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Discussion

Starting in LTC?

I recently graduated with my BSN degree and accepted a job in a LTC facility after not being able to find a job anywhere else. I'm still in orientation, but I feel overwhelmed. Mostly, I have been passing meds while my preceptor does treatments, paperwork, everything else. How do you manage when you are the only nurse? Also, my preceptor told me that I'm wasting my BSN degree in LTC and that I should go to a hospital. Is that true? Am I really wasting my degree? I don't know what to think. Should I stay in LTC at least for a little while to get some experience? I don't want to go through orientation and then quit. I would appreciate any advice!

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    You are not wasting your degree. You are still working as a nurse. Many people do not like LTC and feel that it is a waste. I worked in LTC for approximately 8 years and it actually was some of most rewarding out of the last 20. LTC is a hard job. While it does consist of passing a LOT of mess, it is how you go about the day and if you allow yourself to be an excellent nurse or just get in the rut of "pill pushing". Anytime you have the opportunity to practice as a nurse you can get in a rut or you canBE A NURSE!!! Best wishes to you!

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    A lot of nurses don't respect LTC and think that not using your skills regularly means that you are wasting them.

    Meanwhile, those nurses that want to be working at a hospital are probably doing twice the amount of work as their LTC counterparts.

    Consider working in LTC to be a win.

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    It's not wasting your degree to work in LTC. Hospital positions are difficult to get for new nurses, and LTC is a good viable option. It is an incredibly understaffed and difficult environment to work in though, especially for a new grad.

    Unless you have a different position lined up, it's best to consider yourself blessed to have a job at all and make the best of it while you can. Stay a year or so to get employment history and move on to a different area if you want to.

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    To put it in perspective, the patients in LTC now are the acuity level of the MedSurg patients I saw in clinicals in the 70s.

    LTC Nursing is nothing to turn up your nose at. You can get some valuable experience.

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    • Experts

    I spent the first six years of my nursing career in LTC and it definitely wasn't a waste. Rather, LTC is the foundation upon which the rest of my nursing career has been built.

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    Also, my preceptor told me that I'm wasting my BSN degree in LTC and that I should go to a hospital. Is that true?

    Because our elders don't need educated nurses?

    No, it's not true.

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