Re: sadden by response to my thread
[ In fact, doctors are a lot nicer than any nurses I found, LVN'S or RN's.They should be acting like snobs and being petty like us because they give the orders.They are a lot smarter than all of us put together and they have the final say so. [/quote]
I understand the need to vent, and this is a great place to do it because there are a TON of great people on this board. Most are nurses, but there are a lot of people on here that are different types of professionals.
I looked at your other thread too, and I didn't see any negativity. I did see where you had asked if LPNs had to know all the meds RNs did, and the answer is yes. Different states have different scopes of practice for the LPN. Some are very broad, and others very narrow. However, LPNs are definately responsible for knowing about medications. As an LPN, I did have to give many PO meds, also IV meds, injectables, transdermals, topicals, etc. Also, different specialites/areas of nursing generally have their own common meds. Generally in school you learn the basic pharmacology and classes of meds and in the workplace you must know about any med you give to a patient. I hope that helps a bit.
I see where you had to drop out of school due to an accident. I hope you're doing better now. Having been through both LPN and RN programs, I would have to say the RN is a bit more intense, but the LPN is still very rigorous and I would say the hardest part of the LPN program is the fact you must learn so much in a year's time. As an LPN, we touched on all the aspects I learned in RN school, but some areas were not as intense. We spent more time in Med-Surg, and Geriatrics, because in my area, that's where most LPNs work.
When I come to the part of your post which I quoted above, I cringed. I know you sound incredibly frustrated and upset. But I hope you know there ARE great nurses out there, and that means LPN and RN alike. However, nursing is an independent profession. Many things nurses do are done independently of an MD/DO. Yes, we do take their orders, but the nurse is responsible for the patient and making sure the MD doesn't make a mistake in the orders they give. We also take orders from a LOT of people who AREN'T physicians. Like the CNS, NP's, PA's, PT, OT, etc. The whole point of healthcare is to help the patient. That requires a lot of different disciplines. Nurses are the ONLY people that are with the patient 24/7 during their stay in a facility. People are admitted for NURSING care, not PHYSICIAN care. The point is that we ALL must work together to help the patient. The physician is not the ultimate person in charge. If you haven't found ANY nurses that are nice in your area, I wonder how many you found. Yes, there are nurses who are mean/angry, etc, but they are PEOPLE first. It's not the fact that they are nurses that they're "mean". There are just as many docs, NP's, PT's, OT's, etc who aren't nice too. The first time you get screamed at on the phone by an irate MD maybe you'll understand.
And, as for the last comment of yours, I hope you know that I have met MANY nurses who are JUST as smart, if not smarter, than any MD I've met in my years of nursing. If you think nurses are stupid, than why do you want to be one yourself?
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