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.
What kind of arrogant nurse would actually think an LTC nurse isn't a "real nurse"?
Unfortunately, a lot...But a big thanks to all who know that ltc nurses are just as intelligent and hard working and critically thinking as any other specialty nurse. We all bring something to the table
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Please join me in my fight against OP's characterization of ALL nurses' negative perception of LTC nursing.
I will join you here - I make it a practice not to look down on any specialty. I do feel that there is a misperception that LTC nurses are looked down upon. I am currently working LTC because it works for my family situation. It is hard work with very different regulations than the acute setting especially where staffing and care ratios are concerned. Yes I have run into a few slackers but I have also run into those in the acute setting.
As s profession we should be uplifting each other. Not the other way around.
I have seen on more than one occasion here the implication that LTC nurses (one post specifically called out LTC LPNs) do not use critical thinking. Seriously? I have also had a couple of ER nurses make snide remarks about LTC nurses when I call to give report or when they call asking for additional info on a resident admitted to their facility. I chalk that up to them being clueless about what LTC nurses do and what the limitations, rules and regulations of LTC are.
I am a LTC LPN. I am in school working on my RN and I plan to remain a LTC nurse after I am done.
I've worked in LTC. I definitely never look down on LTC staff. They are understaffed, overworked, and have ridiculously high expectations placed on them by administration. It's an incredibly difficult job. I've always said that the people who work there are angels because no one stays for the actual work environment... They stay for the residents. God bless them all, because I don't think I could go back to LTC personally. Good thing nursing is so diverse there is a no be for us all.
The bulk of my licenced experience has been cvicu and icu. Add on a year in ED and a year as an lpn on an ortho/ms floor. The majority of shade I've seen thrown at ltc staff came from newer hospital RN's that went straight to critical care or ED. Of course, occasionally it's from folks who should know better.
I have been a CNA, EMT & LVN, in the RN program currently. I've been a LVN for over a decade and have worked for a magnet hospital in the ER/MedSurg/GI/L&D, a inpatient hospice, surgery center, a wound care center and also a quite a few SNFs. I've always held more than one job so I've gotten around the neighborhood a bit.
I can give the OP this credit, I have come across nurses, FD paramedics and MDs who feel SNF nurses are less competent and less of a nurse. I've also had the wonderful privilege of training a new hire or new grad RNs who have issues with a LVN being the charge nurse or my being a LVN and training them or think they are "too good" for this work. Heck I am more than happy to hop on that cart and good F'ing luck on that desk sweet cheeks, 99-149 patients, 3-6 LVNs and a bazillion CNAs. If you are going to act superior to me since you are from a hospital, then why should I help you when you are snubbing your nose at me? End of shift my tushy is out that door on time for once and that nurse is asking if I am going to help. NOPE! And I straight tell them it's karma and a clearly needed life lesson that I'm not clicking out and spending my personal time helping do their work. Which btw is super common here, you aren't finished at the end of your shift? Well then click out and finish
It is very rare I come across these kind of people by I've also seen RNs give incompetent report to FD paramedics so not sure I can always blame some of them for their feelings. They asked one nurse how long she had been doing CPR and she told them she first got her CPR card in 1988. Eek!
I love working in the SNF and around here that's where the better pay is, I also make more than a new grad RN does though so lol it's all kinda wacky here. I absolutely HATE the ER. I can't stand the floor in L&D, desk I'm great but beside with some of the ignorant selfish choices it just bugs me and makes me bitter. I love seeing how much all my effort really has an effect on my patients and it warms my heart to see these patients celebrating some of their life accomplishments and hearing all of their stories. Before the RN program I was a Case Manager, I have SLE&RA so working in a SNF just is not feasible for me for long term career but I would love to be a Case Manager at a SNF or subacute. I'm dreading having to get my experience in the hospital on the floor and am hoping for a quick transition to CM/UR or maybe the NICU. I love the NICU. All of the fields I love involve patients who are there longer term that the 24-72hrs.
It takes a special kind of nurse to deal with some of the craptastic work conditions SNFs have. But it also takes a special kind of nurse to deal with all those patients that come into the ER and into the wound clinics. It takes a special kind of nurse to do each of the different fields.
My first nursing job was in an LTC facility. It was challenging, and it seemed there was never enough time to pass meds and do any treatments that might be ordered, deal with demanding families, and document appropriately on each patient. I do feel that I gained a great understanding of disease processes while working there, especially CHF and DM. I was always proud to tell people that I was a geriatrics nurse. I never felt "looked down upon" or inadequate. People seem to be more skeptical now when I tell them I am a psych nurse. There will always be those who think that mental health nursing isn't "real" nursing. If you have "RN" or "LPN" after your name, then you are a nurse, no matter what your specialty may be!
There are definitely some nurses who feel they are far superior to nurses who work in SNFs, although I don't see it a whole lot on AN.
My daughter has a friend whose mother is an RN on med surge floor at the hospital. This person knows I have spent my entire career in LTC and have never regretted doing so. She told me that she could never work in a SNF because all the nurses do are act as PEZ dispensers. WHAT?!?! I was so shocked that she actually made that statement that I couldn't even respond.
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
Unfortunately, a lot...But a big thanks to all who know that ltc nurses are just as intelligent and hard working and critically thinking as any other specialty nurse. We all bring something to the table