Im getting reallllly bummed out. I got accepted into the LPN program for this July. I was stoked! :) my husband has been so supportive. But it's so crazy to see so much "bash" on LPNs and their knowledge. I've already had people say, "oh, it's just LPN school." Or "why not RN?" Or,"you're not going to find a job as an LPN." And,"LPNs are phasing out" talk. It's really discouraging as a LPN student. Especially since I'm soooo stoked for it. Why the hell do people have to rain on people's parades?!? BACK OFF!!!
I would love some LPN support. :) I know LPNs have A LOT more going for them. It's comforting to hear stories about LPN pride.
Worked ALF for 18 months-now a private school nurse making mid 40s with weekends off, paid holidays, 9-5 schedule and loving it!!! It's over 50K with the time off. Hallelujah!!!
Like many others, I have dealt with the LPN bashing/why aren't you a RN question as well. I am returning for my RN bridge in the fall but you know what I don't think I would have made it in a RN program without being an LPN first. I have been one for 3 years now and I have grown in my confidence as a nurse. I am astounded at how much more comfortable I am now with new nursing tasks than I was when I first started out. I took a year off work to be home with my kids and I returned to work 2 months ago. I was offered a full time position within a week of putting apps in and was called for interviews around 10-11 times. Even after a year of being off! There is still a need for LPN's, maybe not in hospitals, but in many other environments. I am going back to be able to climb the ladder at my current job, but I will never regret being an LPN first. It gave me my foundation and maturity.
I don't get why LPNs continue to see 'why not be an RN' as demeaning. Clearly those who ask you see more in you. Being a RN doesnt make you a better person but lets face it...it's more school, tougher classes, more responsibility, etc. When someone asks you ' why not RN' it just means they think you can handle all that. Well, it's what *I* mean when I ask lol
As a fellow LPN i completely understand how you feel. I get bashed constantly. However yes LPNs are mainly being phased out of acute care due to the stream lining they are wanting. Plus sicker people need higher attention. However people who say LPNs are being completely phased out is most definitely not true and unsounded. In Maryland ADN is being phased out in acute care now. People may blame it on magnet status but to be honest to be magnet there is nothing included in the literature that supports only having high degree level nurses. It is only required that each nurses role be defined in policy. So yes we may be out of Acute care in that sense but ADNs are moving that way to now. The LPN though will most likely still have a place for a long time in other settings. There is no danger of us going away "U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts LPN ranks will grow by 21% from 2008 to 2018. The bulk of this growth is post-acute care where patients do not require the skilled assessment and complex critical thinking needed from RNs" http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/page-3/NRS-264817/Licensed-Practical-Nurses-A-Dying-Breed[/quote']
What do you think about ADNs with a bachelors degree in a different field, which is what I might be in a few years? I live in Maryland and the only program I was accepted into was in an ADN program in Maryland.
I graduated LPN school, passed my NCLEX and had a job offer in Cardiac stepdown/stroke!! in a HOSPITAL.. I constantly heard "well good luck finding a hospital job" I have a wonderful job, patients respect us, love us, Doctors respect us..We are nurses! I just finished school as a RN but my heart will always be a LPN. :)
As a fellow LPN i completely understand how you feel. I get bashed constantly. However yes LPNs are mainly being phased out of acute care due to the stream lining they are wanting. Plus sicker people need higher attention. However people who say LPNs are being completely phased out is most definitely not true and unsounded. In Maryland ADN is being phased out in acute care now. People may blame it on magnet status but to be honest to be magnet there is nothing included in the literature that supports only having high degree level nurses. It is only required that each nurses role be defined in policy. So yes we may be out of Acute care in that sense but ADNs are moving that way to now. The LPN though will most likely still have a place for a long time in other settings. There is no danger of us going away
"U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts LPN ranks will grow by 21% from 2008 to 2018. The bulk of this growth is post-acute care, where patients do not require the skilled assessment and complex critical thinking needed from RNs"
I'm an RN - and a BSN - and I have to say that I think the last sentence in that report is a bit harsh!!
I have gotten totally sick of the phrase 'critical thinking'. When I was preparing for nursing school I kept reading about this thing 'critical thinking'. I read how important it is, how you have to learn how to do it - I'll be honest, I was worried. Then I got to school.
Wow. Just wow. It's not any special, bizarre skill - it's just HIGHER LEVEL THINKING.
In my day, we called it Analysis on Bloom's Taxonomy (and if you remember that, I can guarantee I'll come within two years of your actual age, either way). It's higher level thinking that any high school graduate (and for that matter a huge majority of eighth graders) or equivalent has ALREADY BEEN DOING!! It's the ability to synthesize the current situation and predict possible outcomes; see the 'big picture' and relate it to the pt's condition and the array of possible 'what ifs'.
Critical thinking is a buzz word. There. I've said it. I feel better about it. If you can't critically think, you can't pass a nursing class - you can't look at a BP and decide if it's bad or not -you'd find it difficult to even drive because you'd have no grasp of cause and effect at any level. Are there different levels of knowledge? Good Lord, yes - but the way we synthesize and interpret whatever level of knowledge and experience we have on board is by exactly the same method.
I can't imagine anyone needing this mythical 'critical thinking' (just another buzzword, for crying out loud) any more than skilled nursing patients (gee, probably a reason it's called 'skilled nursing, right?)!! And some of the best nurses I met were taking care of my grandmother in her last days, and my mom when she went to residential rehab following her knee replacement - and ALL of them were LPN/LVNs!
This BSN is grateful for the skilled, CRITICALLY THOUGHT OUT, brilliant care that a bunch of wonderful 'practical nurses' have given her family members. I work with LVNs here at the Army hospital I'm now stationed at and they are amazing men and women, civilian and military alike.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!
(Didn't mean to hijack, not trying to intrude - just HAD to comment, though. Hope that's OK.)
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I'm an RN - and a BSN - and I have to say that I think the last sentence in that report is a bit harsh!!
I have gotten totally sick of the phrase 'critical thinking'. When I was preparing for nursing school I kept reading about this thing 'critical thinking'. I read how important it is, how you have to learn how to do it - I'll be honest, I was worried. Then I got to school.
Wow. Just wow. It's not any special, bizarre skill - it's just HIGHER LEVEL THINKING.
In my day, we called it Analysis on Bloom's Taxonomy (and if you remember that, I can guarantee I'll come within two years of your actual age, either way). It's higher level thinking that any high school graduate (and for that matter a huge majority of eighth graders) or equivalent has ALREADY BEEN DOING!! It's the ability to synthesize the current situation and predict possible outcomes; see the 'big picture' and relate it to the pt's condition and the array of possible 'what ifs'.
Critical thinking is a buzz word. There. I've said it. I feel better about it. If you can't critically think, you can't pass a nursing class - you can't look at a BP and decide if it's bad or not -you'd find it difficult to even drive because you'd have no grasp of cause and effect at any level. Are there different levels of knowledge? Good Lord, yes - but the way we synthesize and interpret whatever level of knowledge and experience we have on board is by exactly the same method.
I can't imagine anyone needing this mythical 'critical thinking' (just another buzzword, for crying out loud) any more than skilled nursing patients (gee, probably a reason it's called 'skilled nursing, right?)!! And some of the best nurses I met were taking care of my grandmother in her last days, and my mom when she went to residential rehab following her knee replacement - and ALL of them were LPN/LVNs!
This BSN is grateful for the skilled, CRITICALLY THOUGHT OUT, brilliant care that a bunch of wonderful 'practical nurses' have given her family members. I work with LVNs here at the Army hospital I'm now stationed at and they are amazing men and women, civilian and military alike.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!
(Didn't mean to hijack, not trying to intrude - just HAD to comment, though. Hope that's OK.)
You didn't intrude at all. And your post was more on topic than many of the others, for you gave LPNs the love. :-)
You know I have never heard people say that to me. I would just hang in their. Remember you are a sick patients eyes and ears. You might decide that you are really good at this and decide to go forward and get some type of RN degree. Some people do. RN School is really tough. There is not a lot of room for error there.
Keep your head up and continue to work toward Your goal. In this life you will have many haters and some that it might not have worked for so they gotta knock down everyone that seems to walk in that path. As I recently said, constructive criticism is one thing but there is a time, and a place when to express it.
Continue to press forward!
"Your desire to succed has to be greater than your fear of failure"!
Specializes in Med/surg,orthopedics,emergency room,.
First off, I'd like to say GOOD FOR YOU!!!! It is truly a blessing to be as motivated and determined as you are, as well as having your family's support.
NOW, as far as the "Haters"- Leave them where they are! This is STILL the best job to have! I have been in the medical field for almost 30 years, and I wouldn't trade a day of the 12 hour shifts, stupid doctors,trifling staff,family members, ancillary staff, and the WHOLE LOT!!!! There isn't anything wrong with being an LPN, and I get tired of people belittling MY profession. I had to go to school and sit boards just like my counterpart, so really is the only difference(as far as I'm concerned) are the letters behind our name. I'm not bashing anyone, but I love being an LPN, and I won't let anyone tell me I'm any less of a nurse because I chose to be an LPN! Incidently, I have a bachelors degree in something other than nursing! Good luck to you, and keep in touch!!!
There's nothing wrong with being an LPN. I've been one for 7 years and it's been pretty rewarding, but at the same time, I completely feel your frustration. I recommend to anyone getting their LPN that he/she IMMEDIATELY bridge to the RN program, though. I didn't, and it's the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. 7 years later I'm still trying to get into an RN program, still getting treated as less than because I'm not an RN, still hearing that LPNs will be "phased out", still hearing patients say things like, "you're just an LPN, I want to talk to an RN." The things you're hearing are a major bummer, but they're indicative of the state of things. I work at a VA hospital (which does let LPNs work on acute care floors, unlike the private sector), BUT where RNs get 5 weeks of paid time off, I get just 13 days, and in my setting, I do the exact same job as the RNs I work with.
Yes, you can stay and LPN and you can do well in life as an LPN. There's nothing wrong with it, as long as you're content to have limited job opportunities and to hear people talk about "phasing out" and "you're just an LPN" (because you WILL keep hearing it after you start practicing). I personally loathe it. The scope of practice is smaller, and depending on what state you work in and the employer you have, there could be more things that you can't do.
I recommend strongly that you bridge into an RN program as soon as you complete the LPN (some schools have you sit the PN-NCLEX first, and some don't). The longer you wait, the harder it is to get that RN, and if you really love nursing, you'll want to be an RN so that you can have more job opportunities and try new things. Plus, the extra money you'd make as an RN is nothing to sneeze at. That's the honest truth about being an LPN. It's certainly worth being proud of, but it's best to get used to the things people will say to you and the feeling of a lack of support from the medical community. I think you'll hear the same things from any LPN who's been doing it awhile. I know plenty of amazing LPNs who are just as good- if not better- than plenty of RNs. It really doesn't matter. You may be appreciated by those you work with, but you'll still be an LPN. It's unfair, believe me- I know! But that's the way it is. Best of luck to you!
I've already had people say, "oh, it's just LPN school." Or "why not RN?" Or,"you're not going to find a job as an LPN." And,"LPNs are phasing out" talk. It's really discouraging as a LPN student. Especially since I'm soooo stoked for it. Why the hell do people have to rain on people's parades?!? BACK OFF!!! 
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shadowguy
16 Posts
Worked ALF for 18 months-now a private school nurse making mid 40s with weekends off, paid holidays, 9-5 schedule and loving it!!! It's over 50K with the time off. Hallelujah!!!