Regional Attitude Towards Long Term Care Nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been thinking about this for quite a bit and am wondering if my thinking is correct. Are there differences in opinion depended on region towards viewing long term care as experience when it comes to being an RN? I just moved from CT where I had been trying desperately after 3 yrs of LTC to get a job in acute care. I could not catch a break, just about any interview I had was set up for me through someone I knew. I moved to Maryland and within 5 weeks I had 5 hospital interviews set up from just applying online with one job offer so far. Each manager I spoke to gave a lot of credit to those nurses who have been in LTC where I did not hear that attitude as much in New England. I am wondering could it be MD is more hurting for nurses or is it a regional attitude?

hope3456, ASN, RN

1,263 Posts

Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

I suspect you are correct. I have had the same experience - acute care nurses looking down their noses at LTC. Congrats and that is encouraging to hear.

I had one manager tell me in CT, "O I usually tell HR to NEVER send me LTC nurses." Well geez way to throw us all into one category. Is it the great time management skills that bother you, or the ability to juggle twenty plus dementia patients at once?

BrandonLPN, LPN

3,358 Posts

I'm sorry, but many acute care nurses are complete snobs when it comes to LTC nurses. This is just something LTC nurses have to put up with.

On the other hand, with the job market being what it is, I suspect the reason many LTC nurses don't get a call back is because they're likely competing with nurses with actual acute experience. Of course the hiring manager will go for them first. But any manager who hires a new grad over a LTC seasoned nurse is a total fool.

BrandonLPN, LPN

3,358 Posts

And I'm not sure if it's a regional thing. That'd be interesting to research. I'm tempted to say that east coasters tend to be more snobbish than their Midwestern or southern counterparts, but that's probably just stereotyping.

I know sometimes when nurses get a job in a big city, renowned hospital it can go to their heads and they start looking down their nose at everyone not working at such a distinguished institution.

Heck, nurses who work at the VA hospitals are looked down upon sometimes by those who work in "real" hospitals. LTC nurses who work in posh Medicare facilities sometimes look down their noses at nurses who work in poorer Medicaid facilities. There's probably no escaping this, it's just human nature.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hmm - when it comes to LTC experience "counting" towards acute care (hospital) jobs, you're talking apples and oranges. Those are two very different practice environments. So, I would also posit that acute care experience does not 'count' when it comes to LTC. Not that one is superior to the other, but they are just different. And neither one would 'count' for behavioral health or school nursing..... all are very different practice settings.

Everyone needs to climb down off their high horse and stop claiming superiority. I decided.

hope3456, ASN, RN

1,263 Posts

Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

From what I've read on other posts, LTC doesn't "count" in terms of pay grade going from LTC to acute care. You start out at new grad wages. Even if it is "Apple and oranges" there are a lot of transferable skills. Maybe some NM's are starting to realize that.

Here in MD, I just received my second job offer in two weeks with pay offered for three years of RN experience. Go figure! I never imagined I would get into acute care, hence my screen name. Wow.

Specializes in Med Surg.
I had one manager tell me in CT, "O I usually tell HR to NEVER send me LTC nurses." Well geez way to throw us all into one category. Is it the great time management skills that bother you, or the ability to juggle twenty plus dementia patients at once?

I'm probably guilty of this too. I've noticed LTC RNs ignore call lights, bed alarms, tab alarms, pump alarms, basically everything except when their next med is due. They generally try to stay out of overall patient care as much as they can.

They have been so abused in LTC that they try to get involved with as little as they can with patient care, d/c planning, collaboration with coworkers or other disciplines - anything. They are so accustomed to just slinging meds and keeping people in bed that they have trouble getting out of that mindset. If something goes wrong, they will call a rapid response but that is about it. They will quite literally sit there doing nothing while waiting for the rapid nurses to arrive.

I actually yelled at one the other day. She had worked LTC for the same horrible company where I worked as a CNA. I became so exasperated with her that I yelled, "You don't work at that crappy nursing home anymore! You cannot just ignore everything going on around you and sit there charting while waiting for your HS meds to become due!"

Among other things.

Anyway, I'm not saying you aren't a fabulous nurse; I am saying that many LTC facilities are so bad that RNs learn atrocious and disgusting work habits.

Specializes in Hospice.

Uh-oh, I'm going to get the beer and popcorn right now.:nono:

Haha I am not a defensive person in nature and I do not doubt that you have seen this. The LTC I worked at had much higher expectations of us. Unlike other places we had 24 hrs geriatrician coverage on each floor,care plan meetings with families, alarm reduction program. Then again I only had 21 patients so I guess I did not have it that bad.

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