Does working at a small hospital make me less of a nurse?

[Jaellys]

I was told that working in a small, 30 bed hospital as a med surg nurse makes me less of a nurse than one who works in a large hospital. Is this true?

[smartassmommy]

Rural Nursing is actually a recognized specialty in itself. Texas Tech Health Science Center has provided a specialty in Rural Health for a very long time now. In a previous role, I was lucky enough to serve as an outreach consultant for rural hospitals. During that time, I developed a very deep respect for clinicians in those settings - including those teensy critical access facilities that may function with only 1 RN on duty. Yeppers, s/he is the (ED-Charge-L&D-Scrub) Nurse, phlebotomist, EKG tech, ambulance dispatcher, pharmacy tech, pbx operator... frequently cross-trained to function as a rad tech & respiratory tech. Srsly. And they do it all with uncommon grace & commitment to their communities.

That sounds like a great specialty for someone who doesn't want to be pigeonholed into one specialty.

To the OP, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it your nursing license that makes you a nurse?

[SeasonedOne, RN]

Working at a small hospital often will give you better skills and more self confidence. More important, a nurse will be exposed to a variety of problems, challenges and learning that you would never get in a large facility. Because the staff is small, one learns to work with the team which is essential in a small hospital much more so than in the urban setting. Everyone's skills, perspective and experiences are valuable.

Being a nurse means connecting with your patients, and in a small community you take care of your neighbors, the kids, the teacher, the elderly you see every day. You can't hide like in a city because word gets around that you are the nurse that took care of their sister, mother, or aunt. You are respected and valued by the community as well.

If someone is belittling you for working in a small hospital, it is probably because they haven't had the experience or have been stuck in a specialty area for 5-10+ years. When I was working in a small 32 bed facility, only about 50% of the urban nurses could handle the challenges. The rest often left within 6 months. My opinion, for what it's worth, you are often a better nurse when you have experienced rural nursing. More should try it!

[JustKeepDriving]

Didn't anyone tell you? Nursing is like a video game! You gotta get a job in a large level 1 trauma center ICU to reach max level and healing ability!!!! That way you can face down the big bosses of "Hospital administration", "Going Magnet", "HCHAPS" and "Terrible staffing ratios".

[mellee23]

I work in a small critical access hospital & wouldn't change it for the world! On any given day I'm in the ER, L&D, pre-op, post-op, outpatient therapy, med/surg...if you like variety, it's the place to be!

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

IMO, if you have a license that says RN or LVN, you are as much of a nurse as anyone else holding a license that says RN/LVN, regardless of where you work or what specialty you work in. While I'm here: if you are a LVN, you are as much of a nurse as a RN is.

And do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

[quazar]

Short answer: No. Long answer: oh, for the love of all that is holy, NO. It sounds like whomever told you this has some insecurity issues and the only way they can make themselves feel better about themselves as a nurse is to tear others down. What a lovely individual. Having worked in both a large tertiary center/teaching hospital and a small podunk community hospital, I can tell you where my skills drastically improved: podunk hospital. Why? Because at the small hospital you don't have everything at your fingertips, and you often have to do what would be done by several different departments in a larger hospital. You don't have all the latest and greatest, and you have to learn how to assess your patients with those "old timey" skills your instructors taught you in nursing school that you never in a million years thought you'd use. Yeah, you learn a lot in teaching hospitals and tertiary centers, and you get the latest and greatest technology and the sickest of the sick, but that doesn't mean you don't learn anything in the small hospitals either. Whoever told you you're "less than" has issues and/or has never seen life outside the big hospital. Ignore them.