Passed boards! Have several job offers, which one to take????

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hello all,

Retired military man and New LPN here, I passed my boards, took them on thursday, got the quick results online today (saturday)!!! That's great news, I also went on 3 interviews on friday and was offered several jobs, which one to take. Factors to consider schedule, experience to gain and pay. The offered jobs are these:

1. Stay on my cardiac floor (now PCT) as a new LPN, PRN only, would be offered a fulltime job if sign agreement to get my RN within a year, I can't get the schedule aligned for that, so PRN is the only option. Lots of heart and diabetes patients, good experience, pay $12 hr, $2 night diff, 7% acuity pay and 20% if I skip benefits, ball park, including everything $16-$17 hr.

2. Specialty select hospital: $12.36 hr + $1.80 night diff, good experience, fairly low pay. About $14 hr

3. Nursing Home: 2pm-10pm, $15 hr, no RN on site, in charge of CNA's and passing meds, skin sweeps, etc

4. Home Health agency: scary, as I'd be "the Nurse", pay $17 hr reg patient, $19 vent patient, this job scares me, not sure about that, but good pay and one on one health care.

I'm still trying to get on with the VA, also looking at emergent care clinics, etc

Any suggestions on what to do, which is the best for a new grad, my goal assuming I make it in nursing is to eventually get my RN, seems like most hospitals here are phasing out their LPN's, harder to get a job.

Tony in TN

US Coast Guard, retired

Good luck, Tony!

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Good luck, Tony!

Thank you so much for your input, I'm working the next 3 nights as PCT, as soon as my License number comes I'm moving on up to Nurse, :yeah:

Tony

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Specializes in L & D, Med-Surge, Dialysis.

If i may ask, How much is CNA pay rate? I reside in Houston, TX

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.
why is the pay so low? I'm a new grad lpn makin 22.50 an hr.

I bet your not working in the hospital. LPN make what the CNA's in the hospital. That why I took a LPN job working in LTC for $20hr.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.

I would do option 1 & 2. Keep your foot in the door of option 1 in case #2 doesn't work out. Good Luck and Congratulations!

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Update:

Option 1: PRN on cardiac floor, the director is trying to reneg even on allowing me PRN time, says she doesn't want to spend the money on orientation if I'm only working PRN and that I may find a full time job elsewhere.

Option 2: Specialty select hospital, the director said that he'd be happy for me to start asap and that he had been holding the position open for me. I'd get lots of wound care patients, other 25 day acute care patients and plenty of experience starting IV's etc. Only problem for me is the low pay $14, I'm going to do the drug screen tomorrow and start next week, but first I want to see if human resources will agree to bump up my base pay to at least $14 + night diff of $1.80.

Option 3: I need to call tell the LTC that I'm not going to take his offer of employment, although it is $15 an hour, which for east TN aint bad.

Option 4: I'd like to try a few cases of home health to see what it's like, and the pay of $17 hr is pretty nice.

Thanks for all of the input, looks like option 2 is the best bet experience wise for me, but the worst for pay......not looking to get rich, but geesh I gotta make enough to pay the bills.

Thanks again

Tony

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I'm in east tn too! I've been an LPN going on 6 yrs. I started out in LTC 3rd shift making $14.25 after differential, with benefits, would've made I think 30% more to forfiet benefits. 30-55 pts a night. Sometimes an Rn on duty. Trachs, Ivs and pretty much everything in between. Only 1 week of orientation, then I was left on my own. It was very overwhelming at first but after a few months, I got the hang of it. I burnt out pretty quickly and left this job after a year. I worked at a clinic for 3 months and hated it. $12 hr with no benefits, only $10 if I got benefits. I couldn't pay my bills with this. For the last 4 yrs, I've worked at a group home for the Mentally Disabled and I love it. I have 3 pts with a g-tube and I help with the aide work. I'm thinking I started out at $13.50-14 hr. I make fairly decent $ here after 4 years but Its not really comparable to what I would have made if I stayed in LTC. But, the peace of mind is priceless :)

Pay is not great here but, compared to our cost of living, its ok (sometimes, lol). Starting base pay in east tn for new grads is about, at least 6 yrs ago when I graduated :), $10-$12 for clinics, $11-$13 hosp, $13-$15 LTC and group homes, $16-$20 home health/private duty. I once interviewed at a clinic for a job paying $8.75 hr and that was rediculious.

If I were you, I would start out at the specialty hosp. I started in LTC and I did learn a lot working in the critical unit but, I feel like I would've learned more starting out at a hosp. And, the pt load was insane and very overwhelming for a new grad. I was attracted to the higher pay but after a year there I was willing to accept a job for $3 less an hr, just to get away. I know $ is important and especially right now but think of your pt load, staffing, gaining experience etc. before the $. Hope any of this helps. Good luck :)

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I want to add that I agree about staying away from LTC if you have the option. I took my first job, hired on the spot, at a LTC in the skilled unit and am still working there almost 2 years later. I can pretty much say I have disliked most days. I love the patients and enjoy my co-workers, but the load is insane. I am exhausted after every single shift.

My family life has suffered; I can't remember the last time my house was cleaned really well. Yes, after less than two years, I'm burned out bigtime.

So I have saved just enough to get by a few months without working, luckily for me I am married and my husband can pay the bills. I am spending the next few months taking care of my child and husband and myself, and then I'll find something more suitable in January.

Long term care will use you, abuse you and burn you out fast. For a few more bucks an hour, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

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But you guys that are working in a LTC facility if you can work there, you will be able to do ANY job as a nurse. You need to commend yourselves for your hard work in making a difference in your patients lives!!!!

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Specializes in Med Surg.

I'm surprised at the $17/hr for home health. Around here home health pays by the patient. The only home health nurses that get paid by the hour are those very few who have a full time patient. Also, there are zero benefits.

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Big news,

I have decided NOT to take the home health or LTC jobs, the floor I work on is waffling about letting me work there PRN, so as of this morning I had decided to take Specialty Select hospital for $14 an hour with benefits, mainly for the experience, I did my background check and drug screen already.

Bigger News!!

I sent an email to the director of nursing services and she put my name up to all of the floor managers and today I interviewed with 2 nurse managers for open positions. I told them I had several opportunities and they will make a decision in the next day or two. I'm stoked, stay on with my own hospital and make $18 an hour when you add up night diff, acuity pay, skip benefits pay, etc

Biggest News!!!!!

On tuesday of this week I went to interview with the Veterans Hospital that is located an hour from here and they called today with a job offer, starting pay $16.55 hr + $1.98 night diff = $18.53 with full benefits and government retirement. And an additional weekend shift diff of $4.13 + $18.53 = $22.66 on the weekends :yeah: And these are starting wages, only to go higher later and after a year they'll pay for my RN and pay my salary while I go to school!

Drawbacks to the VA job: adds an extra 35 min to my already long commute, total of 1hr 10 min plus I'd have to pay state income taxes to NC, I currently live in TN and don't pay taxes. I could instead move to NC and have a short commute, either way, it's a huge PIA.

NOW WHAT?????? Take the VA job, pay taxes, commute but with great retirement, advancement potential and NO low census call offs. Or wait and see if my hospital will give me a job at $18 with no benefits, no pay raises due to the bad economy and risk of being called off, BUT with GREAT nurses, nice facility and I know the lay of the land.

What to do? I'm really tempted to take the VA job. What do you think???? Help, I've got to make a decision NOW,

1. Nursing home

2. Home Health

3. Specialty select

4. VA hospital

5. Hope to see if I get a position at my hospital (good chance I was told)

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I don't really know what you should do but keep in mind if you take the VA job and an opening comes up in TN closer to home you can transfer. Also with this economy retirement is a good thing to have--the only people for the next few years that are guaranteed jobs are government workers. Me? I'd go for the VA.

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