One Voice

[norinradd]

Wouldn't it be nice to live without contention? No LPN vs RN. No diploma vs ADN vs BSRN. Where there was not only plenty of jobs but also plenty of respect.

What if this could be done with a name change and alot of hard work? I am talking about one standard, one title.

Afterall, should there not be a minimal core comptency? Either you can assess and care for someone or not? Some some LPNs go to school 18-24 months, some ADNs 4yr.s, our differences are blurring as is our job descriptions.

Why not unite under a new flag? Something like Registered Care Provider (RCP). Why not just make the BSRN the standard? Because it would not make allowences for all the excellent nurses out there who are not BSRNs and it would not fix the PR problem for bringing in more bright persons, male and female into the field.

While using the BSRN as the template, fazing out other programs and combining resources for a new program that could attract people who would not otherwise ever think about being "a nurse". At the same time povide a chance for others to prove their comptency and grandfather in.

If energy we use debating among ourselves could ever be focused like a laser on the problems of our field we would not be only one voice, but a might voice.

[Nursie30]

Nursing needs distinction in training just as any other profession.

What your saying would be compared to say MD:DO, or EMT:Paramedic, or Paralegal:Lawyer, come on, there is a ladder that everyone should have to climb up to get the better, higher paying jobs. As an LPN, its a nice thought, but its not fair.......and not feasible..........

[Nursie30]

Where the heck did that smiley come from, lol, was supposed to read MD:DO

[Nursie30]

ok, MD vs Do

[norinradd]

I had proposed a new entity using the BSRN as a template but would bring everyone to the table as to what those core comptencies would be.

I started working in hospitals in 1987 as an EMT/orderly. I made $3.65/hr while working through school supporting a wife and three children. By time I finished LPN school I had one car repo'd and forclosure papers filed on my house. I then worked two full time jobs for the next four years just tring to get ahead.

Now I am a single dad who homes schools his kids and works only one full time job.

In short I respect all nurses. No matter what route they took and how hard or easy the road was. But I still believe times are changing. The choice to continue as we have will not remain an option.

I am treated not just as an equal where I work but as a resource. My gripe if I have one is with the system in place. I also understand some peoples idea of LPNs not being as good as an RN. If you are in a place that does not let you learn and function to the limits of your abilities then your abilities may not grow the same. Most good RNs I work with are ADNs but I have worked with BSRNs that were just as great.

When the shortage becomes even worse changes will be made. Adm still doesn't understand what we most want is to provide excellent care for our pts in a safe and healthy enviromnet while being treated as a professional with respect, and to contribute to our families. A name change could attact people who wouldn't normally think of "nursing". A 4yr degree would make it more likely to be seen as a professional. Whatever the outcome I think we still know what's best for us. Watered down programs and higher nurse to pt ratios would only make it worse. That is the future I see if we are not more proactive.

[live4today, RN]

I still do not believe a bachelors degree makes a RN any more of a "professional" than any other type of degree (Diploma or ADN). No way no how. Disagree with me...I still hold true to this.

Experience in the field AFTER passing state boards is what makes a nurse "professional" at how a nurse practices the art of nursing.

Certifications impress me more than choice of degrees. School is great, but knowing what one is doing and why makes all the difference to me, and that is only chalked up to hands on learning and experience over time........much like the Nurse Managers of years past BEFORE all this BSN stuff got started by AJN.

Don't get me wrong. I am ALL FOR one advancing in the nursing field, but plain old educational degrees doesn't cut the mustard.

Doctors, Dentists, Physical Therapist, Social Workers...all have much more hands on training than any nurse program offers. We have to look at what qualifies a nurse to be a professional nurse, and stop harping on the degree one chose in the first place as being the "starting point". It use to be it didn't matter HOW one became a nurse as long as they were registered/licensed and gained actual experience in their field, all was kosher in nursing. NURSES in the AJN realm started this entire argument years ago because they had nothing better to do with their education than create havoc between the degrees. Women...only women...crush each other this way no matter what the job. If I were a man, I'd say "All women go home and stay home if all you are going to do is make life hell for one another." I'm not a man and I'm going to say that anyway.

[fab4fan]

MD vs DO?

There is no difference...they're physicians with equal licensure; not the same as LPN/RN.

[SmilingBluEyes]

exactly fab4, you beat me to it.

[cwazycwissyRN, RN]

I am not too sure I would agree with having one stop off, one role. Maybe redefine what we already have intact. I liked being able to stop off at one level and getting experience before preceding to the next. I liked having choices, but then again I am also in favor of a good carreer ladder system.

[healingtouchRN]

RCP sounds like one more person I'd have to supervise!