does working in a nursing home help you find experience in a hospital

theRNJedi · Feb 24, 2015

Disenchantment happens all over nursing, whether you're in a hospital, clinic, LTACH, etc... For all the great rewarding experiences in the nursing profession (and yes, there are plenty), patient care is hard work...cognitively and physically. So if you are under the notion that hospital work is easy, with lunches, less walking, less meds, less charting, and everyone leaves at the end of the shift...as one nurse to the other, I want to set the record straight..it is not.

Onto your question, yes...working in a nursing home will help you get a job in a hospital. That's because you are gaining nursing experience; despite it feeling mind-numbing, you are using your skills and delivering direct-patient care. With that said, nursing homes and hospitals are two different levels of care, but if you are strategic in how you articulate your nursing home experience on your resume and in interviews, you can impress a hiring manager or recruiter of a hospital. Find ways to highlight your use of critical thinking, assessment skills, managing hemodynamic stability, and functioning as a caregiver. These attributes are universal for nursing.

Realistically, to segue from a nursing home to a hospital, you may have to bite the bullet and accept an undesirable shift, unit, wage, or schedule. Don't lose heart. If this kind of opportunity is your foot into a hospital, then take it. Hospital's and acute care facilities are easier to transfer from within than being an external candidate. Just realize, you may have to do your time in a nursing home or an undesirable position for a stent in order to gain the experience you need to make yourself more marketable. Also, consider outpatient, ambulatory, and surgery centers..these are not necessarily acute care, but these facilities give great experience, and in some ways can be better than a hospital.

i'm not sure if you are a new grad or what your background is, but the key is to stay in the workforce. View your current job as a mere stepping stone and keep reminding yourself this is only for a season. There's a lot of specialties and sub-specialties in nursing, but the key is to gain experience as a nurse so you can use that as leverage to navigate and explore all the specialties the profession has to offer. Also, hospitals love certifications and advanced degrees. Try and get yourself certified in your specialty, and pursue your ACLS and PALS. These will help make you hospital ready!

- TheRNJedi

blondie1887 · Feb 25, 2015

I should have clarified. I am a new grad (may 2014). I have a bachelor's in another field and an associate's in nursing, and will be done with my BSN by this August 2015. I have wondering if I should take the extra time to volunteer once a week in a hospital but working 3 days a week plus school and volunteering is a lot to handle. Is there anyone from nyc area that worked in a nursing home first and then switched to a hospital?

hellosmile · Feb 28, 2015

I started as a new grad at a NY hospital, and there were several "new grads" in my orientation class that had about a year of experience in nursing homes and home health. However, about 90% of us had a referral from a current hospital employee or had already been volunteering at the hospital. Yes, your experience will be beneficial, but it appears that in this competitive job market, connections matter a lot! (especially for new grads). Because HR gets hundreds (thousands maybe?) of applications, they are more likely to look at your application if you were already referred by a current employee.

I definitely agree that volunteering is worth it if you want a job. You get to meet and connect with so many people (staff and management) that can help you secure a job!