As someone who's been a charge nurse in a nursing home for some time now (as first RN job) I must admit that I was wrong and many on here have been wrong as well.
The position is looked down upon but I can assure you there is a lot of critical thinking, decision making and responsibility in that position. As the lone RN in charge of 8-10 Aides, 3 LPN and 65-70 residents it is a huge task and responsibility. Not to mention when things go south for a resident, you might as well be a nurse in the rain forest or Kenya (as far as supplies are concerned). All you have is your critical thinking skills.
Not all of us were wrong, because not all of us have said that LTC nurses aren't "real" nurses.
I couldn't care less what job someone may have as a nurse. They're a nurse. We all have different specialties that appeal to us and that we're better at than others. That's the beauty of nursing! If one specialty doesn't fit, you can try another.
No specialty is better than another. Period. End of story.
I agree wholeheartedly with the others. I have the utmost respect for nurses who work LTC. They are amazing. I only WISH I had what it takes to do what they do each and every day.
Playing devils advocate, I've had many friends and acquaintances, both nursing and not, act as if I'm stupid or unmotivated for choosing ltc...I always invite them to come work with me for a day. No one ever takes me up on it. The only way I'll be back in the hospital setting is as a patient or visitor. Yes, the attitude does exist. Luckily, I've never encountered it here
I completely agree....there is a just plain old jobism (I made that word up) regarding nurses who work in nursing homes. "They" don't have acute care skills is usually the main theme. I know taking charge of LVN's, aides, and 70 residents requires more acute care thinking than how to start an IV! It is a complex, under appreciated, low paying job.
I agree and the idea that this attitude is not found on AN is hogwash. You can go search through the threads here (particularly on the LTC forum) and see there are plenty of nurses that think LTC is "just a med pass". My SIL is a nurse and commented that and I can tell you most of my classmates have made me feel second best for settling for nursing home work. Nobody argues that LTC isn't hard work. Everyone agrees on that, but the concept of losing/not using nursing skills is definitely out there.
A long time ago, I thought LTC only hired LPN. I just didn't understand RNs worked there, except as the DON. So, I didn't see them as not being "real" nurses, I just thought there were different requirements for LTC and hospitals. When I worked LTC, I hated it. The job is hard and often ridiculous -30 people to one nurse, who has little time to care for the residents and if one goes bad all heck breaks loose and lord help you if a second resident has an issue then. I always felt like I was being pulled apart in a thousand directions. OP, since you are a new grad, I wonder if you may have been influenced by the opinion of your Instructors (at the BSN educational level, they typically discuss that the more educated a nurse is the "better" a nurse is). Or other students (few nurses go to get a BSN to work in long term care unless they want to work in administration). I would just suggest not using generalities when writing a post so you don't get all the upset replies. Not everyone shares that opinion .
You could change the title to be "We were wrong about ANY type of nursing." Or any type of job, really. The grass may seem greener in another setting but it also comes with a completely new playbook and its own unknowns. In the hospital, there is sometimes a pecking order where ICU and ED are the "top dogs" and us floor nurses are looked down upon. Within the floors, stepdown units may act superior to skilled care or gen med floors. People assume that Palli nurses don't have to work hard, or that float nurses have no "specialty." It extends to people dead set on getting their NP right away and judging people who want to stay at the bedside, or people who want to leave the bedside get a bad rap for giving up their "skills." Or people who work at community hospitals vs. big academia health systems. Nitwits are everywhere in every job setting. I worked in LTACH and know how challenging that job is. People can code there just as fast as they can in the STICU. I was not wrong about LTACH because I never assumed it would be easier than a hospital, and my experience shores that up.
Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.
I haven't really ever seen LTC nurse bashing here - quite the opposite, many of us know how back breaking it truly is. Although from the sounds of it, it's not much different than the hospital unrealistic expectation wise these days.
LTC training has come in very handy for me even in other jobs that had nothing to do with it really like occ health because I know how to work fast buddy. When you have 25 patients, all of them with at lest 15 meds, you learn to go.
Sadly there very much is a bias against LTC nurses. Partly because of horror stories about horrible work conditions, poorly run facilities, poorly given care. Not all LTC facilities are bad, just as not all LTC nurses only work there because they can't get a job anywhere else.
Personally I am no longer close to a couple of my die hard nursing school friends because of this. I got so tired of defending my career choice and trying to convince these friends that just because I chose LTC doesn't mean I am lazy, unmotivated, not using my education or skills etc. Years later I still for the most part enjoy my work and still have no desire to work in a hospital setting. I don't know if these former friends are still happy in their choice or not as I stopped talking to them regularly years ago.
Sadly there very much is a bias against LTC nurses. Partly because of horror stories about horrible work conditions, poorly run facilities, poorly given care. Not all LTC facilities are bad, just as not all LTC nurses only work there because they can't get a job anywhere else.
Personally I am no longer close to a couple of my die hard nursing school friends because of this. I got so tired of defending my career choice and trying to convince these friends that just because I chose LTC doesn't mean I am lazy, unmotivated, not using my education or skills etc. Years later I still for the most part enjoy my work and still have no desire to work in a hospital setting. I don't know if these former friends are still happy in their choice or not as I stopped talking to them regularly years ago.
I work an every third charge position at an LTC, it pays far better than my clinic job!!
Many do. Many think the LTC position is the bottom of the barrel and is a job of last resort. Myself included. I now know I was wrong. Even though the pay and working conditions in this area are the bottom of the barrel.
I've said it here before, but I credit my late grandpa's LTC nurses with getting us two more years with him. He'd fallen at home at age 102 and never gained the strength needed to go home, so his wife and kids made the decision to place him in LTC. He pulled through several bouts of pneumonia and renal failure, because those nurses were so spot-on and caught changes in condition so quickly.
So yeah, "we" never looked down on LTC nurses, said they aren't real nurses.
BecomingNursey
334 Posts
Not all of us were wrong, because not all of us have said that LTC nurses aren't "real" nurses.
I couldn't care less what job someone may have as a nurse. They're a nurse. We all have different specialties that appeal to us and that we're better at than others. That's the beauty of nursing! If one specialty doesn't fit, you can try another.
No specialty is better than another. Period. End of story.