Is being an LPN REALLY that bad?

jjic3982 · Apr 18, 2011

Good question, I too would like to know if LVN is a good choice. For me in the SoCal area. LVN is best for me but due to most having trouble finding jobs in this area, I don't know if I should.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Apr 18, 2011

I feel like I made the best choice for me and I like being a nurse, period. I'm also in school for RN so I can appreciate the best of both worlds.

frogginit · Apr 18, 2011

When choosing between a LPN certificate or a RN degree really depends on where you see yourself (aka what kind of setting you want to be in). As a general rule hospitals are weeding out LPN positions. Which leaves you with either nursing homes or clinics. Clinics are harder to get into and tend to pay less. Nursing homes pay good but utilizes only a smidgen of what you learn in school and keep you with the elderly population.

I happen to be able to have gotten a job in a hospital but the pay is substanderd. I am not allowed to take orders from MD's and everything must go through a RN. You had better hope that your RN doesnt have a big head or have substanderd education, because it reflects badly on you. Your nursing judgment often is not considered in a hospital setting either from the MD's or RN's. However I am IV certified and am competent in all Med surg situations. I am constrained in what I can and can not due which is very frustrating. I intend to go back for my RN however Im not sure when that will be. So my advice is to think long and hard about where you see yourself personally and professionally.

CrazyGoonRN · Apr 18, 2011

I think that it was a good choice for me. I took all my pre-req's for a RN program then didn't get in. So I applied to a LPN program and got in. I didn't want to wait around for a semester and reapply to the RN program. What would I have done? I had already completed all my pre-req's and I didn't have a job. I completed the LPN program in 1 year and it was tough. I got my license the next month and now I am working making 19.50/hour in a nursing home. :) In TN that is good money for a LPN. My dream is to work in a hospital on the med/surg floor but as an LPN that is most likely not going to happen. So for now I am sticking with the nursing home and trying to be the best nurse I can be. I have learned a lot there. I have applied to a local LPN-RN program and am waiting to hear if I got in or not. I really hope I do, but if I don't I am going to stay positive and not loose sight of my ultimate goal to be an RN.

I think everything depends on your attitude. If you expect it to be bad then it will be. If you look at the good things about being an LPN then it could be an awesome career move. One of my coworkers has been an LPN for 9 years. She had always planned on becomming an RN, but now wants to stay an LPN. She makes very good money and if she became an RN her salary would drop quite a bit. She is one of the best nurses that I know. She even trains the new RN's who come to work at our facility. She is about to get another raise since she just acceped a job as nurse manager. She got to where she is because she truly cares about people and wants to be a good nurse and she is a good nurse. No matter what you choose never stop learning and trying to become better than you used to be :)

jjic3982 · Apr 18, 2011

crazy goon thanks for the info on the charge nurse. And congratulations for her.

I never heard of that before.

systoly · Apr 18, 2011

Right now, I can get almost a grand referral bonus from my employer for any LPN who works 100 hours. Yes it's a good choice. Any LPNs looking for work?

jjic3982 · Apr 18, 2011

wait referral bonus? And a grand? wow what is up with that? Is your facility in need of many LPNs? Where do you live, if you don't mind me asking?

Juwon · Apr 19, 2011

Its nothing wrong with becoming a LPN. A lot of nurses say just become a RN first. From my understanding, the LPN program is seemingly more intense because it is so much information in one year of school where as the RN program is composed of more knowledge but generally spanned out in two years. I think it all depends on what you want to do. If you want to work in a hospital setting, it is best to become a RN, and mainly a RN with a bachelors degree, as more hospital that hire nurses say they want a RN but prefer a BSN nurse. If you want to get a sample of the medical field, before you spend time and money into becoming a RN, you can do the LPN route. It provides a foundation for what nurses pretty much do. One of the above posters say that as a LPN in a nursing home you lose your skills that you learn in school, but i dont think that is totally true. You do admissions, discharges, dispense medication and get to collaborate with the RN after the initial assessment of a pateint is done. You get to work with trachs, G-tubes, foley caths, etc. You can become a hospice nurse or work home health and work with patient who are on vents and what not. It depends on the nursing facility in which you reside. A friend of mines work on a ventilator unit in a LTC facility. It is good experience for her because she wants to become a RN and work in the ICU and then further her education into becoming a CRNA. Your choice of becoming a LPN or RN should be heavily influenced on what you plan to do in the future. Not all LPNs want to beocme RNs, but you do have your fair share of LPNs who want to be RNs and are jealous when new grad RNs work with them and the LPNs have to orientate the RNs. I've seen this often in LTC.

nursetina1964 · Apr 19, 2011

I have been a LPN for a long time. I used to think that I wanted to be a RN and even started my pre reqs at one time. But now I do not want to. I currently work in an Urgent Care and they do not use RNs. Monday thru Friday...9-6 and I make as much money, if not more than those in LTC. If I got my RN, I would have to give up a job I love and they pay would not be that much more as I have been an LPN for 25 years. You just have to decide what is best for you in ALL aspects, not just the money or so called prestigue.

Nursing_Chic · Apr 19, 2011

I worked as a paramedic for 4 years but that defnitly was not for me! I went a community college to start an RN program but there was a 2 year wait-list. So I applied to an LPN program. I got and passed my boards in 12 months. I love being an LPN. Maybe I will go back to school for my BSN but if not working in LTC I make 20.75/hour and besides staff nursing I also am in charge of the CNAs and CHHAs.

DogWmn · Apr 19, 2011

Is being an LPN REALLY that bad?

NOOOOO, I'm proud to be an LPN, while right now many hospitals have quit hiring us (much to their detriment I think), there are pleny of opportunities for LPN's outside of hospital work. Of course keep in mind that there is a HUGE recession going on and everyone is having a hard time finding work.