what are the actual differences between LPN & RN?

DeBerham · Feb 12, 2013

1) Opportunity for advancement, as an LPN you can act as a charge nurse in some situations (in WA an LPN could be charge after a certain time in a LTC facility, other states may have different rules) but that was about it. You will probably NEVER see an LPN nurse manager(I would say never, but I'm sure some yahoo will come out and tell me about Nurse Snuffy who has been a nurse manager as an LPN for years).

2) As an LPN I could not hang blood with another LPN, an RN's signature always had to be on the transfusion form

3) Acuity of patients, TYPICALLY (there are exceptions of course so don't bother calling me on this one) LPN's take care of less acutely ill patients.

4) As an LPN I actually felt more abused than I ever have as an RN as far as work environment was concerned. I worked LTC for a couple of years where I was responsible for 35 patients at a time. I have never, and would never accept a load like this again. At the time I didn't know anything else though.

5) You will likely work in outpatient or LTC. Acute care hospitals, over the past decade or so, have moved away from using LPNs on the floor. Forget about working in a critical care area (SICU, MICU, PICU, ER, etc). Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with LTC or clinic work, but for some (myself included) it's just not their cup of tea. As an RN I could go back to that environment if I wished, as an LPN I was unable to work in a hospital.

6) There are certain medications that you will not give IV push as an LPN, limits ability to work in certain areas (see #5)

Now, I know those are all negative, but I absolutely believe that there are some instances where a person should consider getting their LPN first:

1) Military... the US Army offers an LPN program. I was trained as a LPN this way and thus had no out of pocket expenses from the school. I would NEVER advise anyone to get their LPN outside of a public community college or technical college (i.e. avoid private schools like the plague) as the cost simply outweighs any earnings benefit you might receive.

2) Some RN programs will take into account your LPN experience. While not all (or any in my case) of the credits may transfer there is something to be said about having a base knowledge when you walk into a program. It's obvious who has had patient care experience as an LPN or CNA and who has not.

3) If due to personal, family, or financial reasons you cannot pursue an RN at this time the LPN is a shorter route to becoming a nurse. That being said I am a HUGE proponent of continuing your education.

By and large, regardless of what my instructors said during orientation for my RN program, LPNs (and ADN's for that matter) are nurses. They evaluate, implement plans of care, and care for patients just like RNs do. Now there are nurses out there (some on these forums) who will make statements like your job as an LPN is less important than that of an RN, but that's just not the case. LPN's fill a niche where it is simply not cost effective to hire an RN. Simply put, why pay someone my hourly salary when you can get just as competent work from an LPN at half the cost? My belief is that you should go as far as you can with your education, treat your patients right, do your job competently no matter what the letters after your name are.

AngelicDarkness · Feb 12, 2013

I know that LPN's have less schooling & less responsibility than RN's, but what are the actual job duty differences?

RNs care for unstable clients, and LPN/RPNs care for generally stable clients. LPN/RPN have less schooling because we are the old RN program and focus on the hands on approach while the RN program focused on more theory. The only job duty differences depend on your employer - typically RN only jobs tend to be in the ICU, etc. LPN/RPN can be found everywhere:)

@DeBerham 1) Opportunity for advancement, as an LPN you can act as a charge nurse in some situations (in WA an LPN could be charge after a certain time in a LTC facility, other states may have different rules) but that was about it. You will probably NEVER see an LPN nurse manager(I would say never, but I'm sure some yahoo will come out and tell me about Nurse Snuffy who has been a nurse manager as an LPN for years).

The times they are a changing:) My supervisor is an RPN nurse manager. I agree with you that it does depend on location:)

2) As an LPN I could not hang blood with another LPN, an RN's signature always had to be on the transfusion form

Here I can hang blood - but depends on the employer. Some hospitals in my area still follow the RN signature as well, but slowly the BONs are educating them on the role of the LPN/RPN. Our scope of practice is larger than they believe:)

4) As an LPN I actually felt more abused than I ever have as an RN as far as work environment was concerned. I worked LTC for a couple of years where I was responsible for 35 patients at a time. I have never, and would never accept a load like this again. At the time I didn't know anything else though.

I agree as my first employment was in a RH of 105 patients. But, on the plus side, it taught me more than I could have ever learned with one about handling emergencies, medication administration, prioritizing, organization, and health teaching. I do agree though - LTC does need more staff.

5) You will likely work in outpatient or LTC. Acute care hospitals, over the past decade or so, have moved away from using LPNs on the floor. Forget about working in a critical care area (SICU, MICU, PICU, ER, etc). Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with LTC or clinic work, but for some (myself included) it's just not their cup of tea. As an RN I could go back to that environment if I wished, as an LPN I was unable to work in a hospital.

Pending if you are eligible OP, you could get a job in a critical care area like emerg if they offer a new grad initiative. The only downside is after your training, if there are no full time work available, they will offer part time or let you go. In my area, most end up working in LTC or community.

Sorry De for the lengthy post - I wanted to add to your posting without making my post a run on post. I completely agree with your last statement 110%!:)