Phasing out LPN's.

I have been an LPN for 36 years. For the last 20 I have heard talk
of phasing out LPN's. When I read the local paper all I see is CNA, and
CMA ads. For all my years I have been a charge nurse or in charge.
just exactly what does the medical community think these largely untrained persons will take the place of LPN's and they won't have to pay them.
Well, I hope and pray that this does not happen. Anyone out there agree.
Or do you think LPN's should be phased out and there just be Rn's and
cna's.

I'm just wondering, as an LPN, if I were working in a facility where CMTs were allowed to pass out medications, that I were to refuse to hand a CMT the keys to the medication cart?
I know this is just a hypothetical question and there could be alot of different situations this could occur under, but what if an LPN or RN did refuse?
They would undoubtedly have to pass the meds themselves, but what is the alternative.....allow an unlicensed person to pass under MY or under YOUR license?
I worked too hard to get my license, and I can't see being responsible for CMTs.
I know, as previously posted, that the RN is ultimately responsible even for LPNs mistakes......but I can attest to the fact that LPNs also suffer the consequences of making a mistake. I've had to write a medication error before, same as anyone...we are not perfect. It goes on my personnel record.
What consequences is a CMT going to suffer?
In Arkansas, I don't think we are using CMTs as widely as some other states. I know for a fact that many years ago the facility I work in USED to allow aides to pass out the medication. But they stopped that, and started hiring all LPNs to do the job. I work in Developemental/Disabilities.
I searched my SBN last night and their policy is that the person receiving the medication MUST be able to follow the directions on the label. The type of people I work with canNOT read. They have been trained one way to administer their own medications, and if the doctor should increase or decrease the dosage then that person has to be retrained. WHO, is doing that retraining?? I have helped train some of these people before they were discharged into a homelike setting, called "group homes", but I know for a fact that most of these people can't read.
I figure there is more than just assisting going on.
What can we, as nurses, do about this?

I hear you, Vicky! When I was a DON in assisted living, I used to watch these gals with barely a high-school education giving medications like digoxin and Coumadin, and I'd think WOW, I went to school for four years to learn how to do that!! It scared me that they could give these high-alert meds and not know the signs of toxicity, or what to do if somebody started bleeding and didn't stop, or even why they were giving them.

I don't know about anyone else, but I personally did not go to nursing school so I could be a paper-pusher. (That's why I left management.) If I wanted to do that, I could've gone to business school........The powers that be need to leave the medication-giving to the people who know how drugs work, why they work, and what to do when they don't work or when they actually harm someone. And that, my friends, is US---LPNs and RNs. I don't want to look down on CNAs or UAPs, because they do a hard job and most of them are wonderful at it; but they just do not have the education & training to give medications safely IMHO. I agree with Vicky: we should NOT give up this part of nursing, or allow it to be taken away from us without a fight. Our patients' lives may very well depend on it.

I wonder if the people who come up with these stupid ideas ever think to themselves, "Hey, what if the patient was MY mom or dad---would I want someone who can barely spell 'warfarin' to be giving it to them"?

First it was the PCT's that eliminated ALL of the LPN positions at one University hospital where I worked; it did nothing but decentralize the lab and EKG departments and thrust more work onto the RN's because the PCT's couldn't give meds. Now NC is going to take another step in the wrong direction; and aside from the fact that ONE licensed person cannot possibly monitor the responses to potentially hundreds of medications for 30 patients, who is liable if Miss Med aide gives the right drug to the wrong patient? Short of going with the MA when she gives the drug, which sort of defeats the purpose of having them in the first place, how can any nurse "certify under oath" that any drug was actually given to a specific patient. And what about drug diversion? I think California and Arizona are or were looking at the feasibility of using the Med Aides and I thought Ca. went through with it; does anyone know for sure. Any nurse, RN or LPN, who would take a position using Med Aides might as well start Law School at the same time because eventually she will be needing a good attorney.

iam an lpn who works in an assisted living and i'm the only nurse on duty in my shift in a 7 floor facility so on top of having to pass medication on one floor with about 35 residents ,i'm in charge of the building plus about 118 total residents in case of any emergency, have to do some wound dressings,follow up on physician orders /residents change of conditions/ family members and a couple of times medicine aides have not been scheduled so have about 3 floors to pass meds_but the medicine aides come to my rescue.

Problem is they are not supposed to pass meds on more than two floors but i'm also overwhelmed and some of them they don't evn go thru the MAR to see if there are new orders and that freaks me out-My boss knows about this and she thought about hiring more lpn's to pass meds coz there are too many errors but the facility i work at thinks about saving money.It is frustrating just looking for another job right now coz i worked hard for my licence-rant

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