Does regional prejudice exist in nursing?

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I've got a significant other going for their nursing degree in Wisconsin. We're looking at moving in together and her mother has stated she needs to finish going to school in Wisconsin because people hire nurses from Wisconsin more. When asked why I was told that nurses in Wisconsin were trained better and thus preferred over nurses from the south.

Is this just a prejudice that's spawned from the whole North versus South feeling? I don't like calling people liars but this seems a bit far fetched and I've only got word of mouth to go on not actual experiences or written statements proving it. Was hoping people could chime in and let me know experiences / preferences.

Specializes in ER.

I think some of this might come from the time when the NCLEX was not a nationalized standard test. My mom (a RN) always used to tell me if I wanted to go to nursing school, not to do it in Florida, because apparently, their licence did not used to be reciprocated in states like NY and CA. I'm not really sure if it matters anymore, but if the person doing the hiring is 50+, maybe it would make a difference.

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Thank you all for your responses. I figured this was the case. I know you cant really come between a girl and her mama and I'm severely at the disadvantage there. I'm here in Georgia and it seems I'll be sitting here for the next 3-4 years waiting for her to finish school. I have an amazing job and cant find anything in the same field up there. Also being a recent grad from college I dont have the experience under my belt most people are looking for. I guess I just needed to know in my heart of hearts if her mom would really use something like that to scare her into staying.

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

There are parts of the country that are very local-preferential. It takes awhile to be accepted as one of them. Sometimes "outsiders" are called the "others." It's all very under-the-surface, but I think it could influence hiring. I know it influences acceptance in a community to some extent.

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Specializes in Education.

Maybe a wedding ring would change the story.:D

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I'd love to give her her engagement ring but her mom almost killed me for asking for her ring size to get her a promise ring for Christmas. (Never got the ring size and the ring still needs to be resized :()

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Maybe a wedding ring would change the story.:D

Just what I was going to say!!!!

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

The reason people are prejudiced against the Southeast is probably because it seems like The South trails in last place in many areas, such as life expectancy, literacy, education, wages, stuff like that. So, people think of The South as being more backwards.

The Northeast, on the other hand, seems to overall have higher standards in a lot of areas. It has always been a bit more progressive, at least that's my impression.

I live out West, so I have no axe to grind.

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I had a mover tell me that for every truck moving someone north, there are 3 trucks moving peoples' stuff south.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I think that's because of the mild winters, actually.

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