Why do so many people insist that LPN'S AREN'T REAL NURSES!!??

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 4, 2006

I'm an LPN who has encountered this negativity also. I had a family member of one of my patients tell me that LPN's are "little pretend nurses" and RN's are "real nurses". I chose to ignore her comment, but it is always in the back of my mind when I am dealing with her.
Hang in there!

Next time, tell them that you'll pretend to take care of their family member, then...sigh...I know you really can't but, one day, they will think twice before they disrepect someone caring for them and may live to eat those words.

Stella-Ohio · Oct 5, 2006

How do I say this....
See here's the deal...
I became a nurse so I could care for and nurse people who needed someone to care for and nurse them.
I have been doing that since 1974.
Being an LPN has not prevented me from doing that.
Getting an RN would not have allowed me to do that more.
It matters not to me if I get paid as much as an RN.
It matters not if you think I am a nurse.
It matters not if you don't think I am a nurse.
It matters only that I can still care for and nurse people who need cared for and nursed.
I can make boo-boo's go away, big ones and small ones and as long as I can do that what else could possibly matter?

Starting tomorrow I think I'll refer to myself as the 'boo boo fixer nurse' :nurse: and anyone with qualities to do the same may join my 'boo boo fix nurse club'. :cheers:

That will stop the confusion. Either we can fix boo boo's or we can't. I can.

Anybody want to join my new club?

rambisisking · Oct 5, 2006

Starting tomorrow I think I'll refer to myself as the 'boo boo fixer nurse' and anyone with qualities to do the same may join my 'boo boo fix nurse club'. :cheers:
That will stop the confusion. Either we can fix boo boo's or we can't. I can.
Anybody want to join my new club?

Amen Sister!

:groupwelcome: I believe I've always been a member.

Life is so much easier when we stick to the simple truths.

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Oct 5, 2006

Don't feel badly.

The same mouthpieces that advocate that LVN/LPNs aren't real nurses also advocate that ADNs are 'technical' nurses and diploma programs should be eliminated altogether.

After forty years of such nonsense, those issue haven't gone anywhere.

Changing the future of nursing education always required, and always WILL require a consensus and professional empowerment, and not a divisive insult.

This very argument has served, for forty years, to completely undermine the position that supports it.

Too bad our 'professional' organization doesn't 'get' this. They remained mired in useless distinctions with the result of 5% membership of RNs, and signficantly less of all nurses. And, THIS is why.

~faith,

Timothy.

Midwest4me · Oct 5, 2006

Starting tomorrow I think I'll refer to myself as the 'boo boo fixer nurse' and anyone with qualities to do the same may join my 'boo boo fix nurse club'. :cheers:
That will stop the confusion. Either we can fix boo boo's or we can't. I can.
Anybody want to join my new club?

Count me in as a member of your new club! I can fix boo-boos too!:wink2:

Romeo4u-RN · Oct 5, 2006

Well said HeatherLPN. You could not have said it better. Thanks to the LPN"s I became a better RN,BSN. like you said, it's not about the title, it's about how much you care about the people. Unfornately, there are those who only care about having a title, and how much $$ they are going to make in this profession, without taking in consideration, that the LPN's are talented nurses, who with their love, kindness, and devotion to their work, have all taught us what nursing is really all about, in some way or another. :specs:

I don't understand why it feels like LPN's have to defend their decision to be "just an LPN". I enjoy being an LPN, and I'm not sure that I will go back. It doesn't mean I don't have teh skills or brains to be an RN, I just choose not to go back at this point in my life. To me, an LPN is still a nurse, still has skills, and an LPN with 20+ years experience is going to be able to teach you a heck of a lot. It's not about the title, it's about how you care for people, whether you're a CNA, LPN, RN or higher.

mytoon38 · Oct 5, 2006

I don't know why people do that, and it never ends! I was an L.P.N. for 25 years. I got tired of doing basically the same work as the R.N.'s and getting paid so much less. I went back to school and got my R.N. I have been a R.N. for a little over a year now. I am doing a travel assignment at a hospital now. I did a travel assignment at the same hospital when I was still an L.P.N. I have had people say "Oh, how does it feel to be a NURSE now!" and I say "No different than it did for the last 25 years, the only difference I see is in my pay check!" :argue:

My Mother is 83 years old and even she says "I am glad I lived to see you become a real nurse!" I just want to scream everytime I hear this!:uhoh21: Another bad thing, is I am now looking for a permanent job. So many hospitals give you NO credit for all the years you worked as an L.P.N. For example at the V.A.M.C. I would actually start out making less as a R.N., than I would make as an L.P.N. with 25 years of experience! There have been a few hospitals that have offered to give me 1/2 of my years as an L.P.N. towards my R.N. salary, but most DO NOT. One recruiter asked me about my experience, I was telling her what I had done as an L.P.N. and as a R.N., she then said "IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT AS A R.N., YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT AT ALL!" I was so furious, I just hung up the phone!:barf01:

pagandeva2000, LPN · Oct 5, 2006

I'll be a member of the 'boo-boo' team anytime. Also, it is a shame that the years of LPN experience does not count towards your RN salary...I didn't know that.

The way nursing seems to be at this moment, I don't really want to be a part of the upper crust of the nursing ladder, so to speak.

It is interesting, because the staff educator came to me yesterday and told me that she has heard wonderful things about me, and that they believe I'll be an asset to Ambulatory Care. Then, she says "When will you be expecting to start RN courses?" and I told her that the thought has NEVER crossed my mind, and that I didn't intend to. She looked at me as if I grew three heads before her very eyes. Then, she says "Well, surely, since you have accumulated those college credits towards your RN, you WILL eventually move on" and I told her not to hold her breath.

Again, if the need arises that I may want to become an RN, I do have the credits as well as the GPA (except that I need Chemistry). But, I am not interested...period. I must admit that at this point, it makes me really feel good to say to them that "I DO NOT want to be YOU". It drives them crazy!! Too many headaches, from what I see and knowing my personality, putting up with that is not worth my time or effort and if dealing with all of that is necessary to get the money, then, they can shove that, too.

No disrespect to the RNs that are really dedicated to their patients and to the profession...just not interested.

twotrees2 · Oct 6, 2006

I'll be a member of the 'boo-boo' team anytime. Also, it is a shame that the years of LPN experience does not count towards your RN salary...I didn't know that.
The way nursing seems to be at this moment, I don't really want to be a part of the upper crust of the nursing ladder, so to speak.
It is interesting, because the staff educator came to me yesterday and told me that she has heard wonderful things about me, and that they believe I'll be an asset to Ambulatory Care. Then, she says "When will you be expecting to start RN courses?" and I told her that the thought has NEVER crossed my mind, and that I didn't intend to. She looked at me as if I grew three heads before her very eyes. Then, she says "Well, surely, since you have accumulated those college credits towards your RN, you WILL eventually move on" and I told her not to hold her breath.
Again, if the need arises that I may want to become an RN, I do have the credits as well as the GPA (except that I need Chemistry). But, I am not interested...period. I must admit that at this point, it makes me really feel good to say to them that "I DO NOT want to be YOU". It drives them crazy!! Too many headaches, from what I see and knowing my personality, putting up with that is not worth my time or effort and if dealing with all of that is necessary to get the money, then, they can shove that, too.
No disrespect to the RNs that are really dedicated to their patients and to the profession...just not interested.

no offense here - wish i could go back and be an LPN lol - but they say i cant do that sooo guess im stuck ( and yes i really did call to see if i could do that trade it for an lpn lol when i was so overwhelmed wth being charge in a dangerouly low staffed and high accident count facility )

MFLPN · Apr 3, 2012

This is a wonderful thread! I just read one on indeed.com that was so crude. LPN's and RN's fighting. I am an LPN. I go to Canada quite frequently and the nursing is so different. LPN's are paid much more and work under RN's in a "team nursing" approach in hospitals. Alot of LPN's work in OR. By working together they both are ensuring there need in the medical field. Otherwise they would have to compete with surg techs more and always have to go bck to school to get a bigger degree to keep up. I don't understand why some nurses that are hospital based are so against LPN's in US. Why wouldn't you want someone to deligate to "with YOUR license on the line" have been taught the same field and same theories just not as advanced? Why does it make more sense to run around stressed all day having a huge workload because the people you are deligating to are CNA, MA? Wouldn't it make more sense to be able to give more responsibilities to an uderling nurse that you know is trained in nursing? Also, wouldn't it secure nursing as a profession more so than competing with surg techs, pt's and what ever other "specialized trendy professions" colleges will pump out? I am proud to be a nurse and:kiss I am glad to see some nurses supporting each other :yelclap:

NocturneNrse · Apr 3, 2012

I love LPN's. I've encountered MANY MANY who are super smart, but just don't want the bother of having to supervise.. so they don't go for their RN. I go to them all the time w/questions.

I think phasing them out of the hospitals here in CT was so foolish!

bingubsn · Apr 3, 2012

I don't ever question the word of an experienced LPN, but saying "I'm a nurse" is such a blanket term these days it's probably inaccurate with all the differences in scope