hospital.

I had nearly 5 years of LTC experience when I received a job offer at a regional acute care hospital because the nurse manager was open-minded and realized that I did have some skills upon which to build. However, I ended up not accepting the hospital job due to the low pay and the proposed workload.

In other words, my LTC experience did open the door to a hospital job offer.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Just as many of our colleagues on allnurses don't understand the true scope of what nurses do in skilled facilities, the managers and HR people do not either.Don't just say " I work in a nursing home." What skills do you have you can bring to their clinical arena: assessment skills, time management, interpersonal communication skills....the list goes on.When I look at a resume', and all the applicant has is hospital experience, they are not the first chosen. Some skills work everywhere, and having worked everywhere I'd say it is far easier to go from working in a skilled unit TO the hospital than from a med-surg unit to a skilled facility.(I'm putting my soap box away.)

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Specializes in geriatrics.

We have veteran emerg nurses who periodically work the LTC unit. Same facility, separate buildings. Anyway, the majority of those RNs admit they can't handle the pace and acuity on our unit. Why? We have 32 patients to one RN, versus 2 RNs for 5-10 acute/ emerg patients. The same residents present with exactly the same clinical picture on LTC as they do in Emerg. People in general should keep an open mind about LTC. You don't "lose your skills," as many assume.

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thank you for all your input! i actually just got a job offer at a hospital 40 minutes away? is that a bad commute or look for something closer?

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