Are LPN's being phased out?

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

I know people have been saying for years that everyone would need a BSN and LPN's would be a thing of the past, etc. Well, so far, where I work (a large, magnet hospital) there are still many, many nurses without a BSN -but there are veeery few LPN's. I attended a meeting last week where my supervisor was lecturing RNs about signing off on LPN's charts and she mentioned that there are very few LPN's and even mentioned that some of those LPN's are about to graduate to be RN's. I overheard other RNs in the cafeteria complaining about LPN's basically saying, "what's the point when we have to go behind them."

They are definitely being phased out where I work. They aren't hiring LPN's anymore although the ones who are there aren't getting fired or anything. What is it like where you work? Do you think LPN's have a future?

I'm quite positive from your attitude, that your LPNs preferred to work with anyone but you! Respect your fellow nurses, even if you feel that they are a PITA... Those LPNS served a purpose!

I was an LPN for four years before getting my RN. I can tell you that no one ever had to "babysit" me as an LPN, and in many areas that I worked, I did the EXACT same job as the RN with the same work load, but for less pay.

As an RN, I do not "babysit" LPN's, and wording it this way is very disrespectful. My second job is a part-time position in a VERY busy ED. About half of the staff are LPN's. When I first started, I could not tell the difference between the LPN's and RN's without looking at their name badges, because they all worked at the same level and with the same professionalism. There are some things that require an RN, such as hanging blood (takes two nurses to do anyway), and accessing central lines (rarely done unless we just can't get access, and we use IO drills if necessary). On the med/surg and specialty floors, 90% or more of what is done can be accomplished by an LPN. The remaining 10% can be covered by a good RN charge nurse.

Are some hospitals hiring more RN's instead of LPN's? Sure.

Are LPN's being "phased out"? Absolutely not.

Will the fact that hospitals are hiring only RN's cause LTC's to hire only RN's? HAHAHAHA. Don't make me laugh! :jester:

I think that my "going up through the ranks", so to speak, has given me a different outlook on the various levels of nursing, and I'm thankful for that. So many new grads over the past several years have this attitude of elitism and entitlement, even BSN grads vs. ADN grads. Guess what? LPN, LVN, RPN, ADN RN, BSN RN. We're all nurses.

(Sidenote: If I could give any LPN's one piece of advice and have them take it, it would be to go back to RN school NOW. You're going to make a whole lot more money for doing the exact same job :D)

Love it!!! You sound like an excellent nurse and team leader!!!

I have been an LPN for 4 years and i have heard the same rumor. My opinion is that there is a shortage of nurses, i don't think they would phase out anybody. Here in Tampa they started to replaced RN with LPN for budget reason. Lpn are not going anywhere.

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

The hospital I work at now doesn't hire LPNs anymore. We have a few LPNs working on the med-surg units and a few in the ER, but that's about it. A hospital I used to work at used to have a lot of LPNs but most of them got laid off :/

St Lukes in Houston med. center tried that abt 10yrs ago, it's back to RN/LVN equal portions.

1 Votes
Oh nevermind !

yessssssssssss stop bashing LPN's ......... lose the p we ARE LICENSED NURSES

Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.
yessssssssssss stop bashing LPN's ......... lose the p we ARE LICENSED NURSES

Looks like we stopped bashing LPNs 4 years ago, according to this necrotic thread.

Just kidding. 4 years later, I still believe the same thing and tell my LPN buddies: get your RN now! You're doing the same job for half the pay!

I am at the end of my career and it makes no sense to go back to school now to get a AD/RN degree or BSN . Worked in hospitals all my life until recently and loved med/surg and stepdown. The hospital I worked at before no longer hires LVN's. Learned a lot on the job and was good at it. Doing home health now on high acuity pediatric patients. Working in someone's home just isn't rewarding to me because I just get sick of family after a while and move on to something else. (Never met a sick child I did not like though, btw). I respect the house rules and all, don't get me wrong, but I just left one house because the mother would point at me and say "Do this now!" and said LVN's aren't as good as RN's and there I am taking care of her child. This same mother just asked the company to bring me back. Ugh. I always smile and play nice, but I wish I had gotten my RN years ago because I hate to admit this, but I am ashamed that I write LVN instead of RN after my name.

1 Votes

We've been hearing that we're being phased out for years and we're still here. Although our places in doctor's offices are being taken over by certified medical assistants in my area in Virginia.

I work in LTC, where most of the management are LPNs. There's only one RN which is the director of nurses and a few part time RNs, the rest of them are LPNs, aprox 20 of them.

Many RNs come and go, but those LPNs have been around for a while. This is a great facility managed by an excellent group of nurses, and I hear nothing but great feedback from the residents. Proud to be working at this place

Specializes in ER, MEDSURG, Corrections.

Rural areas will hire you quicker vs metropolitan areas, simply due to lack of access to nurses. I have worked many years in ER, floating to ICU, and on MedSurg as an LPN. I can now use my experience as a bargaining tool for potential employers. I.E) Recently got hired in a major hospital near my home for an ER position with actual patient care. Most LPN's at this facility simply take vitals and function as glorified CNA's, but, because of my knowledge base and technical prowess, I landed a spot on the actual ER floor oing direct patient care. I am currently going through the steps to get my RN, only because I'm sick of fighting for jobs, and sick of doing the same amount of work for half the pay as my RN peers. Many of the RN's I work with seemed shocked when they flipped my ID Badge over and read "LPN". The most common response is "Dang...I thought you were an RN...you know your stuff". Don't let your title hold you back in your quest for knowledge and development of your nursing skills. Work medsurg for a few years, as this will most likely open up doors for you to broaden your practice. MedSurg led me to ER, which led to ICU float pool, which then led to a spot as a Seniored Staff nurse and Helath Informatics Specialist role. Also, don't stop at LPN! GO ON AND GET THAT BSN..... this way, you don't have to worry about being "phased out". Even though it has been said for many years that LPN's will soon be a thing of the past, I don't see that happening in the coming future. We are in too high of a demand and we can do the job for half the cost to the employers. That's just my personal experience. Hope it helps.

2 Votes

I believe it to be relevant to the area that you are working. For example a vast majority of the units at the hospital I work at run at a typical ratio of 2 RPNs and 10 RNs per shift. But some floors also run with 11 RPNs and 1 RN all depends on the patient base and level of acuity. I work in the operating room as an OR Tech/RPN and there is 1 RPN to every running room as we are the scrub nurses for the unit. To hospitals at least in my region RPNs are crucial because we can manage the predictable/stable patient load at a much lower cost.

+ Add a Comment