how is the LPN job market

kitkat 35 · Mar 17, 2010

hi guy

I am responding to the difficulties in finding jobs, I am very disappointed and in a state of dispair. I graduated in August of 09 and only had one interview so far. I was also told by one of my former instructors that I was at the borderline of becoming "rusty" (wow, what a great pep talk). I was also told by a nursing director that alot of facilities don't have the budget to train new nurses.

Obviously my confidence is dropping and my cheery personality is turning sour. what else can I do?

fernaRN09 · Mar 21, 2010

Not to pee in the wheeties....

not to long ago, I went to a job fair in Hartford. Spoke with several "booth" persons from varied settings (hospital , LTC, SNF's and all in between). I had several recruiters say point blank, "we have been told not to hire anymore LPN's. We are fazing out what we have in house".

What do you mean? How?

"down grading the job description. If there is no proof of enrollment in RN program, land or online, they are going to become PCT's".

Granfathered in?

"No such animal. The patient's medical needs are getting more and more acute. We need nurses that can handle it".

The RN's around the booth were stunned, the LPN's and LPN students were shellshocked.

So if you can do it, get your RN. They've already shut down the state LPN program.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2010

Not to pee in the wheeties....
not to long ago, I went to a job fair in Hartford. Spoke with several "booth" persons from varied settings (hospital , LTC, SNF's and all in between). I had several recruiters say point blank, "we have been told not to hire anymore LPN's. We are fazing out what we have in house".
What do you mean? How?
"down grading the job description. If there is no proof of enrollment in RN program, land or online, they are going to become PCT's".
Granfathered in?
"No such animal. The patient's medical needs are getting more and more acute. We need nurses that can handle it".
The RN's around the booth were stunned, the LPN's and LPN students were shellshocked.
So if you can do it, get your RN. They've already shut down the state LPN program.

LTC and SNF being told not to hire LPN's..in CT? LOL. check out the job boards, LTC/SNF are always looking for LPN's, in every part of CT, of course there aren't AS many jobs as there were say 2 years ago, but LTC/SNF/STR are hiring LPN's. I've yet to see an RN floor nurse in LTC, they are the supers everywhere I've been. Haven't seen RN's as LTC/SNF floor nurses in..ohh..forever. Oh, scratch that, yes I have, when an LPN calls out and no one will come in, then the RN on call has to work the floor..and let me tell you..it ain't pretty :eek: (no disrespect meant toward RN's, but our RN's don't work the floors, don't know the residents, and seem to drown very quickly unless some comes to his/her rescue with the med pass, treatments, charting)

And what kills me is the "more acute" statement. My LTC pts are more and more acute with every admission. Due to insurance not paying for the longer stays in hospitals, these geriatric pts are being shoved out of the hospitals and into LTC far earlier than should be. Their acuity is still high. But in LTC LPN's are "capable" of dealing with such patients but in the hospital (same pt, same illness/disease, same acuity) we aren't.. :uhoh3:

I've heard the whole "phasing out LPN's" for over 20 years :yawn: , and in those 20 yrs I've actually seen more LPN's working the SNF/LTC than RN's now. Back in the day RN's did the floor work.

As for CT closing the LPN schools..had nothing to do with "phasing out" of LPN's and everything to do with the mess of a budget we have.

The job market just isn't good for any profession as of late. Employeers can be more and more selective more picky, sadly its the new grad LPN who takes the hit. Why hire a new grad for $X , when they can hire an experienced one for the same money. I just thank the heavens i was able to land a job before I even took the NCLEX. I've been there ever since.

fernaRN09 · Mar 23, 2010

It's more than the budgets being screwed up (they've always been), more than the complicated patients that are being discharged (that still belong in the hospital) or closure of school programs (it's been coming but nobody believes it).

So what if RN's don't always know the patients, you don't know any of your patients when you start any job. All you can do is one patient at a time.

It the pathology, theory, assessment skills and ethics the RN supervisors carry with them to perform a bedside assessment when you call after a fall/aspiration/or other injury that needs to be reported and documented.

It's a shift in gears when you pick up the cart. With all respect, anyone can give pills, change dressings and SOAPIE in charts.

Yes the market is harder for all new graduates but how many of these job boards are asking for the same position in the same facility the last 3,6,9 months.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2010

Ferna, lets just agree to disagree. I don't want an LPN vs RN or LPN's are going to be phased out war going.

I will just say this...on 2nd thought, never mind, its just not worth it.

Signed,

The pill pushing, band-aid applying, no assessment skills or ethics LPN :nurse:

2ndcareerchange · Apr 25, 2010

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to add my 2 cents. The LPN state program has just been reinstated. They will be back January 2011. I am still in the last program in Danbury. I am doing clinical at Bethel Health Center, almost ALL the nursing staff is RN's. About 2 LPNs and that reflects the two shifts I have been exposed too. So, its a little of everything. The work climate, the job demands and the facility. I asked the question about why so many RNs vs LPNs, and the RNs told me it was a great place to work, and they were being paid well. It was by far the overstaffed place I have been. 4 CNA's per wing, a med nurse and treatment nurse per wing. About 20 to 26 patients per wing when full, which it never was. (this is the Rehab floor) the CNAs had time for breaks, the RNs eat together, and you would see CNAs sitting with down time, yes, no lights on or chores undone. Great team work, well informed staff... nurses recieved report from previous nurses, then related full reports to their CNAs. CNAs seemed like full medical partners, and it seems to work.... the delivery of care is seamless. Anyway, the LPN job market seems to be spotty in places, and plentiful in other places, and the starting salary seems lower and lower.

Regi:twocents:

Newmanhax · Feb 7, 2012

The reason why many new LPN grads cannot find a job is because most went to school without any direct patient care experience. I am currently a phlebotomist, but I am going to take an LPN class reimbursed by the hospital that I currently work at. In Connecticut, LPN's are in great need but since there are many more people attending RN courses, LPN's just shrink in comparison as far as education goes. The only reason why I am taking an LPN class is because my GPA is lower than what is accepted in nursing school, and frankly, I hate school, and will settle for $28 an hour at a nursing home, and feel I have a great job without re-taking classes over, and attending more college. I have taken most of my science classes and all my english classes. I was told since I have prior experience in an in-patient and out-patient hospital setting that getting an LPN job somewhere else or in my current facility will be quite easy.

Getting the phlebotomy job at a hospital... that was a different story...

toryd30 · Mar 14, 2012

Hi Everyone,

Wow, so I have been reading all these posts for the last two days and I think I am more confused than ever! I am seriously thinking about entering an LPN program and wondering if it's truly worth it now! I've wanted to be a Nurse my whole life but, due to motherhood, money blah, blah, blah never been able to pull it off. Now at 36, I figure do the LPN and then a bridge to RN later just to get the ball rolling now. However I've heard sooooo many discouraging things..no jobs, low pay...just go straight for the RN. HELP! BTW, I make pretty decent $$ in the Finance field but.........this is NOT what I want to do for the rest of my working career, but fear I might have to just to pay the bills. So lay it on me! Any advice is greatly appreciated! actually meeting with Financial Aid tonight after work.