Why is it that LTC experience doesnt matter when applying for a hospital based job?

maxcat · Sep 16, 2011

I'm not sure that's always true... a RN at my LTC is starting at our local hospital next month. She's been doing LTC for maybe 5 years, started working at the hospital PRN a year ago, now she's going full time! I'm in school now, and most of my instructors have done some LTC and it did not prevent them from going to hospitals later on at all.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

Same with where I am. I work LTC, and one new grad went to a cancer centre, another to medicine after having worked there. We deal with many acutely ill residents. I think slowly, people are realizing that the perceptions about LTC are false. In this economy, you accept what you get. Also, it depends how you sell your skills to another employer.

loriangel14, RN · Sep 16, 2011

I have never heard that it wasn't.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

I keep hearing how LTC experience doesnt really count when applying for a hospital job. why is this? I understand some skills such as IV starts are not utilized as much in LTC but a lot of LTC skills are very useful in a hospital setting. I am a new grad who is orientating at a LTC facility and I would like to work in a hospital at some point. So I was wondering....why does LTC experience not count towards a hospital job?
Karrirb:confused:

I think it depends also, on how big the hospital is (smaller hospitals are more likely to take less experience, since their trauma/critical base isn't as intense), and how skilled the LTC is- some LTCs are SNFs....others are ECFs (extended care facilities- basically stable folks who will be there a LONG time, or are there to die). SNFs are more likely to have skills that will more easily translate into a hospital setting..... I flip flopped around, and it didn't matter. But I didn't have more than a couple of years out of acute before going back. :)

joanna73, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

We are an extended care. Our residents are far from "stable." We do it all there. That's what I mean about false perceptions.

rn/writer, RN · Sep 16, 2011

I think this is a holdover from years ago when there really was a wide gulf between acute care skills and "nursing home" skills. Those days are long gone, and I'm happy to hear that facilities are recognizing that fact.

I started out working a "sub-acute" unit at a large nursing home. I had all kinds of medical challenges to deal with--tube feedings, complicated dressing changes, heavy-duty pain management, etc.

That was many years ago, and care has only gotten more complicated since then. Vents, trachs, drips and such. Patients who used to die now end up in ICU. Former ICU patients end up on med/surg units. And those who used to be on med/surg get sent to skilled nursing units of LTC.

It's entirely possible that a nurse doing skilled care in an LTC facility would be miles ahead of someone doing med/surg in some other places. That goes double when you think that the nurses in LTC are most often on their own without a doc or lab tech or other ancillary staff person in sight.

Forward-thinking hospitals will focus more on skills and proficiencies than the fact that a prospective employee worked in LTC.

KarriRN · Sep 16, 2011

Well I was told today I will be working the 2-10 shift in the secure Alzheimers unit. I do everything, treatments, med passing, order, all paper work, literally everything. I will have app 40pts and I may sometimes get a med tech. I have 3 cnas USUALLY. Because it is a secure unit I am kinda cut off from the rest of the facility and function on my own a lot. I am rattled because I've had 5 days or orientation and they want to give me 3 more then start me on my own....the paper work is still a little overwhelming for me and I havent even see it all done. On top of that they are implementing changes in policies right now so everyone is confused. And my med pass is slow. Anyway I do hope the skills I will gain being in the secure unit will help me transfer to a hospital setting eventually.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

We are an extended care. Our residents are far from "stable." We do it all there. That's what I mean about false perceptions.

Right- but they're not rehabbing to go home, correct? :) They have to be unstable enough to not be at home, but not the same as SNF....(and ECFs are still great places to get experience in a lot of things like time management, medications, chronic tube feeds, skin assessments, subtle changes that indicate infections, etc- nothing "dissing" ECF at all :)) Acute infections are changes in how stable someone is- but ECFs don't take the fresh hips/knees for rehab...nothing about not being a good area for experience for many things; just different :)

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

Well I was told today I will be working the 2-10 shift in the secure Alzheimers unit. I do everything, treatments, med passing, order, all paper work, literally everything. I will have app 40pts and I may sometimes get a med tech. I have 3 cnas USUALLY. Because it is a secure unit I am kinda cut off from the rest of the facility and function on my own a lot. I am rattled because I've had 5 days or orientation and they want to give me 3 more then start me on my own....the paper work is still a little overwhelming for me and I havent even see it all done. On top of that they are implementing changes in policies right now so everyone is confused. And my med pass is slow. Anyway I do hope the skills I will gain being in the secure unit will help me transfer to a hospital setting eventually.

Your med pass will get faster. Forty is a lot for 3-11, but it can be done :) You will feel really slow at first- but in time,you'll get your own routine down, and it will become second nature.

Alzheimers' units will not have the SNF skills (not safe to have IVs, etc around a crowd of confused folks :eek: ). But you will still get medication experience, and skin, change of condition experience.

hang in there- anybody who has worked ECF/SNF/LTC of any sort has been overwhelmed at first - then it starts to come together :)

joanna73, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

Ok well first off, I'm in a very rural location. When the resident goes downhill and they require acute care, they stay with us. We rarely transfer them. So everywhere is different, but what I find is that many like to make assumptions and generalize. We are acute care. We do rehab, IVs, etc at my facility because we have the skills to keep them with us, and there are few beds in the acute ward.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2011

Ok well first off, I'm in a very rural location. When the resident goes downhill and they require acute care, they stay with us. We rarely transfer them. So everywhere is different, but what I find is that many like to make assumptions and generalize. We are acute care. We do rehab, IVs, etc at my facility because we have the skills to keep them with us, and there are few beds in the acute ward.

Then you have a totally different kind of facility :)