[Sarah Kat]

I am entering LPN school in January and am hoping to be employed at an area hospital in the ER after graduation. I know this facility uses LPNs, that's not the issue. My question is regarding those of you who are LPNs in the ER/ED or work in ER with LPNs. What kinds of duties do LPNs do (in the ER)? Are they just a glorified nurse tech? I plan on going on to get my RN and go into ICU work, but want to get my feet wet in ER nursing.

[cotjockey]

I'm an LPN in ER and I don't look at myself as a glorified tech. I do vital signs, baseline assessments (the RN still does an assessment), make sure patients are ready for exams like lab and x-ray, go to x-ray with patients who need a nurse monitor, start IVs, give meds (except mannitol), a whole lot of unit secretary stuff because we don't have one in ER, keep rooms stocked, review discharge instructions, get meds ready to send home after pharmacies are closed...a whole lot of stuff. In general, we do a lot to take some of the load off the RN...do what ever we can that is in our scope so the RN has time to do the things not in our scope. A lot of times the non critical patients only see the RN briefly and the LPN and MD (PA, NP) do 99% of the patient care, assessment, treatment, etc... I don't feel like the LPNs in our ER are glorified techs or RN wanna-bes or any of the other negative titile often put on LPNs in the ER...here we are very much made to feel like a valuable part of the team...

[lvn in busy er]

I too work in a busy er. I do basically everything an RN can do except iv meds. I triage ambulances and they co-sign my assessments. I have to have ACLS and PALS certificates, as well as basic cpr. I start iv's draw blood and when we are short staffed take an assignment., but usually I'm a float flow, meaning I put out fires, do orders, triiage ambulances, room patients transport pts, etc etc.. We do also stock rooms answer phones break down charts etc. ( unit assistance stuff) d/c pts, relieve for lunches is the biggie and generally just keep the flow of the er going.... I love it. I think we have a lot to offer and yes, I should go on and get my RN, but I am very comfortable right now.
My crew respects me (us there is 5 total in the dept (different shifts) and I respect them. Good luck to you in school jump through hoops (there will be hoops) and I hope you enjoy er..

[Sarah Kat]

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. It sounds like your plates are pretty full. Not a dull moment, just the way I like it!

[imagin916]

At my ER we dont use LPN's except in fast track, there is one that has been an LPN for years, and they "allowed" her to stay because of her extensive experience. She gives some medications, assists with procedures, and can do follow up assessments. She is not allowed to work in the main ED. (Thats a shame, she really is an excellent nurse).

In the ER that I did my internship at, they utilized LPN's. They required at least 1 year of med-surg experience before they could be hired. They would work a "district" with the RN and do whatever tasks they were allowed to be delegated such as PO and IV piggyback meds, ect. They were not allowed to hang blood, but were allowed to moniter the patient while they were recieving blood. They did vital signs, helped with patient care, did follow up assessments. They had to do some of the stuff that the techs did, but they were allowed to start IV's and do some of the other things that they techs were not allowed to do. They worked very closely with the RN and were a great part of the team.

Unfortunatly, this hospital is the only one in the area that are using LPN's. I think this is a shame because LPN's are a great "untapped resource", and should be utilized more often in ER's.

[Deaconess]

We staff LPN's in our ER. All are med and CORE (telemetry, etc) certified. I wouldn't be without them. They take assignments in the acute ER, staff Observation and Fast Track. They grab an RN if they need an IV push, critical drip hung, or have other needs outside their scope of practice. In a full arrest I would not be without my man, J.J., to slip in the 16gauge IV's. A.A. worked CCU and has the nitro gtt chart memorized. S.S. thinks on her feet and doesn't lose sight of the forest for the trees. Our LPN's are well trained, competent and professional.

[Sarah Kat]

Originally posted by Deaconess
We staff LPN's in our ER. All are med and CORE (telemetry, etc) certified. I wouldn't be without them. They take assignments in the acute ER, staff Observation and Fast Track. They grab an RN if they need an IV push, critical drip hung, or have other needs outside their scope of practice. In a full arrest I would not be without my man, J.J., to slip in the 16gauge IV's. A.A. worked CCU and has the nitro gtt chart memorized. S.S. thinks on her feet and doesn't lose sight of the forest for the trees. Our LPN's are well trained, competent and professional.

It's refreshing to hear such praise about LPNs (especially since all I seem to hear is "why do you wanna be an LPN if you wanna be an RN later? why not just go to RN").

[BayMae10]

yeah to hear such good stuff coming out....from techs to cna's t lpn's to rad tech and the housekeeping staff...etc etc etc...you NEED EVERYONE to make a good ED work....

[veetach]

The administration in our hospital has been trying to phase out LPN's for the last 3 or 4 years. We still have a few, very few in our ED, and it is such a shame. I would match the LPN's in our dept against any RN anywhere else in the hospital and I KNOW that our LPN's would win!

We are so fortunate to have the LPN's that we do, and I literally forget that they arent RN's. They do everything the RN does, except push meds, they are all a godsend!!!

For those of you who are LPN's in any area please hold your head up high and walk proud, you are an important part of the whole nursing dynamic!!!