[softstorms]

WOW, I have read most of this thread...and I am amazed!!!! DGOOD is just starting out, and if memory serves me right, I may have been a bit full of myself when I was in school. I still see it in new students and grads. This will be self-correcting in time. DGOOD, just keep hanging around with us. I am sure that you will have many more questions to ask, and we many just know the answers. I will remind you that as the nursing shortage grows tighter, LPN's are being ask to assume higher roles all the time. We are being trained on a level that was never required before. We are not only nurses, we are teachers and mentors.

[JeanineLPN1984]

I posted early on in this thread and it keeps going. I've thought about it and in 23 years, I have probably told over 2,000 people " I'm a nurse". Most don't ask for clarification and leave it at that. I don't know why we feel we must explain what we are capable of, rather than we KNOW what we do. I think it's human nature, but again all the people you work with know what you do and how hard you work.

Last night reminded me of how it in most cases it doesnt matter your title, it matters what you know. We had a patient back with ileus and and an ileostomy, the off going nurse gave me a report and then went off to the patients room to change the flange and bag. About 10 mins later she came out and handed me flange and bag and said " It's been so long since I did this" I went in the patient and her daughters were there. The one daughter started by saying " Oh, your new here, I havent seen you" then asked how long I've been I've there. The CNA was on the other side of the bed, while I was measuring and cutting to fit the stoma and I was explaining everything to the patient. Then the daughter says " Oh, it looks like you've been doing this a while", I said about 23 years....... She said she was glad I came in and took care of her mother.
The moral of the story is this is why we do what we do, we care AND we know what we are doing.

[pagandeva2000]

Originally Posted by lauralauranurse

i've given up on this conversation.

evidently you guys feel that nursing = caring

and i feel like nursing = knowledge

It can be a combination of both, this is why I can agree with you and them. You have to care to take the time to know because there would be better outcomes.

[vicky1964]

Originally Posted by pagandeva2000

It can be a combination of both, this is why I can agree with you and them. You have to care to take the time to know because there would be better outcomes.

[ct1tx]

So do you say I am in a associates degree nursing program or in a BS nursing program all nursing schools are just that nursing regardless if its LVN or Associates RN or BSN RN.

[egglady]

I think we are beating a dead horse, over and over. If we as professional adults can not get along, then it is a real shame. I am a nurse. A LPN. I have co-workers that are also nurses, RN's. We are a team. I guess there are always going to be those that can not or will not have anything to do with "team work". I pity those people, because in the long run, they will suffer and so will the ones they care for. We are all needed in this healthcare field, we all make contributions. If someone is on some sort of "high horse" then perhaps they should jump off it before they fall off. We all need each other to do what is best for each and every patient or resident. I guess I am dumb- I am an LPN who did not realize this was some sort of contest of who is better LPN-vs_ RN. WHATEVER. I do not view it as a contest. I view it as team work and what is best in the overall big picture of caring for someone else......

[Jeepgirl48]

I agree we are kind of beating a dead horse aren't we? Because the answer is quite simple really, an LPN IS a nurse. There can be no question about it whatsoever. So if you want to simply call yourself a nurse by all means you have very right under the sun to do. If you want to say LPN fine. You've earned the title!

[BayouLPN]

Not wanting a fight here, but, I have been talking with some of the new RN graduates that I work with. We compared notes. Seems that the NCLEXRN and the NCLEXPN was not a great deal different. Both had very similar questions and both was very hard. I, personally, just say I am a nurse. My co-workers who are almost all RN's don't treat me any differently so why should I treat myself differently. I do explain to pt's that I am an LPN if I have to have a RN come in to push morphine or change a PCA. Other than that, I say "HI, I am your nurse tonight" And get on with the business of nursing.

[pagandeva2000]

Originally Posted by BayouLPN

Not wanting a fight here, but, I have been talking with some of the new RN graduates that I work with. We compared notes. Seems that the NCLEXRN and the NCLEXPN was not a great deal different. Both had very similar questions and both was very hard. I, personally, just say I am a nurse. My co-workers who are almost all RN's don't treat me any differently so why should I treat myself differently. I do explain to pt's that I am an LPN if I have to have a RN come in to push morphine or change a PCA. Other than that, I say "HI, I am your nurse tonight" And get on with the business of nursing.

I remember comparing notes about NCLEX-RN-PN with my best friend who is an RN graduate from the same college I attended. She concluded that my questions were a bit harder for her to answer. We know that the test is individualized, though. We both finished with minimal questions-75 for her, 85 for me. When I read the questions in the Saunders RN and LPN, I noticed that the comprehensive review was not that different except for some delegation questions, a few about IV drips...otherwise, I have often wondered if I should have gotten their Saunders book...I liked it better because it was color. I would not say that the coursework is the same, obviously, but the bottom line is that NCLEX is looking for minimal safety based on an entry level nurse.

[faltura]

I agree with ellen we are in the same boat
well, of course we need to be knowledgeable, i've only been a nurse for 3 years but i make it a point to do things always with RATIONALE. you dont just follow orders but clarify, if in doubt verify and also suggest what you think is needed in handling a case. of course we have to be COMPETENT and what better way to do it than be not just knowledgeable but INTELLIGENT. but even if you are not RN u still must be COMPETENT and INTELLIGENT so ther is no difference. from the Chief Nurse down to the housekeeper, everyone must be COMPETENT and RESPONSIBLE in everything they do. Thus, being a RN is not being SUPERIOR it would not matter. just be COMPETENT and INTELLIGENT and accept that there are also COMPETENT and INTELLIGENt staff who does not carry RN at the end of their names....