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?

My mom started hearing in in1972

Specializes in Hospice, geriatrics, family practice.

LPN are definately being phased out in my facility as we moved to become more "acute" in the wake of Medicaid reform. We have to keep re-inventing ourself in order to continue to offer needed services without the trip to the hospital or other outside entities, i.e. dialysis, blood transfusions, PICC line insertions, specilaized wound care, etc. Although LPNs are not being terminated, they are not being replaced when they resign. Our facility is also interested in hiring RNs at the BSN level. We are also moving towards becoming ANCC certified in gerontology. I started out my career as an LPN and took the "threat" of being phased out seriously. I returned to school during my first year of being an LPN and obtained an associate degree RN. In light of the legislation pushing RNs to have at minimum a BSN, I too entered school to complete my BSN. While LPNs are of immense value, I encourage all to return to school and get the credit for what they already do in most places as well at the status!

Specializes in LPN.
this is exactly the attitude i've seen lately. with RNs working short staffed, they are tired of "babysitting" the LPN's so to speak. at one time, there were enough RNs on the floor that it wasn't such a big deal for them to "cover" the LPNs, but now - they're lucky to get their "own job" finished without having to go behind a LPN. i've even seen brand new grads be charge nurses over LPNs who have years of experience. it just makes no logical or financial sense.

Whoa, babysitting LPNs? I take exception to that. I find in LTC, that LPN's do a whole lot more RN babysitting than you think. It has to do with work ethic, and both RN's and LPN's can have poor work ethic's. Please don't go spreading your misconceptions around this site. I have seen many, many lazy, incompentent RN's in the hospital setting as well as LTC. I find lots of RN's have an attitude about how superior they are, I say then if you think that is true - prove it by being superior. Do your job well, stop all the complaining. As a LPN I don't need or want your special attention, in fact it would be an insult. I can hold my own, and do your job as well as mine. Most LPNS get a higher patient load, and more demanding patients - you know, the ones you RN's don't want. So, if you were ever to see an LPN struggling, the first question you need to ask yourself is, did I dump on the LPN - AGAIN?

Specializes in Wound Care.

Shellyjel,

I am in the same boat as you, an LPN, 47 years old and back in school working on RN. We still have many years in the workforce so if you get your RN you will potentially have 20 years with additional income. RN's get paid so much more money and I wouldn't worry if you just get your associates because there is more jobs for RN's with associates than jobs for lpn's. I am taking all the additional courses to go towards my BSN because I hear that you can take most classes for BSN on-line, so if I can work at the same time I am going to keep cracking at it. Maybe we are crazy but my children are grown now so I have no excuse (if you don't count the exhaustion and dementia!) Goodluck to you!!!

RN's perform duties for Lpn's that they are not legally permitted to. One of these is administering IV drugs. As an RN I do not consider this baby sitting but it is part of my job. LPN's are expected to carry a bigger load in some other ways to make up for the work I do. Many hospitals have hiring freezes. It is very dificult to tell which individual will be in demand next. The best soloution for anyone is to find out where you are comfortable and do your job to the best of your ability. If you have the desire to get a position that has higher educational requirements go for it.

Gang, there are armies of unemployed RN's out there and here in Florida, many RN's are being hired to do LPN work at Nursing homes and in Hospice at crappy wages.

Hmm, I'm not sure if we are ahead or behind the rest of the world, but in Ireland we don't have LPNs at all (I had to Google it after I came here!!). Also, everyone must train by BSN, you can't practice in the country without the degree. I do like it this way, its not as confusing..!

Hmm, I'm not sure if we are ahead or behind the rest of the world, but in Ireland we don't have LPNs at all (I had to Google it after I came here!!). Also, everyone must train by BSN, you can't practice in the country without the degree. I do like it this way, its not as confusing..!

Learn your nursing history. SEN's were the equivalent of the LPN. They were phased out in the UK. The big difference is the UK paid for their education to upgrade to SRN. In North America, most LPNs fund their own education, so it's not that easy for many to fund a degree course. Oh, and many of the UK nurses lament the passing of the SEN and the trend to unregulated assistants.

Learn your nursing history. SEN's were the equivalent of the LPN. They were phased out in the UK. The big difference is the UK paid for their education to upgrade to SRN. In North America, most LPNs fund their own education, so it's not that easy for many to fund a degree course. Oh, and many of the UK nurses lament the passing of the SEN and the trend to unregulated assistants.

Learn your general history. Ireland is not part of the UK.

Learn your general history. Ireland is not part of the UK.

Never said it was. I won't even get into the subject of Ulster.

while i to am tired of hearing this. i still bristle when i hear it. don't know why it irritates me as i truly am the one sitting here not going to school for an rn. (kids grown/etc/etc, no reason not too) i really think i am just on the lazy side when i am home from work and refuse to give nursing another thought! though i am the first in line to learn new things, do something i haven't done before, or challenge myself in other ways, i just don't want to go back to school for some reason. plus it doesn't hurt that most rn's i work with do not make more than a couple of bucks more than i do, so why? that said, lvn's/lpn's will never be phased out. insurance companies/healthcare businesses are going to pay the least they can. i have noticed that some new hosp. will start this "we hire only rn's" like one did here not too long ago, or some hosp. unit, but then soon as they get to where they can't staff/afford hours, the lvn's are there too. i have never been told i am not qualified for any job (sometimes unfor. on my part) but i will admit i am unusual as back when there was a real nursing shortage i was put into spots (with mentors) that most lvn's don't normally staff. i've been a charge nurse, supv. nurse, still work picu as my normal job, and crack up when i go to my prn psych job and not able to do an assessment. lol an rn doesn't do it because i can"t, i did it for years, and was told suddenly lvn"s just can"t do it. an rn has to do it because "it"s a rule" ivory towers get it into their heads what certain "titles/lic." should do and they make up these little rules, when the truth is, nursing is taught daily on the job. it is what the individual nurse knows not the title imo...

and btw while talking abt those ivory tower nurses, i had the pleasure of educating one who kept calling a "stoma" a wound......(geez) (sigh), well at least she did learn something on the job today!

:nurse:

Specializes in Neuro-Surgery, Med-Surg, Home Health.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I worked as an LVN in 1981 and to tell you the truth, I did not get much respect from RNs. One afternoon I heard my charge nurse and the nursing supervisor saying that they were short of "nurses" (meaning RNs) and not LVNs for the following shift. I used to be an LVN and I was not considered a "nurse"?

I became an RN one year later and I got promoted to charge nurse is less than three months!

By the year 2005 or so, they began phasing out the LVNs at the large San Francisco, California medical center where I used to work. In 2008, the year I retired from the medical center, most of the LVNs had been re-assigned to different roles (phlebotomists, clinic duties, delivering medications or were sent to our SNF). Less than 5 LVNs were left in all the in-patient units. Many of the other large hospitals here in the SF Bay Area are also phasing out their LVNs.

Now I am a case manager and a nurse preceptor in home health care. We employ mostly RNs, PTs, OTs, STs and very few LVNs. We haven't hired a new LVN for quite sometime.

Just telling the facts.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

+ Add a Comment