Are there any more LPNs

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hi everyone out there

i have a few questions

i heard lpns are being replaced. pcts is taking the position of lpns. they do things from cleaning,ekgs,phlebomy(sp)? to ivs. almost everything a rn can do and in some places lpn can't do ivs,or don't learn ekgs. so are hospital and dr. offices hiring more pct than lpns? do a pct do more than a lpn in a hospital or office? will a pct have a better chance at l&d or nicu or some area like that?

thank you for any info

moonielove

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They've been saying LPNs were being phased out for forever now. LPNs may very well be in the process of being phased out in hospitals, but those jobs seem to go to RNs, not to PCTs. From what I've personally experienced, the job of a PCT is very much different than the job of an LPN.

I left the hospital in 2001. At the time I worked oncology. I did ECGs, phlebotomy, and I did IVs. I have an IV certification if that counts, but LPNs are trained to work with IVs in nursing school. In 2001 I was in a higher position than the PCTs. If the PCT had training in ECGs or foleys or whatnot they could do them, but usually they did not. This required a certain type of certification through the hospital.

I haven't ever worked with a PCT that could give prescription meds, but I have heard that they do in some places.....I don't know if that is true or not.

I've never worked a doctor's office so I don't know much about how they run. I see a ton of ads for office LPNs, RNs, and sometimes MTs. You may have a better chance at working the departments you want at a hospital as a PCT because the hospitals in this area do have a strong preference for RNs.

I'd think about what aspects of the patient's care I wanted to provide and go from there. Contact a recruiter at a local hospital and ask them if they hire LPNs or PCTs for certain units. Ask what the job description for each is.

Good luck to you. :)

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

What's a PCT? I don't think we have those in the hospital I work in...

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PCT stands for Patient Care Technician. At the hospitals here they are pretty much the same as a CNA. If you work at a nursing home they are CNAs, but the people doing the same job at the hospitals are PCTs. It is confusing. I think that their actual job can vary a lot according to where they work. They do have programs around here for PCTs that provide them with a lot more training than one would receive in a traditional CNA course.

What's a PCT? I don't think we have those in the hospital I work in...
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I live in FL and although having your RN is a preference, there is plenty of work for LPN's. I receive phone calls, cards and invitations weekly from agencies begging for RN's or LPN's. When I first began nursing, LPN's (sometimes called the medicine nurse) would pass all the meds and assist the CNA with bathing and wound care, while the RN charted, did the assessments, TPN and such. I work full time at a Pediatric Urgent Care (Clinical Supervisor) and prn at a major level II trama ED. At the ED I am given the same amount patients as the RN. I also take my turn at having a trama bed. I think with the nursing shortage, hospitals are having to use RN's and LPN's. With the shortage, sometimes our paramedics have to take patients.

Although I am working on getting my RN (after all these years), I don't believe that LPN's will be phased out anytime soon.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

I have to agree..they have been talking about phasing out LPN's for years. One hospital I know of did phase them out and went with all RN's and a couple of CNA's and you know what, I hear they are hiring the LPN's again. There are plenty of jobs out there for LPN's. :)

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