[Nique_RN2B]

Hi all,
I am looking for a little help, or maybe just some hope! I have been an LPN now for 7 months and have changed jobs too many times! I started out right after school in a hospital making 12 bucks an hour working my butt off on the night shift and didn't feel like the money was enough for the work, so I went to a clinic in a school - where i did nothing but babysit and now I am in a insurance office doing nothing with what I worked so hard to get. I am now sooo confused! I don't know whether I should stay put or should I go until I find something that makes me feel worthwhile and not bored and burnt out! I cannot even feel that drive or passion that was there while in school motivating me to be one of the top 3 students in my class!!! I am looking for any advice and all advice.

[SouthernLPN2RN]

Hi! Sometimes it takes a while to get a good "fit" at a job. What are the things you liked about the jobs you've had? Evaluating what exactly did and didn't work for you can help you make a decision regarding where you want to go and what you want to do. About the money, I worked for a hospital for 3 years as an LPN, I just left in August, and I was only making 11.94 an hr. The money tends to be better in LTC in my area, so you may want to look into that. Good luck!

[flwannaB]

That seems like a low wage. Where in the south do you live?

Originally Posted by southernlpn

Hi! Sometimes it takes a while to get a good "fit" at a job. What are the things you liked about the jobs you've had? Evaluating what exactly did and didn't work for you can help you make a decision regarding where you want to go and what you want to do. About the money, I worked for a hospital for 3 years as an LPN, I just left in August, and I was only making 11.94 an hr. The money tends to be better in LTC in my area, so you may want to look into that. Good luck!

[SouthernLPN2RN]

SC. Just three years ago, starting pay for a new LPN grad was 10.25

[luv2quilt]

Originally Posted by southernlpn

SC. Just three years ago, starting pay for a new LPN grad was 10.25

all I can say is .........

[shellylaverne]

Hi! I've been an LPN for almost 3 years now and had a bit of the same experiences you are having. I too was at the top of my class, I think that maybe had something to do with it, I tend to be impatient and perfectionist...

I quit my first job after only a month. It was on a subacute unit of a nursing home. The people there were "not pleasant"!! and the environment was not horribly safe. However, I learned a lot there... I then worked at another subacute facility for almost a year, the people were not real professional and there was some theft of narcotics that no one seemed to care about. I learned a lot there too. I also did some flu shot gigs, and learned foot care for a few months. Now I've been at an urgent care clinic for 1 1/2 years, which I really didn't like at first but that I've grown comfortable with. I'm also working on my RN currently.

Being a new LPN, I think you need to concentrate on learning to be a nurse and getting good at the skills you learned in school. You're not going to do that in an insurance office. I wouldn't concentrate on the money at this point, you'll get your raises, but the most important thing is to get good at being a nurse.

I think some of us (me!) had this idealistic impression of what nursing would be, but when we get out there we see so much stuff we didn't expect. Nurses beating each other up, low pay, rotten shifts, rotten management, bad facilites, etc. I guess I've learned that the first couple years are just plain hard no matter what, but we need suffer through and it's really unbelieveable how much we learn. Unless you stay somewhere for awhile, I don't think you'll get to know a place very well, the more you know about a place it will give you a better idea what you want to do in the future.

Do some research on different places, often the places that don't pay as well are better places to work, at least from what I've learned.

[Drysolong]

I live in the greater Atlanta, GA area and will be graduating from LPN school hopefully in April, 2006. I hope to get a job in the trauma center at one of the larger hospitals in the area for experience, while I work on my RN. The particular hospital where I really want to work only pays $13 hrly, whereas LTC facilities start at $16 or $17, so I've heard from reliable sources.
I still prefer the lower paying job because of the initial experience that I will get. I kind of know that I eventually, want to go into the hospital environment in one of the more "exciting" units, such as ER, psych, or trauma. This may be my inexperience talking.
I would say to you to really know yourself, but the jobs you've had so far that you don't like have given you invaluable experience. Just look at it that way and you'll eventually find your niche.

[Nique_RN2B]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I will definitely take heed shellylaverne to (Being a new LPN, I think you need to concentrate on learning to be a nurse and getting good at the skills you learned in school. You're not going to do that in an insurance office) ~That was like the slap I needed to get movin!


Nique