Really don't understand the mystery of LPNs not able being able to do certain things

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

As a LPN to RN, I don't understand why LPNs are not allowed to push a med or hang first unit of blood. Why is it such a mystery ? As a new grad RN, I'm thinking why could I have not done this as a LPN. Does it really take a 2-4 year degree to know how to push a med. As long as you use the six rights and know basic nursing, a LPN should be able to push a med or hang blood.

Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

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Specializes in CCU, CVICU, Cath Lab, MICU, Endoscopy..

Depends on what the IV bag was. Once had a preceptor that left a new graduate alone and the IV bag beeped saying bag complete and she hit STOP well.....that drug beeping was LEVOPHED!!!! guess what happened next?...duh:madface:

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Specializes in ICU.

@Code VSA: Reminds of the time the doctor told an LPN to "limit free water." She responded, "All of our water is free."

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

O.k., stop with the so-called LPN jokes which are NOT funny nor do they add to this thread.

We will remove unkind/divisive posts starting now. And, if members ignore this re-direct, they will start accumulating points against their accounts.

Fair warning...

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Wow to whomever it was that posted the 1st answer. I'm an 8 yr LPN. I almost went back to school at age 47 for my RN. Fortunetly a male RN with whom I'm friends with, work with and went to LPN school with- was honest and forthright enough to warn me against it. He said, and I quote..."Don't do it, it's not necessary. In our town (Erie Pa) you will learn very little and pay very big bucks for a very long time. Thank You again Don, for you were right. I don't have the option of travelling to Cleveland or Pittsburgh to work for higher wages, so I work in LTC. I LOVE being a nurse, LOVE my job, LOVE my co-workers and LOVE many of my elderly residents.

I have/do perform as a charge nurse and deal with the Drs and all the paperwork & supervisory duties that are included. I don't care if I can't "hang blood or push narcs by IV"...I do EVERYTHING & MORE that our RNs do and am respected for it.

Thankfully I listened to my friend and didn't put myself into 40K more debt!!

And by the way, I WAS trained in "extensive critical thinking"...actually it's the "extensive common sense" that seems to be missing in many RN's, they try to "overthink" things and end up making the issue MORE complicated than it really needs to be!

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The Board of Nursing in each state decides what an LPN / LVN can and cannot do. As a dual licensed LPN/LVN, I can hang blood in California (the 1st bag and all needed) but I can not flush a heplock after a medication is completed - that is considered "pushing" an IV medication. While in Ohio, I can give some IV medications and IV antibiotics, but I can NOT hang blood, so again, It what the Board of Nursing says.....

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I was and LPN for over 20 years, but after going thru RN school I see the whole picture as to why LPN's should not do some things. I use to think the same way and say to myself "why cant I do that" but really there are major reasons, and there is so much more to learn in RN school than you think!

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

I don't think the OP was aiming towards all the critical thinking, education, etc that many of the responses have been, instead more of a head-scratching at the whims of BONs (at least that's how I took it).

I have no problem following "the rules", I'd just like it if they made some kind of sense. Then again, I'm one of those people who drove my parents nuts from an early age asking "why?" and not having "because I said so" be a good enough answer.

Why is it that I am allowed (and at my job, expected) to be able to care for a complex patient on multiple drips but am not "educated" enough (per the BON) to push something as innocous as Protonix? I'm allowed (and again, expected) to care for patients with acute PE and/or DVT, including managing and titrating their heparin or argatroban drips, but can't do the IVP boluses required. I regularly administer blood to active bleeds, but can't spike the bag...seems like if my education was so lacking that I'm incapable of the physical act of piercing a piece of plastic with a sharper piece of plastic, I certainly shouldn't be monitoring for and dealing with transfusion reactions...or giving blood that's considered incompatible b/c the patient has so many antibodies (thank God that's only happened twice, I was like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs the whole time...because I know how horribly it can turn out).

Sorry so long, I just feel that those who have never been in our position have never had to really consider the incongruitues of "the rules"...hoping this might help others understand where the "huh" factor comes from.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
After going thru RN school can you as an LPN tell me the signs of shock to look for in someone receiving blood? What happens to the bllod if it's not the right type? Which type of blood is the safest to give? As an LPN I did not know many things about blood, so I see what the big deal is, safety of a patient and their life!!!!!

If you didn't learn that in your LPN school you didn't go to a very good school. Additionally, nobody's brain stays as a snapshot at the time they graduate, and no school teaches you everything you might need to know in a potential job. That's just true for all of us. A degree doesn't brand your ability to continue learning for as long as you hold a nursing license.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Sorry so long, I just feel that those who have never been in our position have never had to really consider the incongruitues of "the rules"...hoping this might help others understand where the "huh" factor comes from.

I stopped trying to figure it out, because it's obvious that there are many things we do that carry at least the same amount of risk as the "banned" activities, and most states seem to pick one or two. It's usually the RN lobby that attempts to marginalize LPNs, not because somebody did a study and discovered most LPNs had no idea what blood type is the least likely to cause a reaction.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

After a couple of redirects from the moderation team, some members are still posting comments that are divisive and sarcastic. Since the message to be civil is not sinking in, this thread is being closed for a cooling-down period.

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