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It really and truly depends. I will say this though - I did start out in a LTC/rehab facility. Unfortunately, it was a very toxic environment to work in as a new grad. My orientation period was minimal, and I had hardly any help when I really needed it. When I told management that I was uncomfortable, I was made to feel bad about it. I felt like I was unable to provide safe care, so I quit after a month or so. It made applying to new jobs tricky and it was a big blow to my confidence. HOWEVER. This is just my experience. I had a friend who has been working for the past year at a LTC facility and she said she loves it, though it is a bit overwhelming at times. A big concern is always that you don't get to practice the same skills as a nurse at a hospital. In some ways, this is true - you're not going to start a whole lot of IVs or NG tubes. But I did get to work with trachs, g-tubes, and the occasional PICC line. Also, you have to use critical thinking and time management skills just as you would in a hospital environment. As far as transferring to a hospital, I do think that you'll be much more valuable looking for a job while you have one. If you decide to start looking into LTC, make sure you RESEARCH. Look at reviews of the facility, look at rating sites. There are good and bad facilities out there, so arm yourself with as much info as you can find. Good luck to you.

I know this topic has been covered here, but I'm mostly just fretting. For my general orientation, the new employee booklet stated that professional attire is expected. Scrubs/uniforms are acceptable for those that will be wearing them in their role. What do you wear to your orientation? I instinctively went for my scrubs, but I also don't want to stick out like a sore thumb when it'd be in better taste to dress professionally. I know, I'm just fretting. But other opinions would give me piece of mind. Thanks!

I left a LTC job recently, despite working there for only a month as a new grad. I won't go into too much detail, but the facility was an absolute mess. Though I wanted to stick it out, I just couldn't. You'll have to decide whether or not to put it on your resume. I went ahead and put it on... and when it came up in interviews, I was honest about it being a poor fit for me as a new grad, while refraining from bashing them. The reason I left it on my resume was because it'd be difficult to explain the gap between graduation and now, plus I did learn some valuable skills at that facility. It was still difficult to find another job, but I did finally get an offer.

It just depends on what kind of learner you are. A good nursing program will do its best to accommodate different learning styles, but it's important for you to know for yourself, too. I'm a a visual/hands on learner... so having copies of the lecture powerpoints helped me a great deal. I still have those and refer back to them sometimes. Also, doing case studies, drawing things out, practice tests, etc were very useful to me. A lot of nursing students benefit from studying in groups, which is what most of the people in my class did. It can really help to map things out and discuss with other people. It takes some trial and error to find out what really works best for you. Good luck!

Hey, it's been a while since I've been logged in. I'm sorry to hear that things haven't improved for you, readytobeanurse. It hasn't improved for me either. What you're describing actually sounds very similar to what I was going through. I understand that any nursing job will be overwhelming, but I had no support at this place. And it's almost funny - they claim they'll be there to help but as soon as I ask for it, they avoid me. I am also looking for another job, and I'm glad to see you are too. No new nursing job will be easy, but sometimes you just know if it's not going to work. I actually have an interview today, so hopefully that goes well! Please feel free to PM me if you would like to vent! I'm sorry we both landed in this situation and I wish you the best of luck. :)

Thank you all for your replies. I'm just so incredibly frustrated. The last several days have kind of been my breaking point. I feel like I've been thrown to the wolves. I suppose I should clarify as well - though I am concerned for my license, my biggest worry is the residents' safety. The way their system is set up makes it so incredibly easy to make a mistake or miss something. That along with the fact that there's a lot of residents, some requiring quite a bit of attention. It's overwhelming when everything is going well - but when something goes wrong it's a nightmare. But I am definitely going to try to hang in there for now.

I'm horrified that I am even considering this - I intended to stay at least 6 months to a year in my LTC position, if not longer. I've been working for 2 weeks, and I'm very close to walking in tomorrow and quitting on the spot. The communication between staff is awful. The turnover rate is incredibly high... but most importantly, I don't believe the conditions to be safe. I would rather not go into excessive detail, but I feel like I am risking my license working there and I know I am not the only employee that feels that way. I'm conflicted because I do tend to get discouraged easily and I'm not sure if I'm throwing in the towel too soon. I understand that I'm going to be overwhelmed as a new graduate and that no RN position is going to be a cakewalk. But it's just too much. I was in tears when I left my last shift. Truly, I don't know what to do. Has anyone ever been in a similar position? Any guidance or advice would be much appreciated.

When do you start? Good luck to you - I hope all goes well! :) Mine has been ranging from 19-25. I've been hearing that a lot too - get a groove and it'll be fine. But my problem is that I'm still really slow. They're going to put me on a "trial run" on my own in a few days to see how it goes, but I think they'll be willing to give me a few more days if I need it. It's a lot to take on. Even if these residents aren't as acute as they are in the hospital, a lot of them still have quite a bit going on. It can be really easy to overlook things, which makes me scared for my license.

I don't like sounding whiny, but I need to get this off my chest... I started a job at a LTC/rehab facility as a new nurse. Tomorrow will be my 5th day. I feel like I'm not catching on nearly as quickly as I need to be. The ratio is much higher than I've ever dealt with in school and there's just SO much to do. A million treatments to do, orders to sort through, and there is SO much charting to do (and somewhat confusing to follow - it's paper charting.) At times, I feel like I have no idea what is going on and I'm so slow. I know I'm definitely going to need to speed up if I'm ever going to get things done. I am still in training until Friday, but I don't feel like I'm going to be ready to be on my own by the then. Others are constantly telling me that I'll be fine, that I'll get a groove. And I understand that it's not going to happen overnight. But I feel like I'm in survival mode and I rely too much on the nurse training me. Has anyone gone through something similar? Have any tips that helped you through?

I'm a new nurse that will be soon having my first interview. I have a professional portfolio in a 3 ring binder, but I realized that I have no idea how to use it. When I take it with me, how do I present it? Am I supposed to give a "copy" of the whole thing to the interviewer to keep? Highlight points of it as it comes up? I've been doing online searches, but I'm not finding much.

I was in the same situation... but one thing I learned while studying is that I knew a lot more than I thought I did. I ended up focusing more on the practice questions because content review is VERY time consuming. But while doing the questions, I always made sure to review the rationales. When I found a question I knew I was weak or unsure on, I would go back and review content for that subject until I understood it, then move on. Of course, you'll have to play around with different methods of study and resource utilization before you find what works for you. For the first week or so, I was so overwhelmed and didn't even know where to start. It takes a bit of trial and error to really become efficient, since studying for the NCLEX is different than studying for a regular exam... Good luck to you!! Take a deep breath and know that you can do this!

Thank you!! :) I took the 3 week course, which costs $50. You can find the info and sign up here: Students - NCSBN Learning Extension

Thank you! And good luck to you - you can do this!

As I was preparing for the NCLEX, it was a big help for me to see how others studied, so I figured I would post what I did... Hopefully it can help someone! :) The resources I used: Kaplan - this was my main resource. The questions and rationales are great, though I didn't really use their decision tree. I didn't really use any of their resources other than their QBank/QTrainers. I definitely recommend taking ALL of the QTrainers. 6 and 7 are 150 and 265 questions respectively, so it's a great "mock test" to take at the library or something. However, I found that the NCLEX questions were a little more difficult than the Kaplan, mostly because the wording was different. I didn't score spectacularly on any of these. I did around half the QBank and averaged around 58%. My QTrainers were mostly in the upper 50s with some in the lower 60s. Make sure you review EVERY question you do, even if you get it right. NCSBN review - I hated this while I was using it because I wasn't big on how the questions were worded... Well, it turns out that the wording and style were VERY similar to what I saw on the actual test. For that reason, I highly recommend this one. I didn't really use the content review, but they have a bunch of questions you can go through. Don't be discouraged if you don't get their "passing" score, especially at first. I was mostly in the 50s when I started practicing their questions, then I gradually started scoring higher as I went. Saunders Comprehensive Review - pretty good if you need to brush up on content. I didn't use it a whole lot, but when I noticed I was weak in areas, I'd go through their chapter on the subject. They have some practice questions with really good rationales. Lippincott's NCLEX RN Alternative-Format Questions - good for some exposure of SATAs and a bit of math, but it was a little too easy. I probably used this one the least. I managed to pass with 75 questions and just found my name on my board's website today. :) I was an average student. I have never been at the top of my class. I starting preparing for this test 5 weeks before the exam day. I studied for about 3 - 4 hours a day (sometimes less) and took the occasional day off. If I could have done anything differently, I would have practiced more SATAs and meds... I got A LOT of those. Good luck to everyone preparing for the test!

You're doing fine. My scores were around the same and I passed. Don't get too hung up on scores - focus more on reviewing what you got wrong and why. But you're the only one that can answer whether or not you should take it. I don't think anyone ever truly feels ready, but if you feel like you're REALLY struggling, then possibly consider rescheduling. Deep breath - you got this. :) Good luck!