i hear the basis for people not wanting to be a LPN or rather wanting to be a RN is "hospitals are phasing out LPNs" or " hospitals dont hire LPNs"..... my question is whats so good about a hospital in the first place?
I get the impression people think those that dont work in a hospital = dumb/not so smart as hospital workers. You still use nursing skills/critical thinking/advocate/etc in a SNF right?
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I don't know. I never worked in a hospital but I loved working in corrections. I'm sure when I become an RN I'll work in a hospital & if I don't like it I will go back to corrections.
I think it just depends on your goal. If you want to work in the hospital, then you need to have the degree/license that they are hiring. None are better than the other.
There are some who feel if you aren't doing hands on, direct patient care that you aren't a REAL nurse. People are hopefully moving away from this line of thinking. Nurses are everywhere.
The better I got in acute care, the more they piled on me! During my LPN years, I learned to do a lot of 'RN stuff' because of the dumping syndrome. I became very proficient in my skills, and my caseload surmounted my desires. I've been trying to find my way to the front door ever since. I didn't realize how good I had it when I was a home health LPN. But, I plan to make my grand re-entrance into the community or non-acute care setting very soon. If only this darn phone would ring....
What's so good about the hospital? My answer would be nothing and you couldn't pay me enough to go back. HOWEVER, hospital experience opens the door to a lot of other jobs for nurses. I don't regret that I started there, but I wouldn't go back.
I would rather work in a hospital where my patient load is 10 compared to LTC where the patient load is horrific - 20 or more according to what I've read on AN
Also, I like the full benefit plan and higher pay then I would get at my local LTC
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
I started out in hospitals and loved it. But that was long ago and things are very different now. The LTC I worked most recently was the most hectic, overloaded, disgusting job I've ever had. A while back I did nine years of Home Health, and that was the very best I ever felt, really using the critical thinking/assessment skills and being called on to be creative because there were not hospital resources and supplies available in the home. For instance, in one case a man had a very large, open, draining heel decub; one brilliant nurse came up with the idea of using a premie disp. diaper as a way to keep the dsg. in place and keep the drainage contained! Also finding ways of helping the pt. to be more compliant with their care in all it's aspects was a good challenge.
What's so good about the hospital? My answer would be nothing and you couldn't pay me enough to go back. HOWEVER, hospital experience opens the door to a lot of other jobs for nurses. I don't regret that I started there, but I wouldn't go back.
I think this is much of the reason why nurses want to at least start their careers working in acute care. I've looked at the local job postings and while I've seen that the jobs don't seem to be all that terribly difficult, they almost all require 1-2 years of acute care hospital experience. That's require as opposed to prefer. I have a few classmates that now have jobs in a SNF and that's what they have wanted to do. I'm very happy for them and I genuinely hope that they have a good experience in that environment. My main hope is that if they have to emergently transfer a patient out, they don't become that "it's not my patient" nurse when they're asked by EMS about the patient. I have met way too many of those kinds of nurses over the years...
I have met nurses that just love doing LTAC work and those that love working in a clinic or even doing Home Health. It's their career goals and as long as they're happy, I'm happy for them. My own career goals will eventually see me exit the Acute Care hospital, but until then, I have much to learn about that environment and that's the only way I'll be able to reach my goal.
Do I particularly like working inside all day? Not really... but it's definitely the way for me to get to where I want to go.
I hated working in the hospital. I couldn't stand administration, short staffing, the "customer service" mentality...it sent me running for the hills and I haven't looked back.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I would rather work in a hospital where my patient load is 10 compared to LTC where the patient load is horrific - 20 or more according to what I've read on AN
20 residents in the LTC setting is not horrific. We're dealing with low acuity residents who require assessments once a week. When I had 20 residents in LTC, I usually had a few hours of downtime after I completed my medication pass and charting.
Also, I like the full benefit plan and higher pay then I would get at my local LTC
In the area where I reside, LTC pays slightly better than most of the local hospital systems, and the benefits packages are highly competitive.
As someone who was an LVN my issues were 1) the hours, not a lot of non-hospital jobs that do 12 hour shifts which I wanted which limited my options and generally forced me to work hours I did not prefer. 2) unpaid, under respected. A lot of my nonhospital jobs (example hospice) I did the exact same thing as my RN counterpart (minus initial assessment) and was paid 1/2 and definitely did not get the same level of respect. I wasn't horrible disrespected there or anything it just wasn't the same.
Working in a hospital really wasn't a lot better re: 2 but at least it had my 12 hour shifts.
Being an LVN to me just had some downfalls I didn't like and it had nothing to do with being an LVN and everything to do with what surrounds them, hope that makes sense. Going through RN school, particularly the NCLEX really opened my eyes to why so many RNs are so crappy to LVNs. Just woah, especially in NCLEX questions it was like LVN were CNAs who passed meds. Terrible.
I would rather work in a hospital where my patient load is 10 compared to LTC where the patient load is horrific - 20 or more according to what I've read on AN
20 is very doable. I've had MUCH worse. I passed meds in a jail to more than 150.
OrganizedChaos, LVN
1 Article; 6,883 Posts
I don't know. I never worked in a hospital but I loved working in corrections. I'm sure when I become an RN I'll work in a hospital & if I don't like it I will go back to corrections.