Starting in Long Term Care - are you stuck there?

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As the usual story goes, most of the nursing positions exclude new grads. If I was to find a job in Long Term Care and work there for a year or two, would that be good 'experience' for a resume?

Say for mental health or OB who want nursing experience, will this help?

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

In a tight job market, more and more new grads LTC is their gateway to nursing. You get your experience the best way you can

If you have a psych interest, try a NH that takes psych or Gero-psych/Alzheimer's patients

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That is a great idea. I'm not a big fan of gero psych, I really like adolescent and adult. But that would be a great way to get my foot in the door for mental health.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I worked in LTC for six years. Which equation seems more attractive:

1. LTC job = RN pay + RN experience

2. Unemployed = No pay + No experience

Beggars cannot be choosers in today's sluggish economy, and new nurses must accept whatever jobs they can get. In my area, countless nurses have made the transition from LTC to acute care, so you are not necessarily stuck if you start your career in a nursing home.

I ended up rejecting two job offers from local acute care hospitals because the pay was too lousy for me. LTC actually pays nurses more competitively in the city where I live.

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Transitioning from LTC to hospital is not as common as it used to be. Used to be you got your feet wet in LTC and then were accepted into a hospital and even allowed into a residency type situation. Now days at least from what I've been hearing is once in LTC you might go to hospice but that's it. Hospitals will hire fresh from college if they hire hospital-inexperienced nurses at all. Otherwise they look for nurses who have already been through a residency eg mainly 2+ years hospital experience in my area at minimum.

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I agree with the pay part. I land a job at skilled nursing facility/long term care, and the pay is pretty competitive compare to hospital. The hours are great (8 hr shift), and the nurses do meds, IVs, and discharges just like in the hospital except the patients are in more stable condition. I like it because I get to keep my nursing skills without the intensity of acute bedside care, and the pay is good. Good luck to you.

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The LTAC I work at gives you up to 24 patients at a time. You do 2 med passes, IV and IM if ordered, a treatment pass that includes wound care, ordered labs, all nebulizer treatments, all accuchecks and vitals, PEG tubes/feedings, oxygen, suctioning, assessments, no unit secretary, 2 aides and all charting is paper. You must transcribe the orders, FAX to pharmacy, record them in the MAR, do admissions and discharges, safety alarms, receive medication from the pharmacy, call the doctor, answer all phone calls, do patient teaching and delegate to the aides. I would consider this to be experience.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

I worked in LTC (I worked on the rehab unit but it was still a nursing home) and I was able to get an acute care position after a year and a half. I related my experience to the job I was applying for, discussed my skills, and emphasizes the time management and independence I had at work. I felt it was a good place to learn a lot. Good luck :)

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Specializes in LTC.

I am a new LPN grad and Ive been in LTC for 2 months now and the experience ive gained just so far, has been priceless to me. I am hoping to transition to acute care within 2 years and after graduating fro my lpn-rn bridge program. As the above poster mentioned i usually have 20-30 residents, do wound care, 2 med passes, take calls from Drs, any IVs which arent ordered often and do accuchecks plus tube feedings/changing out bags and tubing as well. Ive had to send a few rsdts out to ER for diffrent reasons which is always a learning experience. And in NC where i live the pay is equal to new rn grad pay in hospitals from what ive heard.

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Many of my friends from nursing school started off in a nursing home/LTC and have moved on to more acute jobs. I definitely think it helps, and you will not be stuck. Experience is always valuable! No hospital is holding paying positions for random new grads (they might hold them for internal employees). In this economy no one wants to invest in a new grad, new employee with no experience in nursing at all. Get on the good side of the DON, try to get into sub-acute, and ask for a letter after you've worked there a while.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab.

LTC is great experience. Try to get experience on their skilled unit if they have one. I worked there for a year and transitioned to a LTAC hospital, where I'm currently getting med/surg and tele experience. I definitely think it's better to get some experience and learn as much as you can, rather than wait for the perfect opportunity to come around.

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The LTAC I work at gives you up to 24 patients at a time. You do 2 med passes, IV and IM if ordered, a treatment pass that includes wound care, ordered labs, all nebulizer treatments, all accuchecks and vitals, PEG tubes/feedings, oxygen, suctioning, assessments, no unit secretary, 2 aides and all charting is paper. You must transcribe the orders, FAX to pharmacy, record them in the MAR, do admissions and discharges, safety alarms, receive medication from the pharmacy, call the doctor, answer all phone calls, do patient teaching and delegate to the aides. I would consider this to be experience.

Couldn't have written a better job description myself!! I work for a LTC center and it's no joke!

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