Just let me be...

letarn2b · Feb 22, 2013

i agree if you dont like the LPN ROLE/PAY become a RN.We both do the same work but the lpn getts paid less that would make me feel mad and resentfull

ROBJAX · Feb 22, 2013

WOW!!! Ok why would anyone feel the need to put anyone down? So if its education? what happened to ON THE JOB TRAINING? Isn't this a form of education? We all have had that experience or will have at one time or another in our lives. Especially in our field of choice (ie: Patient care). JUST A SUGGESTION: Why not allow LPN's the opportunity, after let's say 5 years of on the job training/experience to take the RN boards? We need nurses in general. Seems this would open opportunity and possibly fill some gaps in needed medical care providers. I have no doubt that many would pass and some would fail but isn't the opportunity enough. I agree some would opt out of the opportunity but how many would opt in? I know had I been given the chance I would have taken it. (Sitting in a class room and learning - versus - actually performing on the job and utilizing hands on learning). How many others would? Life is different for all of us and the shoes we walk in each day may possibly fit another but will not fit everyone...... SO please do not misunderstand, I believe everyone deserves a chance. SO GIVE THEM ONE!

realnursealso/LPN, LPN · Feb 23, 2013

"Welcome to LPN / LVN Corner where you can come and discuss nursing as a Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse with other health care professionals. This is a safe environment where you can talk about how to improve the quality of patient care, unique responsibilities of the LPN/LVN in your own working specialty and the challenges and successes of your journey. "

:facepalm: I thought this was the LPN Corner?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2013

Here is what I think.....I think we need to be respectful of each other in general. We need to be more tolerant and respectful in our every day life.

While members can go and comment wherever they wish....the posts need to be respectful. We are ALL members of the healthcare TEAM.....and to the human race.

I know how the OP feels....it's hard to constantly be brow beaten into submission by being constantly being told you are not good enough.

LPN's felt, for YEARS, what the ADN's feel now, being told by the BSN's, that their education isn't good enough and that after YEARS at the bedside they are no longer "educated" enough for patient care....that they are somehow inferior to their peers.

There are many LPN's that are happy at what they do but they grow tired of the constant badgering and brow beating that they are somehow inferior. There are many ADN RN's that have spent years at the bedside that are far superior nurses than a "BSN" nurse and do NOT suffer a "lack of intelligence or ambition" because they are perfectly satisfied doing exactly what they do now.

I don't blame the LPN's for being angry and annoyed over being bullied for something and by someone....... when in actuality they are perfectly happy and satisfied the way they are. I have always felt that those who must make others feel inferior to make themselves feel better feel badly about themselves inside.

Remember all nurses at allnurses....

promotes the idea of lively debate. This means you are free to disagree with anyone on any type of subject matter as long as your criticism is constructive and polite. Additionally, please refrain from name-calling. This is divisive, rude, and derails the thread. Our first priority is to the members that have come here because of the flame-free atmosphere we provide. There is a zero-tolerance policy here against personal attacks. We will not tolerate anyone insulting other's opinion nor name calling.
Our call is to be supportive, not divisive.

futurenurseOB · Mar 17, 2013

Guess I have this to look forward to in nursing....cut throat I tell u

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 18, 2013

LPN's know the "how to".

RN's know the "why".

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(......and if I ever ask an LPN about becoming an RN, it is because s/he seems to be bright and motivated. It is a complement, not a critique)

Yeah, well, I know the "why", too.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 18, 2013

Well, as I am fond of saying, anecdote is not the singular of data. I'll see your tales of mahvelous crusty old LPNs bailing the resident or the new RN out one dark and stormy night, and raise you a dozen truly horrifying anecdotes about situations that were mis-read and mishandled by LPNs whose ignorance of physiology, assessment, and intervention was truly breathtaking

What I learned of LPNs in my first year out of school from the ones I worked with was that they were completely task-oriented, felt empowered to be mean to patients whose demographics or diagnoses were distasteful to them, they were absolutely uninterested in learning anything new, and were unwilling to take any responsibility for their screw-ups because they weren't in charge and the RN was supposed to take care of problems. Fortunately for my professional development, after that first year I worked for 7 years in an all-RN environment, and the care was exemplary.

Some years later I had occasion to teach in an LPN-to-ADN program when my ADN program put one together with a large hospital that was phasing out LPNs. The hospital put a boatload of bucks into paying for sixteen LPNs to take this program at no cost to themselves, and was going to give them their years of seniority in their new RN positions to boot. We worked very hard to make this program a success; it was taught at a lower level than the generic students' program, and we offered extra time for tests, free tutoring, extra office hours, review sections... the hospital gave them extra days off for school and all... And what happened?

You never heard such ***** and moaning about how mean this was, how they didn't want to be RNs, they didn't want the responsibility, this was too much learning, if they wanted to be RNs they'd have done it in the first place, they hate this. So much for opportunity. Of the sixteen, only four or five made it halfway through, and I think only 2 passed NCLEX RN. The others lost their jobs because they were either too stupid to learn or couldn't be bothered to learn what they needed to kee them.

Generalities? Sure. But no less so than these other rainbows-and-unicorns "we're all on the same team so we're all of the same value." Horsepucky. If that's not you I'm glad to hear it, and I am aware that this is the LPN/LVN forum I'm posting on. But let's not be self-delusional, either.

You know, I've never been one of those LPN posters who says things like "LPNs bail RNs out all the time" or "LPNs work circles around RNs". Comments like that are just silly and defensive. Yes, there's been nights where I bailed out a RN who was oblivious to a resident spiraling down the drain. And there's been nights where I was in over my head and was grateful for the education and experience of a RN to go to.

I refuse to believe that you've only worked with ignorant LPNs.

If LPNs were strictly task oriented and ignorant, let me tell you, the LTC industry would literally collapse overnight. If I didn't know how to assess residents and intervene appropriately (and, yes, independent interventions. Not just calling a RN or the doctor) there would be dozens of residents who wouldn't be alive right now.

Your experiences with LPNs reveal that you don't work with LPNs in the environment that the vast majority of us operate. We can't just pass the buck to the RN when we screw up because there ARENT any RNs most of the time on 2nd and 3rd shift in LTC land. You can say "LPNs work in a dependent role under the supervision of a RN" until you're blue, but it's utterly meaningless in an environment where a LPN is the only licensed person present.

Would it be "better" if all the LPNs in LTC were replaced with RNs? Well, yes, I suppose so. RNs have more education, and a unit where every last floor nurse was a RN would be a best case scenario. It would also be "best" if you replaced the CNAs with LPNs. And if the mid level practitioners were replaced with MDs. And why not make housekeeping have a healthcare license so that they're educated in aseptic cleaning practice?

The reality is, you'll never find enough RNs willing to staff all the nursing homes, and EVEN IF YOU COULD, it wouldn't be economically viable.

I know for an indisputable fact that my licensure and education is sufficiently suited to my position and responsibilities.

GRN Tea, I'm often at a loss as to what exactly you want for the world of nursing.

If you want all licensed nurses to have the highest possible education, you'll price us right away from the bedside, leaving a vacuum that will only be filled by UAP. LPNs exist because there is a clear and obvious role for us. Ditto for ADN RNs.

In another thread you took me to task for saying we (in LTC) should keep giving soap and water showers. And that it was irresponsible for me to say it's okay to give scheduled, set, doses of novolog to stable diabetics as opposed to sliding scales with carb counting.

This is these people's HOME. It's fine to give them a shower with regular shampoo and soap. And to treat stable diabetics with insulin regimens similar to what a doctor would prescribe a person in their home. It doesn't make one a bad or lazy nurse to think this. What a horrible life a LTC resident would have if we treated them like they were on a med surg floor.

The stubbornness and lack of flexibility puzzles me.

slint · Mar 18, 2013

Thank you very much, I love it when a patient says "Oh your just an LPN." Yes sir and I just brought you the life sustaining medicine that I noticed you needed through my assessment and I called the Dr. and got the order and gave you with a smile on my face. I wish LPN's were respected for our choice. I wouldn't be an RN. I love working with patients hands on and having more than a paper relationship with them. As LPN's we offer something most RN's don't know a lot about. Compassion. I love being "just an LPN" I save lives daily as well.

slint · Mar 18, 2013

I think you missed the point. She is not whining but simply stating facts that a lot of RN's don't know their rear from a hole in the ground and still get more pay and more respect simply for those 2 letters. Ask a patient who gave them better care and I think you would be surprised at the answer and there is a lot more to education than book smarts. So, you can keep your 2 letters.

allnurses Guide · Mar 18, 2013

As LPN's we offer something most RN's don't know a lot about. Compassion.

Really? I am curious, what do you think it is, exactly, in your education and experience that gives you compassion that "most RNs" don't know anything about?

uRNmyway, ASN, RN · Mar 18, 2013

See, slint, you are just talking out of your butt on this. Maybe you have worked with uncaring nurses, and that has affected your opinion of them. But on that note, I have worked with REALLY dumb LPN's, who I was scared to let near my patients. Does that mean ALL LPN's are dumb? No, of course not. I know some brilliant LPN's. But your assumption that all RN's do is paperwork and that we don't care, well that's just plain ignorant. Please re-evaluate your behavior towards RN's. Please, for your own sake, and that of any professional relationship you might have with RN's.

vintage_RN, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2013

I am a PN student...and the whole LPNs bashing RNs is just as bad. I hate hearing the whole "LPNs run circles around RNs" thing... it's s just irritating. Yes, there are LPNs that run circles around RNs and there are RNs that run circles around LPNs..there are good nurses and bad nurses. And LPNs have "more compassion" than RNs? How? That statement just sounds like a defense mechanism. A nurse is a nurse is a nurse...there are compassionate nurses of both varieties. Luckily for me I haven't seen disprespect towards RPNs in the clinical setting...RNs and RPNs work and collaborate together. We have a very wide scope here though...so maybe that is the difference.