Why dont we get respect as LTC nurses?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

Hi everyone,

I am hoping for some input to a questions that has been really burning my butt. I am a new nurse, and recently switched from med-surg at a local hospital (loved the job, hated the 12 hour shifts and the 45 minute commute), to a nursing home in my home town. I have spoken to numerous people about my new job, which I have, by the way, found to be very different but no less challenging than the work I was doing before. I am learning every day, and I truly do enjoy the job. I made the choice to change focus due to the fact that I have small children, 5 and 8, and the opportunity I had was a 7-3 shift, mon-thur. The money was less, but the savings in travel and not having to pay daycare made up for that.

Soooo, My big problem is, why is it that it truly seems that so very many nurses seem to look down their noses at long term care and geriatric nursing? I have even had one of my fellow graduates, (we both graduated May, passed the boards in June) actually say "I'm so sorry.":madface:

I couldnt believe my ears. And after I picked my jaw up off the floor, all the things I could/should have said came to me. Of course.

Has anyone else had this experience, or is it just me? And if you have, how do you deal with it? It is bad enough we undervalue and dont respect our elders, but now, I feel as if I have lost respect in the nursing community, (I am generalizing, I know, and I DO know that not every nurse feels this way, please dont feel that I think all nurses feel this way, cuz I do not).

I have been reading the nursing posts from so many of you on this specialty, and I can see that people who have worked in LTC understand. So sorry, I just needed to vent and get some understanding and hopefully advice from some of you more seasoned LTC geriatric nurses. During my med surg experience I felt more like a waitress than a nurse, it was kind of like 'turn em and burn em', without any time to connect with any patients, you were scrambling so hard just to meet their basic needs. I also realize that as a new nurse, I would have gotten better at the scrambling part, but still, after just two weeks at my new position, I already know almost all my 24 residents names, many of their likes and dislikes and have already been able to forge connections. So back to my question, how do you deal with it when you feel like other specialties look down on us?

I have also had ER nurses from the local hospital be VERY condesending to me when calling. Just twice, same nurse both times. And in case you are wondering, I am pretty thick skinned, I dont get my panties in a bunch over any little comment.

Any input would be sooo appreciated.

Thanks,

KristyBRNfortruenow

Doesn't an RN in LTC have the same education as an RN in med surg? I am a new nursing student, ADN, at the top of my class and yes an older student at that., I am hoping to work either in

geriatrics or hospice? Should I adjust my perspectives if I want respect as well? Just wondering, not trying to flame anyone?

Margaret

Don't worry about what others think of your choices... Different strokes for different folks!

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This is true about not having the paperwork to send. A lot of times we have just gotten a new resident and have to send them out. Also, we have a lot of patients to take care of and the time it takes to create the paperwork to send is taking away from the other patients. Sometimes nightshift has one nurse for 100-120 patients and unfortunately they are not "all sleeping" and day shift would like to think. There have been several nights that I have had 2-3 people fall at the same time while another one just died while I've got family members telling me to come fluff their mothers pillow. We often do not have time to create a lot of paperwork. Particularly if it is an actual emergency. Also, most of the time that we get someone in from the hospital, or they have gone out to the hospital for a period of time and returning, they have pressure ulcers which we have to fix. Obviously, at the hospital they are not even being turned every 2 hours. If we can manage to get it done for 100+ patients, why cant they do it at the hospital for 10 or so patients. And you are correct that everyone does look down on long term care nurses. I attribute it to people who just have to put someone else down in order to put themselves up.

Also, where are you from? In Kansas we get 7-8 dollars more per hour in LTC than in the hospital.

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Doesn't an RN in LTC have the same education as an RN in med surg? I am a new nursing student, ADN, at the top of my class and yes an older student at that., I am hoping to work either in

geriatrics or hospice? Should I adjust my perspectives if I want respect as well? Just wondering, not trying to flame anyone?

Margaret

For ICU you need some continuing ed stuff not covered in nursing school, such as cardiac, ACLS. Yes, it's more technical than LTC, requiring more in depth knowledge of body systems.

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Hi NurseMMM,

Actually, in New Jersey LTC facilities pay Much Higher than Hospitals..just a bit of info;)

Ginger! Wow! Cause in NY, or atleast where I live in NY- the pay at an LTC is absolutely lousey! I checked a nursing home close to where I live and they offered me $20/hr! I almost choked! I am making twice that in the hospital! So, for me- it was pure devastation when I heard that one!

I also checked with an area MD office. Just to possibly cut down on the commute to work. They offered me $11/hr! That one made me fall off my seat! I told them flat out, "you are wasting my time, here." I got up and immeadiately walked out! And they wanted every Saturday to boot! It floored me! I laughed in their faces. After 25 years of nursing to be told I am only worth $11/hr or even half of what I am worth is deplorable to me. I was insulted. And told both facilities as such.

All I can say is if you take a job for half of what your worth than maybe you need counseling. No one should accept that sort of insult. I feel that they waste our time. Get us to come in for the interview, for what? Just so they can piss most of us off? They should be ashamed of themselves expecting an experienced nurse to even consider that insult. I will stay right where I am at, thank you. The conditions of work are far better in any hospital center than in any LTC and or MD office, in my opinion.

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Oh, unless you work at the medical center where I live. They short staff you if you work thru an agency. I did this for extra Christmas presents this year. They gave me a shift working a step down unit. 6:1 ratio. All patients on ventilator and telemetry! With an aide 20:1 ratio. Needless to say, I complained after the patients family complained to me that I wasn't cleaning up their 250 lb mother due to diarrhea for 2 1/2 hours by myself! I couldn't move her. Nor am I going to go home and have to take flexeril and pain killers to get thru the night! I waited for the aide. I learned that my back is more important. And the agencies nurses are over worked and under valued and certain facilities. The nurse manager possibly wanted to save her financial quota and short staffed the staff this particular day because of having me there. Well, I will tell ya! I will not subject myself to ANY abuse as a nurse ANY longer. I have learned thru the years that if you don't speak up for yourself, they will walk all over you. And not support you. Especially if your not directly employed by the facility. The ICU nurses were complete b's. They got pissed off because the facility doesn't trust agency nurses in their med box. So you have to ask a regular staffer to get the meds out for you. I asked one nurse for one med during a day shift. She went off the deep end and made my patient wait 1/2 hour for it. I will tell ya. If you a sh_tty nurse like this I just hope that someday you get a nurse like yourself someday and they make you wait for pain medication. She should be ashamed of herself. I didn't make the rules, your administration did. Nor do I plan on losing my license and stealing your narcotics! Needless to say, I won't be referring anyone to work at this medical center anytime in the future. They put a very bad taste in my mouth.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

MMM-I think you need a vacation.

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Specializes in Long Term Care.
Ginger! Wow! Cause in NY, or atleast where I live in NY- the pay at an LTC is absolutely lousey! I checked a nursing home close to where I live and they offered me $20/hr! I almost choked! I am making twice that in the hospital! So, for me- it was pure devastation when I heard that one!

I also checked with an area MD office. Just to possibly cut down on the commute to work. They offered me $11/hr! That one made me fall off my seat! I told them flat out, "you are wasting my time, here." I got up and immeadiately walked out! And they wanted every Saturday to boot! It floored me! I laughed in their faces. After 25 years of nursing to be told I am only worth $11/hr or even half of what I am worth is deplorable to me. I was insulted. And told both facilities as such.

All I can say is if you take a job for half of what your worth than maybe you need counseling. No one should accept that sort of insult. I feel that they waste our time. Get us to come in for the interview, for what? Just so they can piss most of us off? They should be ashamed of themselves expecting an experienced nurse to even consider that insult. I will stay right where I am at, thank you. The conditions of work are far better in any hospital center than in any LTC and or MD office, in my opinion.

Major Medical Centers here in NJ generally pay $10-$12 Less than LTC Facilities.....I just don't understand that...never did

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MMM-I think you need a vacation.

I agree.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.
Well let me go from the ER nurse prospective. Please dont shoot the messenger.

We often get patients from LTC that their care often times leaves alot to be desired. Often times we get a patient whos condition does not match the report/paperwork we get from the facility. If we get any paperwork that is. When we call to get more information we get met by staff who have no clue about the patient or their history.

So you who may have nothing to do with said problems get lumped in to the same boat. Personally I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until you prove otherwise.

All this I beleive is a symptom of our health system. Personally no nurse should be responsible for that many patients (24) is the number you mention. Of course its like everything else it comes down to money. Just imagine all the healthcare one could buy with the money that we are pouring down the rathole called Iraq.

Rj

Excuse me, but I worked in med/surg and in long term care and guess what? I recieved more patients without paperwork when I worked long term care than med/surg. Nothing burns my butt more than sending an LTC patient to the ER just to get her back in a half hour with a diagnosis of "UTI". That's a bunch of crap and we all know it. Everyone treats the LTC nurse like crap until we are taking care of your own loved one.
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I love learning from our Elders also, Earle. :)

The last LTC facility I worked had this little old bedridden lady (she is still there, I assume) but her mind was sharp. She could hardly hear but she would call me over to sit by her bed so she could talk to me. She would say, "I'm wasting company money keeping you here but oh well..."

And I would sit and listen. She told me why she never got married. She said, I'm for family, but there is one thing you have to remember, you can always find a man who will marry you, but you won't have any guarantee he will want to stay with you, and from all I've seen marriage is a waste of time.

I couldn't really disagree.

Then she would talk about her family, neices, nephews, sisters and brothers, and how they would come visit "sometimes", but she wasn't under any delusions. She would say matter-of-factly, nobody wants you around when you're old.

I loved to sit and hear this woman talk. Mostly because I see myself when I am 80+ yrs. old (if I live that long). We must be kindred spirits!

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When I was in nursing school we had one class in which we broke into seven groups. Each group was given the same case senerio. The senerio was something like "you are stranded in a life boat with seven people... a teenager, a purse snatcher, a rabbi, several other types of people, and finally, an old lady. One of them has to be thrown overboard or else you will all sink, who do you throw overboard?" Would you believe that of those seven groups of future nurses six of them voted to throw the old lady out because "she's lived her life, the others haven't". The instructor mentioned at the end of the class that whenever he does this type of group project, nearly everyone votes to kill the grandmother. To answer the question of the original poster, I'm afraid this mentality is quite common in the medical profession and certainly contributes to the idea that we, as LTC nurses, are worthless. I just look at it like this: one day those with the above mentioned mentality are going to be in the same state as those elderly they currently despise. For their sakes I hope there are still some compasionate souls around to wipe their butts otherwise they themselves may get thrown overboard.:nono:

Who did you decide to throw over?

If I were the grandma, I would throw myself over. No one would have to make the decision for me.

That is part of the cycle of life. She has lived her life. I know there are old people who would feel this way as well.

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Who did you decide to throw over?

If I were the grandma, I would throw myself over. No one would have to make the decision for me.

That is part of the cycle of life. She has lived her life. I know there are old people who would feel this way as well.

If I were the grandma I'd throw the purse snatcher overboard. The grandma has more productive things to give to the group than that social misfit, and her first contribution should be to get rid of him.:lol2:

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