Does anyone feel the same way?

I keep hearing this from these forums. I haven't experienced it yet, per se, but I do wonder what may happen if the hospitals are all going to push for Magnet Status (they support BSNs). I work for a city hospital with a union, and I suspect that what may happen is if they decide to no longer use LPNs, they may either not replace them after retirement or to find other positions. I feel secure in my current position, but am observing the common thread being discussed here at allnurses...LPNs being phased out. Currently, I am gaining all of the experience I can in order to have a healthy resume if in fact it does occur.

The ANA first proposed the phasing out of the LPN/LVN designation in 1965. To make a long story short, 43 years has elapsed since they made this proposal, and LPNs have not been phased out.

As long as one is willing to do anything other than hospital work, there are plenty of LPN opportunities. Hospitals comprise less than 55 percent of healthcare nursing jobs in the US, so one should still be able to find LPN employment as long as he/she is not insistent on working in critical care or L&D.

That's true in my area. The Magnet hospital does not hire LPNs. There is the rare opening for LPNs at the 2 smaller hospitals. Tons of jobs in Long Term Care though!

I am an LVN in a large physician group. I really get discouraged when the MA's that are also in the practice are called nurses. It doesn't matter if you are an RN, an LVN, or a MA, everyone is called a nurse. Do you see this in your area? Does it bother anyone else, or is it just me?

The LPN/RN thing is a neverending story. A RN, ASN or RN, BSN, does not a good nurse make. Anyone who goes into nursing for the right reason whether it be a CNA, LPN, or RN are excellent in my eyes. In the city I live in with 3 hospitals they do not hire LPN's. Why, who knows? Some will say that we are to much of a burden on RN's, some will say we really aren't nurses. Well I have to tell you a little story re: being a nurse. My grandmother was in the hospital this last weekend. She was admitted on friday morning. I get there friday afternoon and notice she is a mouth breather on a nasal canula struggling to breath. I ask the RN, BSN to please put a non-rebreather mask on her after checking her pulse ox. She was at 83%. She then shot up to 97% within minutes. The next day I come in and my grandma is on a nasal canula again. I look at her and think gee, she looks just awful and is so labored in her breathing. I go get the RN, BSN to check her pulse ox, it's 63% this time. I asked why did they take the non-rebreather off of her. They said they didn't think she needed it, because she has so many visitors and was having a hard time conversing with them. So I immediately asked the nurse to put the mask back on while I hook up the O2 to the wall and asked if I could put it up to 10L. It took my grandma about 15 minutes to get up to 94%. So yes I agree that having your RN, BSN is better, as far as the IV's, hanging blood, understanding the patho of diseases, but somewhere it comes into play that you need excellent assessment skills and common sense. My grandma passed on monday, not because of any fault of the nurses, but her disease process had taken it's toll on her. These RN, BSN's were the sweetest people, but I don't feel that having the alphabet after your name makes you a better nurse. I've met the dumbest LPN's, RN's and MD's. Then again I've met the best. If you are truly in tune with your patient, you can figure out what to do, and if it's not in your scope of practice then atleast you have the assessments skills to figure out something is wrong and get an RN and they then may have to get a MD. We all have an important roll in healthcare. So the answer is yes, I've felt like I'm not wanted per se at the hospitals, but you know what? It's their loss. No I may not be a RN, BSN or a MD, but I'm a darn good LPN and I'm very proud of that. For those that think we are not nurses, I hope I never have to take care of you, because I'm probably to imcompetent for your standards, NOT!!!!! Sorry so long, but the longer I'm in nursing the more I realize that we are all human and like I said the alphabet behind someones name, does not a good nurse make. I'm a LPN and proud of it. I became more proud of the title after I caught things at one of the big bad hospitals that the RN's didn't. Just like I'm sure when LPN's were in the hospitals RN's caught things that LPN's didn't. I realize knowledge is power, but if we were all MD's, who'd take care of the patients????????

[quote=bagladytoRN;2971724]To all you beautiful LVN's out there-
Have you ever gotten the feeling that LVN's aren't considered as valuable as RN's? quote]

I haven't felt that we aren't as valuable, but I have felt that some RN's thought they were better than I was because I was an LPN. I didn't let it get to me however. I provided the best care that I could to my patients and went about my job.

I don't think that anyone is better than anyone else because they have a higher degree. I may have a higher degree than the CNA's and CMA's that work under me, but I don't think that I'm better than they are. We all work together and put the patients/residents first, as it should be.

I'm not above them and will help them out with whatever they need, if I'm not busy with my own duties. I'm not above toileting or wiping a bottom or anything else because I'm an LPN.

I think its a sad case for the nurses that thinks they are above others because they have a higher degree, for that nurse, the patients and co-workers.

Most hospitals are going to RN's only, but there is still a need for us in LTC and some home health facilities will hire LPN's.

Wanda/NE

[quote

I don't think that anyone is better than anyone else because they have a higher degree.
[/quote]

I sense that you are confusing "better than anyone else" in the human value sense as opposed to "better" as in more experience, education, or background.

I am of no more or less value than anyone else the Lord created, but I have skills and experience that some others don't....and vice-versa. The trick is being smart enough to recognize what we don't know!

I can say that our Home Health agency doesn't hire LPN's due to the legal limits of their practice, but another agency in town DOES hire LPN's to save money by running them (and all their staff) ragged...

"I sense that you are confusing "better than anyone else" in the human value sense as opposed to "better" as in more experience, education, or background."

I think you may be right. I have a hard time expressing my thoughts sometimes, especially after coming off of a 13.5 hour shift .

I had worked with a particular nurse that gave me the impression that she was "better" than the LPN's just because she was an RN. That is what I was trying to say. Not because she had more experiance and knowledge than an LPN, but because she had the initials RN behind her name and not LPN. I guess like the LPN's were the low-life so to speak, is the impression that I got. Am I making sense?

Hiring all RN's means a hospital can have the nurses do primary care- less staff needed.
We see it here too. Most of the LPN's have gone to telemetry or office work, or going back to school.