Amazing..lpn's actualy needed....

suzanne4, RN · Jul 18, 2004

In the Detroit area, you do not see LPNs used near as much as before.

And definitely not in any specialty areas.

When the patient is admitted to the hospital, the inital assessment that goes along with the admission paperwork must be done by an RN.

You almost never see LPNs in the ER, nor the OR, and definitely not the Critical Care areas.

I have worked with some LPNs, especially the ones that I worked with when I first finished school, that I would prefer to have taking care of me over many other nurses, but unfortunately they are not alive any more. They were working ER before hospitals were required to have an RN.............

Much of nursing will always be supply and demand. Besides what an LPN can do or can't do is up to hospital policy as well. Just because MI Board of Nursing says they can do something, it doesn't mean that the hospital has to permit it. The hospitals' policies just cannot supercede the State.

Even though I am now living overseas, I still have a current MI license.

mrsmoo2 · Jul 18, 2004

Well, I stood right there & watched the lpn do my dad's initial assessment..I was with him every step of the way..an lpn attended to him in pre & post-op, & every step along the way. I was surprised, that's why I was really watching what the lpn's were doing..I honestly only saw an RN for the IV med pushes....this is not intended to diminish RNs, only that I have been getting so sick of hearing that lpn's weren't good for much more than ltc..I was surprised at how much they were doing at the hospital. You wouldn't believe the crap I've had to hear when people find out I'm making the concious decision to be "just an lpn"...the lpns I've been watching this week are useful, skilled, important parts of patient care. There's alot of reasons why I'm choosing to be an lpn, some may change & I may decide someday to be an RN, I just don't like being made to feel embarrassed or like I won't really be a nurse...and, as of the other day here in MI, the only things an lpn can never, ever, no matter what facility, do are IV med pushes & chemo, but I do know an lpn who did start IV's & push meds in a hospital downstate..I have no idea how that came to be, but she did it.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 18, 2004

You are talking about the assessment when your father got to the floor after surgery, I am talking about the initial one that was done on him when he eas admitted to the hospital....By law that one needs to be done by an RN.

Same as when a peitent is under home health care. They may have an LPN always taking care of them, but the initial intake evaluation must be done by an LPN. I amnot saying that an LPN can't do many things, they can...........

and I personally love working with them. I am just stating a fact, that they are not be used in the hospitals as they once were.

Whe I first finished nursing school I was actually mentored by an LPN on ths night shift. I learned more from her than I did from many other nurses.

There are needs for LPNs, and I am glad that they are there. They actually have alot more responsibility now then they used to have in many places.

I don't want you taking things the wrong way.............. :)

But again each state has its own rulings on what an LPN can do and cannot do. It will vary greatly among states. It has nothing to do with the nurse's abilities or capabilities. The same way that there are certain IV meds that can only be given by an ICU or ER RN and cannot be given by a med-surg nurse.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 18, 2004

In Illinois (where I'm licensed) and specifically in the hospital where I'm employed we are going for Magnet status and that unfortunately means the LPNs aren't going to be in specialty areas. Its not a matter of LPN vs RN - its just a financial matter. For example - as an RN - I can do everything for the patient: basic care on up to pressor support and IV drips as well as caring for vented patients. So...in the financial world - I can do the job of an aide, LPN, resp tech, EKG tech as well as RN! I started as an LPN and soon found my choices of employment severely limited which is why I went for my RN. However, perhaps in your part of the country there are many job opportunities for LPNs - that is wonderful! Good luck...judi

Chevelle · Jul 19, 2004

I just had to comment..I've read so much about how hospitals don't need/use lpns & how ltc is all they're good for, blah blah blah...my dad has been in the hospital all week after having his prostate removed. I never used to pay any attention to the letters on the nametags, but of course now I do. It was an lpn caring for him 90% of the time. They did initital assesement, meds, messed with his IV, wound care, everything. They didn't have to run & ask the RN before they did something & all I saw of an RN was when he needed a new IV started & morphine pushed. When I was talking to an lpn about starting my program next month, she said "good, this hospital is desperate for lpns" They;re in the OR, ER, peds, & she said they hang blood products, too. After all the "lpns are just glorified aides" crap I've been hearing, it felt so good to see them doing "real nursing". If i hadn;t looked at nametags, I would not have ever known which ones were RN & which were LPN. So, all you current & future lpns.....we are needed & appreciated!!!!!

I think this is great! It is wonderful for a LPN student to read to lift their spirits from the stereotypical "stuff" they sometimes have to deal with it. Your career can be and will be what you make it and that is the bottom line!

Dixiedi · Jul 19, 2004

A lot of the people you hear talking about how useless LPNs are are RNs who have never had the opportunity to work with LPNs. Or they are RNs who have some unfounded fear of an LPN doing something to loose his/her license.

It's true, there are many things LPNs can not do that we used to do and again some things added to our scope of practice.

Being an LPN is great and I am glad to be one. I am educated to a fault and continue my education every day. I am quite knowledgeable and can hold my own in discussions in areas I work in. No, I'm not going to get into a discussion with NICU nurses. It's been 20 years since I was in there and then I worked step-down.

Oh, I am ranting. Forgive me. It irritates me when people who really don't know speak out and proclaim themselves all knowing of what a LPN is when they have never even worked with one.

Deligating responsibility is not the same thing as holding ones hand while it is being done.

Godswill · Jul 19, 2004

i too notice this in April when my dd was in hospital, the whole time we were there she was taken care by an LPN, they even put and started the iv in her arm. I was like wow, they really utilize them, and i may have seen a RN once the whole time. Of course i must add that louisiana has a very board scope of practice for LPN's;)

boxerlewis · Jul 19, 2004

I just had to comment..I've read so much about how hospitals don't need/use lpns & how ltc is all they're good for, blah blah blah...my dad has been in the hospital all week after having his prostate removed. I never used to pay any attention to the letters on the nametags, but of course now I do. It was an lpn caring for him 90% of the time. They did initital assesement, meds, messed with his IV, wound care, everything. They didn't have to run & ask the RN before they did something & all I saw of an RN was when he needed a new IV started & morphine pushed. When I was talking to an lpn about starting my program next month, she said "good, this hospital is desperate for lpns" They;re in the OR, ER, peds, & she said they hang blood products, too. After all the "lpns are just glorified aides" crap I've been hearing, it felt so good to see them doing "real nursing". If i hadn;t looked at nametags, I would not have ever known which ones were RN & which were LPN. So, all you current & future lpns.....we are needed & appreciated!!!!!

I am glad to here from someone who recognizes the need for LPNs. I just finished my LPN program and looking for work. I haven't gotten real serious about it just yet because I must wait the arrival of my temp lic. It seems that everyone wants to know if I will go on to make RN,why? For me the patient care is why I wanted to be a Nurse to begin with. From my prospective RNs only get involed if there is something going seriously wrong. I would like to be there for the entire run, not just when it's really bad. :balloons:

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Jul 19, 2004

I believe each state has, within their job description (or whatever you call them), a differentiation. I was lead to believe that they cannot co-sign for blood products, but can ohysically hang them, and the RN is responsible for monitoring the pt. Also, I agree with that physical assessment thing- the physical exam component needs to be filled out by an RN- LPNs can obtain history. And I may be wrong, but I have NEVER been told that the LPN works under me (or my license), and that I am responsible for what they do.

Maybe the differences are not so obvious, but there obviously are differences. Or we would all be getting the same $$ or an RN would only go to school for a year. And there wouldn't be the ADN vs BSN debate, much less the LPN issue.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Jul 19, 2004

From my prospective RNs only get involed if there is something going seriously wrong. I would like to be there for the entire run, not just when it's really bad. :balloons:

Hmmm, I'm not sure how to respond to that, but that's certainly a skewed perception.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Jul 19, 2004

And another thing, I see it as you guys are doing just as much work, and in some places the assignments are identical. I work in a peds sub-acut/snf per-diem, and the assignments are identical. But the pay is obviously different. No one gets transfused there, and there are few IV patients. Those with central lines are assigned to an RN, but it's not a big deal. Also there is supposed to be at least one RN on each unit.