Eliminating LPNs - are hospitals doing this?

[kalaith]

Hello All,

My mother is an LPN at a major women's and children's medical center in Honolulu. Recently the hospital announced that it may eliminate the LPN position throughout the hopsital in the next 12 months. My understanding is that they will supplement this loss by hiring additional CNAs.

My question to you all is if you have any experience with this. Do you work at a hospital that has done this? Was it a good choice? Was it a bad choice? And what's your personal opinion? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?

While I'm certainly biased for my mother's position, I am honestly curious what others in the field think of this major decision.

Thanks for your time. :)

[Dayray, RN]

This happens from time to time at hospitals. the reason behind it is a combination of 2 things.

#1 hospitals want to save money.

#2 ignorance about what an LPN is and does.

I was an LPN before I graduated this may. becoming an RN has made me realize that their are some very serious differences between RN and LPN (watch it here it comes) >>>

LPNs are not interchangeable with CNA's a CNA cannot and should not be expected to assess this is what LPNs are for they care for patients, assess and report. As an LPN I didn't always know what to do for every problem but I had the training and skills to figure out when I need to get an RN in the room to tell me how to fix the problem. CNA's cant do this, I was also a CNA so I'm not belittling them and yes some would catch things as well as an LPN but not many.

One of the hospitals I worked at had phased out LPNs and failed miserably, RNs were over worked and patients didn't get good care.

As nurses we need to be careful it's easy to compare RN to LPN and yes Rn's have allot more responsibility and hopefully more skill and knowledge then the average LPN but when we take it too far and start thinking LPNs aren't necessary and even worse suggest to management that they be eliminated we only hurt the patients and our selves. the Suites will jump at a chance to save bucks by firring skilled labor and bringing in people off the street and calling them techs or assistants and then you know who really gets the shaft? the RN who is expected to do the work they did before + the work of the LPN.

[flashpoint]

Here, we're actually expanding what our LPNs can do. LPNs can take a semester long course that trains them to do IVs and NGs...something we could never do before. A lot of the RNs we work with say we are taught more in the IV/NG course than they ever were about IVs/NGs/fluid & electrolytes, etc. We're also training LPNs to assist in ER, OB, ICU....we do a lot of things that CNAs do, plus give meds, EKGs, etc. Here, LPNs are a huge part of the nursing team. Yes, we're still under the RN's license, but we are very, very much responsible for ourselves and if we screw up and go to court, it's very likely that we'll go down before the RN.

[Noney]

Well said DayRay

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Eliminating an important role such as the LPN is simply fools' economics. The all mighty dollar means more to the bottom liners. I hate to read that this is happening all over.

[azgirl]

I first heard about eliminating LPN's in 1966. It was supposed to happen within two years.

[tonchitoRN]

hi, i worked in a hospital that did not hire lpn's. however, i lived in an area that did not have a shortage of rn's. our ratios were reasonable. we had plenty of cna's to do all adl's, meals etc. we did everthing technical i.e. meds, iv's, tx's, assessments etc. i thoroughly enjoyed it because i felt like a nurse. can you believe i probably did a bedpan once in five years on the floor. to me that is what nursing should be.

[obillyboy]

ktwlpn,Our managers have it figured out great. First they tell LPN's they can only work in 2 departments. Then they bought 5 seats for the next 7 years at our local college and said they would pay your salary to you for 1.5 years while you did a bridge program and clinical clinical the last year and half of RN classes.

By the way.

Thanks for the next five years.

The organization says,with a smile :)(:

1. It is not economical.

2.It is not Practical .............Anyone else know that word Practical?

I dont know but to be honest folk...I like what I do as an LPN I have no desire to be an RN. I respect what they do and most do it well,but as with all in life there are by the same token I know LPN's who are not so slick, sharpest tool in the shed,well you know it's like this folk you got bad in everything nothing can escape that.Me? me, well I am fine where I am let RN's be RN's d and let LPN's be LPN's .

Much Peace

Billy

[DIVINELYBLESSED]

I feel very fortunate to work in a hospital that utilizes LPN's. At least on my floor the RN, LPN, CNA all work together as a team. The LPN is a huge assest because they can help with charting, calling doctors, medications, IV fluids, dressing changes, patient care, etc. When you have 7-9 patients to care for on day shift and the pattients are strokes, orthopedic, neurosurgical- you need all the help you can get! I also know our floor is good at giving the LPN's extra training they need to provide care and keep them from just having to be a "med nurse". :)

[jude11142]

here in connecticut, there are many jobs for lpn's and the opportunities are growing. there is no way that cna's can replace the lpn. it would be downright dangerous. the same goes for lpn's replacing rn's. we all have our own scope of practice and do go out of it, is not only illegal but more importantly dangerous to the patients. the lpn programs here are always full and private schools are offering several classes going on at the same time, some starting in sept, another in march. many of the jobs in the newspaper, the ads ask for "lpn/rn for snf", meaning either may apply for that position. i am going for rn, because i want to learn more and be able to do more. there are more opportunities for the rn, but that doesn't mean that there aren't many jobs for the lpn. it makes me disgusted to hear about hospitals/facilities trying to save money in this manner. this is not the place to cut corners, we are dealing with peoples lifes here.

atleast here in ct, i don't see the lpn becoming obsolete. if anything, they are growing in numbers and play an important role in healthcare.

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

I don't see LPN's being totally eliminated in the near future, but eventually I think LPN's will become obsolete. When I got my LPN in '84 I heard we would be phased out by 1990. That didn't happen, but in '98 I went on to get my RN because I felt my job security was threateneed as an LPN and I was doing the work of an RN anyway. Mine and most of the hospitals in my area are not hiring LPN's. As the current LPN's leave/retire, the vacant positions are filled with RN's. More formal education in the form of advanced degrees is the trend no matter what career field anyone is in. I don't necessarily always agree with that, but it is the way of the future.

[babs_rn]

Originally posted by cna on her way

They can't just let her go anyhow. There should be some type of grandfather clause in effect for the LPNs that are already working.

I wouldn't bank on that one.

[renerian, BSN, RN]

The hospital I used to work at did this. They gave their staff a timeline to keep their jobs and go back to school to become an RN or else lose their jobs. It was not pretty.

renerian: