Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) play a significant role in the delivery of healthcare in the United States and other countries. However, people continue to perpetuate nasty falsehoods regarding LPNs. This is the fourth and final article of a four-part essay that will expose the biggest myths and misconceptions that plague today's LPN workforce. Nurses Announcements Archive Article
Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) have made significant contributions to the nursing profession in several different countries for many years. However, a multitude of myths and misconceptions exist that threaten to tarnish their importance to healthcare.
The first article of this four-part essay lists several persistent myths regarding the role of the LPN, and the second article mentions a few more. The third essay in this collection also contains a handful of myths about LPNs. Keep reading, because more misconceptions exist.
I recently read an article that attempted to describe the differences between LPNs and RNs by mentioning that the LPN is task-oriented, while the RN sees the bigger picture. Again, the ability to see the big picture is not an innate ability. Rather, it is something that is cultivated with the passage of time and the accrual of experience. In other words, this varies from nurse to nurse. I have met RNs who are very task-oriented and worked with LPNs who can analyze everything that is occurring with their patients to see the big picture. Of course, I have also met the stereotypical task-oriented LPN many times.
This privilege is totally dependent on the state in which the LPN practices nursing. Some state boards of nursing, such as the ones located in Texas and Oklahoma, will permit their LVNs/LPNs to engage in intravenous therapy and even perform skills such as the pushing of IV medications. Other state boards of nursing, such as the one in New York, are very restrictive regarding the LPN's participation in intravenous therapy.
With the right mix of experience, LPNs are allowed to become instructors for nursing assistant (CNA) training programs. In addition, LPNs are permitted to secure employment as instructors in medical assisting programs at trade schools and adult education centers. In fact, I attended a state-approved medical assisting program approximately 12 years ago at a trade school that was owned and operated by an experienced LVN. She also taught the medical assisting courses and served as the director of education for the school.
The main goal of this four-part essay has been to debunk and/or challenge common misconceptions about LPNs. Please correct the next person who makes half-baked statements about LPNs. We all must share accountability for erasing the myths and misconceptions about the LPN's special role in the nursing profession.