what did LPN school teach me? not much im afraid... will RN school help me?!

Nursing Students LPN-RN

Published

hey everyone!

i am writing to see what some of you think regarding LPN schools and the level/quality of education?... and... if it gets better?!

I have been an LPN for two and 1/2 years.... and i still feel very confused at times! i really struggled through LPN school. I so badly wanted to be a nurse, but a combination of lack of self confidence and zero medical experience I really passed by the skin of my teeth. I often feel like these vocational schools are out to make money and will put out as many LPNs as possible, regardless of if they understand a concept, and regardless of the lack of jobs out there for them.

I work in a pediatric office and love it! I am lucky to work with a doctor who educates me... but its still really discouraging how much I DONT know at this stage of the game vs. how much I SHOULD know.

I am in school right now working on a final few pre-requisites for an RN program and I am doing better than ever in college. I am hoping that going into an RN program will help me better understand concepts and feel more confident.

I guess my other question is for an of you LPN to RN students, or current RNs (who were once LPNs)... does going to RN school help you understand?!

Thank you!

OMG, were you at my school!!! HAHA!!!

That was my first thought too!

For the OP, I know that med-surg isn't for everyone but maybe you should consider it. I did the two years that everyone harps about on med surg as soon as I got out of LPN school. I didn't feel that I was prepared most days, in fact, I left every day for six months crying by the time I made it to my truck. But that experience apparently taught me more that I realized at the time because having worked in LTC and family practice most recently it seems that I have more skills, confidence and understanding of quite a few things then my co-workers that don't have hospital experience. I am starting a bridge program next month and I'm a little anxious about heading back into the hospital for clinical but it has to be done. I keep telling myself that the hospital (med-surg) is where I received the best education.

Good luck to you.

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
OMG, were you at my school!!! HAHA!!!

I heard the lead instructor is still terrorizing students. She will die at clinicals, I doubt any student will run and get the crash cart.:lol2:

I am an LVN in CA, and my school has a 100% pass rate for the nCLEX for my class. I felt I learned a lot, however no nursing school will teach you how to be a nurse, it will only give you a foundation to build on. I got all A's the entire program and passed the nclex with the minimum questions, I have been an aide for 3 years prior, but when I hit the floor as a nurse with 31 resident to take care, I was terrified and had no idea what I was doing. But as you go you remember what you learned in school and apply it then you never forget. If you feel like you learned nothing then it was probably your school. Go elsewhere to get your RN, express you concerns to your instructor from the get go, and study your little hiny off. Hope it works out well for you!

Specializes in LTC, Disease Management, smoking Cessati.

I was an LPN before I was an RN and learned so much in LPN school that I wouldn't have gotten in RN school... It absolutely would depend on the PN school you attend in my thoughts!

Good Luck...

hey everyone!

i am writing to see what some of you think regarding LPN schools and the level/quality of education?... and... if it gets better?!

I have been an LPN for two and 1/2 years.... and i still feel very confused at times! i really struggled through LPN school. I so badly wanted to be a nurse, but a combination of lack of self confidence and zero medical experience I really passed by the skin of my teeth. I often feel like these vocational schools are out to make money and will put out as many LPNs as possible, regardless of if they understand a concept, and regardless of the lack of jobs out there for them.

I work in a pediatric office and love it! I am lucky to work with a doctor who educates me... but its still really discouraging how much I DONT know at this stage of the game vs. how much I SHOULD know.

I am in school right now working on a final few pre-requisites for an RN program and I am doing better than ever in college. I am hoping that going into an RN program will help me better understand concepts and feel more confident.

I guess my other question is for an of you LPN to RN students, or current RNs (who were once LPNs)... does going to RN school help you understand?!

Thank you!

I must say, I was very taken aback by your title...until I read your post. Now, I understand. :)

First of all, I honestly felt like I learned a lot in LPN school. I am still learning to this day. I don't think you ever stop learning, either as a LPN, RN, or MD, or just in general. I must say, it is so easy to forget the things you learn as well. The small details, unless you use them on a regular basis so I strongly recommend that you get out those books from school and study as much as you can each night.

I have all my prerequisites for my RN program but do not intend to go back at this time. I do believe that you will learn much more as the RN bridge program is very intense. This is why RN's have their scope of practice and LPN's have their scope.

I will also state that after you graduate your RN program, you may still feel insecure and unsure of what to do in certain situations. You will grow in your own skin. I am more afraid of a nurse who has just graduated that is overly confident than one who isn't. I think what you are feeling is perfectly normal. Just keep studying and when you apply what you study you will be fine. Good Luck!

I got my CNA and worked two years as a tech on a neuro-surg floor. I felt like I had a huge advantage in LPN school because of it. Some of my fellow students at the beginning were afraid to even touch a patient.

I worked 3 years as a LVN mostly on ortho or med-surg floors. I was scared to death my first night on my own. I gradually got comfortable and finally after about a year felt like I was a decent LVN. I worked nights mostly so in down times I was constantly reading H&P's and progress notes to see what was going on with my patients and why. I also asked questions of the more experienced nurses on the floor. Most all of them were willing to share their knowledge. I just graduated with my RN. The first semester I was kind of bored and probably a little arrogant. Most of what was being taught I had already dealt with on the floor as an LVN. The last two semesters I fell like I learned a ton. On the next to last day of clinicals, I was thinking about my first night as a LVN and told my instructor "I can't believe how stupid I was back then. I'm lucky I didn't kill a patient." :eek: It was a joke but there was truth in it. I didn't really think about how much I had learned each step of the way. I'm sure two years from now I will think how dumb I was when I first got my RN.

One thing I would suggest is are you studying your pt records? Are you checking the charts after the doctor writes his visit notes? Compare your assessment findings with his and study why the patient's are experiencing the symptoms. Are you challenging yourself on your CEU's or just picking something that is quick and easy?

Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I'm sorry you feel cheated w/ your LPN education. Like the others have said, learning doesn't stop when you pass your boards....it continues for a lifetime. I feel my LPN education was excellent. It was a 3 year program @ a CC w/ the first 2 semesters being general ed and the last 4 semesters nursing classes and clinicals. It was actually designed to be the first 1/2 of a BSN program, but after working as an LPN over the summer, I got used to the paychecks and didn't want to be a poor student anymore. Finally, I'm in an LPN/BSN bridge program. Good luck to you in your career.

When I finished the LPN program education did not end there. I read read read. :heartbeat

Specializes in LTC.

Our LPN program is the first year of RN school at the CC I attend. So actually LPN school and my working experience makes RN school alot easier, and vice versa RN school helps me to perform better at work.

I think the issue is more with you than the school or level of education. It will take time for you to develop your skills and confidence whether you are a LPN or RN.

Specializes in Cardiac Care.

I learned ALOT in my LPN program but I also learned more on the floor of a Nursing Home and I have learned more in the Homecare setting with a new demographic of client. Every day there is something else to learn.

The thing about your education is that its YOUR education. Just because you didn't have to take a test on a topic in Nursing school does not mean that you could not or should not have researched it or learned it on your own. I was and am forever looking through pathophys. books and pharm books and looking at concepts of lab values and learning all sorts of things on a daily basis and hope that my RN program will teach me more. However, if you've been on allnurses long you know that once you hit the floor as an RN you realize how much more you don't know.

Good luck!

Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

I would like to chime in here and say that when I graduated from nursing school with my RN and started working I didn't feel like I learned anything either. But I realized that you can absolutely not learn everything about nursing in school. THis is a life long learning process and in the 18 years I have been doing this-in just about every area of nursing-I learn something new every. single. day....

I think that Sam Hill's post was excellent and please do some of the things he suggested.

But most of all, just understand that finishing nursing school is not the end of learning...it is only the BEGINNING!

So, understand, you may very likely feel this way after RN school, if you didn't it would be odd.

its true... you learn something in nursing every single day. i really have come a long way since finishing LPN school. i think i hold my standards very high and get discouraged very easily if i dont know something. i do look up information constantly, but it is very frustrating when there are basic concepts i am constantly forgetting... however, i work in a pediatric office/clinic setting where im generally taking patients back, doing vitals, dressing wounds, giving immunizations, and triaging calls... so there are things like lab values, pathophys and even cardiac stuff i dont feel comfortable with. i am hoping that a combination of my age (i was young and unseasoned in LPN school) and desire to learn in RN school will help me to better understand the field. i do have fantastic grades in school now... but i have not taken any RN courses yet.

i have to say... i love being a nurse. its a field with endless opportunities... but ironically, you often work side by side with people who do not take into consideration that this is one of the most trying and difficult jobs out there... we should be here to support each other!!! this is why people like me just become nervous nellie nurses. thankfully... the doctor i work for is good with explaining things to me (not all the time though... sometimes she expects me to know everything that an MD would know with an LPN education).

+ Add a Comment