Skilled nursing vs. bed side at hospital???

[Lmaya]

I am a couple of months away from graduating with my BSN. I do not have any one particular field of interest, although home care/community nursing is something I really enjoyed. During an interview with recruiters our school held, I learned that Holland Home has a skilled nursing center in GR MI and after 1 year working in skilled nursing, you could apply for home care nursing. I also learned a local hospital is hiring new grads as home care RNs now as well, but I am not sure I am comfortable working as a home care nurse with no experience. I did work as an MA in a skilled nursing job for a long time and really enjoyed it. My question is this... 1.) I have heard that if you start in skilled nursing, you will never get out of it... is this true? 2.) I have also heard skilled nursing pays significantly less than hospitals...? I am supposed to begin the application process soon, and I don't know what to do. Any advice?

[buytheshoes11, MSN, RN]

In my experience, the answer to your first question is completely false. I worked in a SNF and successfully transitioned to a hospital. As for your second question, yes, a SNF does pay less than an acute care position (at least where I live).

The best advice I can give is to apply to a lot of jobs! Starting off in a particular field of nursing does not lock you into that field for the rest of your career. Best wishes and congrats on your upcoming graduation!