Why I Love Being A Long Term Care Nurse

• Being a long term care nurse is often an avoided specialty. It does not get the recognition and respect of its colleagues like the ED, ICU, or even pediatrics. 
• A long term care nurse has a much different day-to-day nursing schedule than that of its counterparts. 
• Katy Luggar-Schmit shares her own experiences on the reasons why she loves being an long term care nurse. 

My passion for helping others started at a young age when my mother and grandmother were working as CNAs at a nursing home where I grew up. My mom would occasionally take me there to see where she worked; this is where my compassion and caring for people began.  

Caring for other people is a big part of who I am, and I take great pride in the accomplishment of becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse. 

I have six years of LPN experience and they have been nothing short of rewarding.  

Much of my six years of experience has been as a long term care nurse serving the elderly population.  

It is because of this experience that I want to discuss the important impact that nurses can have on the elderly population and why I think caring for the elderly is at times perceived as a less than desirable field to work in.  

If we can change the stigma associated with working as a long term care nurse, I believe we can help resolve the nursing shortages in those areas. 

Reasons Why I Love Being a Long Term Care Nurse

Relationships

One of my favorite things about working as a long term care nurse are the relationships I am able to form with both the residents and their families. Being a long term care nurse provides a unique opportunity to get to know your patients.  

Four years later I still have a song in my head that one of my former residents would sing to me each time she saw me. She has since passed away, but I will always remember her as part of my earlier nursing experiences.  

You cannot put a price on the wisdom and knowledge that the elderly have to share with you. They can teach you a lot about what is really important in life and teach you not to take life so seriously all the time.  

Some of the best lessons I have learned about life I learned from working as a long term care nurse.  

If you love to laugh, some of the best jokers and pranksters in the world are within the elderly population.  

If you appreciate having a more prolonged interaction with your patients, then working as a long term care nurse could be for you.

Structured Environment

There is something special about knowing who you are going to be taking care of each day you go into work.   

This brings me to my next advantage of working as long term care nurse.  

If you thrive in an environment where there is more of a structured schedule and established routine, being a long term care nurse provides that.  

Long Term Care schedules are very well laid out. There are scheduled mealtimes, shower and bath times, medication times, and activity times. You can find a routine that works for you easily.  

Because you are taking care of the same patients every day it takes away a lot of the stress you may have in another nursing field where you don’t know the patient’s history as well.  

Since you get to know your patients so well it better prepares you for any emergency that may arise, so you are able to get them the care they need quickly.  

There are emergent situations that happen in long term care but they do not happen every day and you have a team of people to help you so you are never alone.  

This brings me to my next advantage of working as a long term care nurse. 

Teamwork

The teamwork in long term care nursing is like no other that I have ever experienced.  

When you are a nurse in Long Term Care you usually have a team of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) underneath you, and depending on the facility, you could also have Certified Medication Assistants (CMAs) to help you with your medication passes.  

Aside from that, there is usually always another nurse nearby that you can go to for guidance and assistance.

Job Security

Another advantage to working as a long term care nurse is job security.  

Nursing is already a profession where there will always be a great need and aging is never going to go out of style either.  

There will always be people getting older and needing more assistance to complete daily living tasks.  

The Bottom Line

It is my hope that after reading this article you will consider a career as a long term care nurse and helping our ever-aging population. It is no doubt of mine that you will be rewarded with smiles, laughter, and wisdom you can take with you for years to come. 

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