LPN...not good enough??

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

So, I have been an LPN for the last 5 years and I love what I do. But one of my patients that I've had last week was an RN. Now I do not have anything against RN's at all, but she asked me if I was a nurse, and of course I say yes I am, and the next question was LPN or RN and I answer LPN and she said why are you wasting your time..... I thought that I must have misunderstood what she said and asked her to repeat it again, and the same question came out of her mouth. I never thought an LPN was not good enough, I feel confident in what I do and I feel that the title nurse applies to me too but she had me questioning is this what everyone thinks? The whole time I was doing her lab work, EKG, and instructions, she made sure I knew she was a nurse and she knew more than me and wanted the PA to come and go over some additional questions she had about the instructions I gave her, because apparently I sure could not know what I was talking about... WHY???? I have felt so down about this whole situation, I am proud of what I've accomplished even if it's not what others may want, but honestly she ruined my week....

Every line of work has its required core tasks, requirements, competencies, credentials, and the like, is all. Interesting to note that RNs are de facto IV certified, by virtue of being licensed (yet they may have never laid eyes on an IV), whereas LPNs have to prove that they are competent with IVs, in theory and in practicum, in order to be IV certified- and even with that, their IV scope is usually much more limited than that of RNs. If you think about it- it's rather...stupid?

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Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
This happens to me all the time. It shouldn't matter whether I'm an LPN or RN. I worked hard for this title it wasn't given to me. At the end of the day I'm a nurse and that's all that matters.
​DITTO!
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I get this all the time. When am I going to nursing school ... as if I hadn't because I am an LPN.

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Specializes in geriatrics, IV, Nurse management.

Reopening an old post because I am an lpn/rpn and now a director of care. We are good enough!:)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
Every line of work has its required core tasks, requirements, competencies, credentials, and the like, is all. Interesting to note that RNs are de facto IV certified, by virtue of being licensed (yet they may have never laid eyes on an IV), whereas LPNs have to prove that they are competent with IVs, in theory and in practicum, in order to be IV certified- and even with that, their IV scope is usually much more limited than that of RNs. If you think about it- it's rather...stupid?

I have often thought of that very thing... why are RNs automatically certified for IV therapy while an LPN is not in many states?

I'm in an LPN to RN bridge program right now. With regards to nursing classes, I'm only taking 1 new class. Yes, you heard correctly, 1.... O.N.E. new nursing class; and that is a critical care class. The students i'm with are not getting any pertinent IV skills! Yes, they review IV starts more indepth than my LPN program did but not to the extent that these new ASN RNs should be automatically IV certified.

Thankfully, in my state, LPNs do not have to be IV certified. I'm just flabbergasted that they do in so many other places. This also includes accessing ports! I learned how to access ports in a manner of minutes. See one, do one, teach one! EASY! In most places, accessing a port is left to an RN. Thankfully, my hospital allows the LPN to perform such a task after being checked off- just like an RN.

Okay, i'm going to stop before i go off rambling even more than I've already started.

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Specializes in Intensive Care.

I noticed once or twice while in the nursing lab as an LPN student that the RN students here ( in Orlando) did actively study how to start, monitor the clients for adverse reactions, and how to discontinue an IV. They had the whole set-up in their labs. Now I can't say for certain if these were A.D.N. students or the concurrent A.D.N.- B.S.N. students ( meaning A.D.N. students working on their B.S.N. degree at the same time). Although I do have my IV Certification I may have only touched 1 IV since becoming IV Certified ( about 10 months ago). Personally I feel that as an LPN becoming IV Certified is a waste of time.

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I have been an LPN in LTC. I love it. I have no desire to get my RN. I love my residents and love that I get to spend time getting to know them. As an RN in my facility I would be drowning in paperwork and hardly know my patients! The extra money just isn't worth it to me. I choose my residents over money or title. As long as you make the choice that is right for you, that's all that matters.

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I'm an LPN and damn proud of it. Bring me an RN into my LTC facility and I guarantee us LPN's will run circles around them! We are the ones who make the place run. Our RN's sit behind a desk and do not have any idea what it takes to be a floor nurse with 30+ residents. I do more hands on then they have ever done. Plus I have to deal with the families Doctors, and Hospice Companies. The only complaint I have is I make way less money for doing twice the Job that Our RN's do![/quote']

Omg agreed!!! This is how I feel!

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
I'm an LPN and damn proud of it. Bring me an RN into my LTC facility and I guarantee us LPN's will run circles around them! We are the ones who make the place run. Our RN's sit behind a desk and do not have any idea what it takes to be a floor nurse with 30+ residents. I do more hands on then they have ever done. Plus I have to deal with the families Doctors, and Hospice Companies. The only complaint I have is I make way less money for doing twice the Job that Our RN's do![/quote']

This is an example of the problem not the solution.

I am sure you are upset that the RNs don't appreciate all the direct care work that you do and that you do more work for less money.

In the same vein, do you think you truly understand and respect what the RNs do?

I am sure you are a great nurse. But great nurses don't belittle and put down other nurses to make themselves appear superior. Isn't that exactly what the complaint is here?

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I always worry about nurses that run around in circles. :bag:

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I'm an LPN and damn proud of it. Bring me an RN into my LTC facility and I guarantee us LPN's will run circles around them! We are the ones who make the place run. Our RN's sit behind a desk and do not have any idea what it takes to be a floor nurse with 30+ residents. I do more hands on then they have ever done. Plus I have to deal with the families Doctors, and Hospice Companies. The only complaint I have is I make way less money for doing twice the Job that Our RN's do![/quote']

What she said! :)

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Glad I'm not the only one who has had this thought in the back of my mind. My experience, however, happened with my family. My grandma asked me something, I told her the answer, then she asked my younger sister, who is a newly graduated BSN. She took her advice over mine. It really hurt because I've been an LPN for three years, and she hasn't even been graduated for a year. Makes me really hesitant to give advice to people, which, trickled down in to my job a bit. It's like, what can we do as LPNs, you know? Feels like what we think we can do and what we are doing is always out of our "scope of practice", even though, obviously, we are acting within our scope. It's just so frustrating. I love being a Family Medicine nurse and wouldn't change it for the world, however it's like unless we have that BSN or RN behind our name, we're no better than a housekeeper or Nursing Assistant. It's offensive, really.

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