1st nursing job in LTC ... seeking job in hospital. Help?

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2012

Whether you need prior med/surg experience depends upon the hospital. As far as your resume, what is in it is far more important than how it arrives. In most places, the person receiving the resume isn't going to be the one screening applications and selecting someone for the job, so that person won't be aware it was hand-delivered anyway. I interview a lot of nurses, and hand-delivered resumes have never given anyone an edge.

If you can get into a med/surg position, I believe that it would improve your chances. There aren't too many parallels between LTC and L&D/postpartum, and the closer you can get to demonstrating the skills necessary for your desired position, the better shot you will have at landing the job you want.

jjones435 · Jul 31, 2012

You pretty much need 2yrs medsurg before you go to any specialty-- that goes for most places. I worked 4yrs in LTC care before going to the hospital. You do see and learn a ton the first 2yrs, trust me it's good to do it just to get a routine down, and learn as many skills as possible. You will then be more confident when handling maternity.

maryray · Aug 3, 2012

You pretty much need 2yrs medsurg before you go to any specialty-- that goes for most places. I worked 4yrs in LTC care before going to the hospital. You do see and learn a ton the first 2yrs, trust me it's good to do it just to get a routine down, and learn as many skills as possible. You will then be more confident when handling maternity.

That isn't the case in my area, and it is tough around here for inexperienced nurses. I graduated in April and I know of 2 classmates who got L&D as their first job. One because she worked as a CNA at the hospital, and the other worked as a LPN in LTC during the last year of school. You have to take what you can get though since most specialty areas require comparable experience.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Aug 5, 2012

That isn't the case in my area, and it is tough around here for inexperienced nurses. I graduated in April and I know of 2 classmates who got L&D as their first job. One because she worked as a CNA at the hospital, and the other worked as a LPN in LTC during the last year of school. You have to take what you can get though since most specialty areas require comparable experience.

Med/Surg is a speciality as well.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Aug 5, 2012

OP, it really does depend on the hospital. Some you can get in to your 'dream job' right away, and others not.

As for the resume, I have seen it go both ways. I also sit in on interviews and see those that hand their resume to the manager not be hired, and others fill them out online and get hired. It's really a crap shoot, but it doesn't hurt to put a name to the face, IMO.

Yes, you can do mother/baby with no med surg, but it sure does help when you have a mom that has had a rough time or might have co morbids that you might have to deal with. I know when I worked both mother/baby and med/surg and they had a blood transfusion to give, the nurses loved to have me around. They were completely clueless.

Like Orca said, the closer you can get to mother/baby, the better off you will be.

Canela86 · Aug 14, 2012

Hi, I have been a public health nurse for close to 3 yrs now. I have my BSN and RN and went straight into public health as a new grad. I am ready to go into the hospital setting and I am putting my resume together. Was it difficult to get into the hospital? I am trying to gather my thoughts into paper as to the skills that I performed(wound care, wound VAC therapy, caring for IV lines, G tube, trach etc). I guess my concern is that would they look at my resume and application as i have no hospital experience as a RN but I did work in the hospital for 4 yrs as a companion/nurse extern before graduating. Help!!