manch

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I've worked at poorly run LTC facilities that have been nightmarish experiences. I did not know a well run LTC facility even existed.

Hi,I am a middle-aged male LPN who has four years experience workinglong-term care and corrections. I currently work in home care andhospice. I am nearly finished with my associate degree in registerednursing. I've reached a cross-roads in my career where I amcurrently under-employed and cannot find another LPN job (because themarket is saturated in my area). I've seriously considered leavingthe profession, because of what I've seen in the past four years: 1)Long-term care. The workload is setup for nurses to fail and tobe blamed for everything. But it's the system that is the problem,not the nurse. I will not work in this area. 2) Corrections. I was able to "get by" working in thisfield, but I will not work in corrections as an RN because of theridiculous workload they have to handle. 3)Hospice. I cannot findenough steady work because of nurse saturation in this area and thenature of hospice. I'm not too enthused about beating the heck outof my car as an RN case manager. I will not work rotating shifts. 4) Home care. I was surprised to discover that nurses earn about2/3 the money they can make in other areas. And your car takes anabsolute beating. You run the risk of getting robbed, because of thegritty areas you visit. My home care company "whores-up" onnurses. They do this because nurses are so plentiful in the area,like sand pebbles on the beach. The company invests very little inbenefits, which transfers expenses to the employee. Nurses are paidper visit, so the company has no incentive to keep the nurses busy. As result nurses are sitting around at home doing nothing and notgetting paid. This is not for me. Iwas wondering how the RN workload compares in a hospital vs. nursinghome vs. clinic setting.

Thanks for the info. When you mention that new grads are having trouble finding work, do you mean BSN or ADN prepared students, or both?

Hi,I am a middle-aged male LPN who has four years experience workinglong-term care and corrections. I currently work in home care andhospice. I am nearly finished with my associate degree in registerednursing. I've reached a cross-roads in my career where I amcurrently under-employed and cannot find another LPN job (because themarket is saturated in my area). I've seriously considered leavingthe profession, because of what I've seen in the past four years: 1)Long-term care. The workload is setup for nurses to fail and tobe blamed for everything. But it's the system that is the problem,not the nurse. I will not work in this area. 2) Corrections. I was able to "get by" working in thisfield, but I will not work in corrections as an RN because of theridiculous workload they have to handle. 3)Hospice. I cannot findenough steady work because of nurse saturation in this area and thenature of hospice. I'm not too enthused about beating the heck outof my car as an RN case manager. I will not work rotating shifts. 4) Home care. I was surprised to discover that nurses earn about2/3 the money they can make in other areas. And your car takes anabsolute beating. You run the risk of getting robbed, because of thegritty areas you visit. My home care company "whores-up" onnurses. They do this because nurses are so plentiful in the area,like sand pebbles on the beach. The company invests very little inbenefits, which transfers expenses to the employee. Nurses are paidper visit, so the company has no incentive to keep the nurses busy. As a result nurses are sitting around at home doing nothing and notgetting paid. This is not for me. Iwas wondering how the RN workload compares in a hospital vs. nursinghome vs. clinic setting. When I began nursing, I had no idea therewere so many "crummy" jobs in nursing. So I call on fellownurses to enlighten me on the work load in other areas of nursing. My question is, "Why continue in nursing just to find new areas notto work in?" Anotherproblem: ADN educated RN's are considered only half a nurse by BSNeducated RN's. When do you say "enough is enough!".

I've actually been waitlisted for an LPN/RN program (for a long time now). Else I would be an LPN by now. From what I've seen, working in a nursing home isn't nearly as bad if you are an LPN or RN.

I must say that most of the CNA staff at the nursing home were awesome and dedicated. Most of the nurses were fine too, except for a couple of bad apple Nurse Ratchets.

The nursing home I worked at was very close to my house, but it was not very good. They are constantly running ads in the paper for CNA/LPN positions. I thought they were having trouble finding good people, but it turns out the company was the problem: the medical staff is fine. My first assignments were termed 'difficult' by the assigning nurse, which I found to be a little odd. After all, I am completely new to this. I think I was given these assignments because nobody else wanted them. Thanks for all the advice, sounds like I should continue with my education and also find a better nursing home.

Thanks for the advice, just what I needed to hear.

I have a question I'm hoping somebody can answer. I'm male who has recently been certified as a CNA. Since the certification, I've struggled to find a decent CNA job. I pursued opportunities in home health care, but have been rejected because I have no experience. I was hired on the spot for non-medical home care, but I left because I wasn't receiving any relevant experience. As a last resort, I accepted a CNA position at a nursing home. I resigned there because the work situation was out of control, absurd, and intolerable. I haven't applied at a hospital because they do not accept inexperienced candidates. I'm willing to do some dirty work to get nursing experience. However, there must be a better way than working in a nursing home. In my opinion, the CNA job market is paradoxical: opportunities abound, yet very few real options are available (unless you get nursing home experience). I'm reconsidering nursing as a career choice because of this obstacle. I was wondering if I would encounter the same obstacle after completing my LPN/RN education at a technical college. My fear is that without experience, I would have a difficult time finding a nurse position. Feel free to be honest and candid when replying. Much appreciated.

I have a question I'm hoping somebody can answer. I'm male who has recently been certified as a CNA. Since the certification, I've struggled to find a decent CNA job. I pursued opportunities in home health care, but have been rejected because I have no experience. I was hired on the spot for non-medical home care, but I left because I wasn't receiving any relevant experience. As a last resort, I accepted a CNA position at a nursing home. I resigned there because the work situation was out of control, absurd, and intolerable. I haven't applied at a hospital because they do not accept inexperienced candidates. I'm willing to do some dirty work to get nursing experience. However, there must be a better way than working in a nursing home. In my opinion, the CNA job market is paradoxical: opportunities abound, yet very few real options are available (unless you get nursing home experience). I'm reconsidering nursing as a career choice because of this obstacle. I was wondering if I would encounter the same obstacle after completing my LPN/RN education at a technical college. My fear is that without experience, I would have a difficult time finding a nurse position. Feel free to be honest and candid in your answer. Much appreciated.