LPN's aren't real nurses

Nurses LPN/LVN

Updated:   Published

This topic seriously irks me to no end. I myself am an LPN. I went to school for 18 months,went to every clinical, took the NCLEX, passed the NCLEX all for other people to assume LPN's aren't 'real nurses'. I worked my butt off to be able to call myself an LPN. I just don't seem it's fair to put down LPN's because of their title.

my best friend and I were having a conversation today about my new job and how it's a great opportunity for when I move on to get my RN. He said something among the lines of "it's a great experience for when you become a nurse!" I said "I'm a nurse now..." "oh when you get your RN I mean"

I suppose maybe I'm being sensitive of the topic or people just truly don't know what LPN stands for?

SIGH. Unfortunately there will always be those who belittle LPNs and it isn't right at all. You know LPNs are nurses too and I've met LPNs who can run circles around some RNs. Chin up! It's just ignorance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I honestly believe that older RNs have been so accepting of LPNs (In Canada) because the LPN 2 years diploma of today is the exact equivalent ( and then some) of the RN diploma program that was offered before it changed to a bachelor. I have yet to have an RN who is about to retire tell me im not a nurse or make me feel that i was any less competent than she was because she also holds a diploma but is running the ICU from experience....

I found When it came to the newer RNs who graduated with the bachelor degree i found that the nursing program and the image of nurses graduating today is all about career/status.... not so much the act of nursing. The generation of "Careerists" Nurses, far opposite the angelic nursing image created in the WW2 era (i think? Nightingale time?). Nursing is overly glorified and when new RNs graduate they are glorified even more and I dont think they want that glory of having a bachelor degree be taken away from an LPN who has only done 2 years but can do the majority of the same thing and hold the title nurse and now there is barley a separation between the two professions but guess what we payed less....

Its ridiculous- we study from the exact same text books...we go into the same depth of the text books pharmacology included in that...we treat the same patients....and now our scope of practice has changed to include IV meds and all that jazz with extra training...

I think this is gunna be a fight till the end, sadly, when it comes to eliminating the pyramid hierarchy of nurses in the hospital system (at least in BC, CAnada). Currently the college of LPNS and the College of RNs in British columbia are currently joining to just be the College of nurses of british columbia.... its going to be a slow process but the recognition is coming....

Up Vote Up Vote ×

where in connecticut are you and where is that program

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

People that think LPN's aren't "real nurses" are just ignorant. Plain and simple.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I went to Eli Whitney tech in Hamden when they were still offering the adult day LPN program. They sadly cut the state LPN programs.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

I've had some of the same "your not a nurse," but I've also had the opposite. Your a Nurse so you should know/do everything. I have to correct them, and say I am a Nurse, but only an LVN not RN. People don't know the difference in the titles and I cannot legally do the things an RN can do. It gets frustrating trying to explain.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I assure you, when I'm the only nurse on the floor and the patient starts to bottom out, I am a "real nurse" then.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Home health, Addictions, Detox, Psych and clinics..

You mean you can't do all of the same things an Rn can do.. but you can do plenty of the same things like pass most oral Meds, administer some IV solutions, call the doc, provide general to specialized wound care, "asssess or observe" patients, patient education/teaching, gt feedings etc.

I've had some of the same "your not a nurse," but I've also had the opposite. Your a Nurse so you should know/do everything. I have to correct them, and say I am a Nurse,

but only an LVN not RN. People don't know the difference in the titles and I cannot legally do the things an RN can do. It gets frustrating trying to explain.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

LPNs are definitely nurses! I am an LPN and have been working in acute care for 4 years now. I've had patients tell me they didn't want me to be their nurse because I wasn't a 'real nurse'. We are all a team and are meant to work together. One profession cannot replace any other profession. We all have our role to play and patients may not always know the difference, but just because they lack that education doesn't mean your education is lacking as well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Infusion.

I am just an LPN as well, and am not sure if I will continue to RN due to health concerns right now, but so many times I have been told that I am too smart to stay "just an LPN". Hmmmm..... yes, it irritates. As RN's are forced to get more and more education, LPN's will just fall Lower on the Nursing ladder.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..

At my first hospital job there was a LPN that taught me so much and took me under her wing. I don't know why people think that LPNS are "any less" of a nurse than a RN..this LPN sure wasn't.

My best friend is a RN charge nurse at my neighboring county jail and she does mostly administrative stuff and new inmate intakes. LPNs do a majority of patient/inmate care. They do blood draws, take care of the diabetics, med pass etc. My friend says that the inmates give the LPNs a lot of trouble and many times demand to see a "real nurse."

I am willing to bet most patients couldn't even tell the difference between a LPN and a RN when it comes to patient care. Only when they see the title on their ID tag does it become an issue. That happened to my ex-coworker I was referring to above. She was taking care of a patient and only after the third day did she notice LPN on her ID tag and demanded a "real nurse" had no issue with her care before that. Go figure.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My two cents about this perennial topic: the medical field is highly, highly status conscious, with physicians being at the top. After the docs come anesthesiologists, PA's, then NP's, then BSN nurses, etc, etc. A person naturally wants to protect their perceived status, and one of the best ways to do that is to emphasize your perceived superiority to the ones lower on the achievement ladder than you. RN's worked hard to become RN's and you kind of can't blame them for wanting to emphasize their place in the class hierarchy. I really wish that this were not so. The fact that everyone is so status conscious is one of the main reasons for tension, rudeness, and conflict. I'm sure that there are other valid reasons at play, but this is the way it looks to me. If LPN's were not meant to be nurses, why is the word included in the title? Here is a paragraph from an RN school textbook, "Practical nursing programs became a significant component of the nursing field during WW2. These programs were created to satisfy the demand for nurses and programs that could produce nurses quickly." Though LPN's have less schooling than RN's, they are nevertheless members of the nursing field.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment