Are LPNs being phased out?

U.S.A. New Jersey

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I have enrolled at Dover Business school in New Jersey to start my LPN classes Sept. 26. I now have doubts because I hear people saying that LPNs are not getting hired anymore even in Nursing Homes. I was planning to work two years after completion then go back and do LPN-RN bridge. I have two very young boys ages 1 and 3 so I can't afford to study something that will take longer than two years because my husband will be carrying all the bills which will extremely hard on our family. So i want to study for a year or so then go back later when our finances are in a better shape, i just don't want to waste my time and money if i won't find employment as a LPN later. I'm extremely stressed and losing sleep because classes are starting soon, any advice will be appreciated.

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Specializes in ICU.

Hospitals are more apt to hire RN's this is true, I did my LVN halfway through RN school (my school's interesting option) and worked the following year at a skilled rehab facility/nursing home making 20$/hour as an LVN. As far as I know the majority of the primary care staff still remains to be LVN's, in Texas at least. I'd really recommend you get in an ADN program, people find it very hard to go back to work after they start making money...

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Specializes in ER.

I think it really depends on where you live and what your version of making money is. Here, in Atlanta, lpns are not being actively hired in hospitals. You might be able to find a job at a nursing home or in a doctors office though they are hiring more mas in doc offices because there is no restriction that you be a nurse to give medications in this state. Pay is around $16/hr for lpns. Is that feasible for you?

I think you will, find an rn to be a little bit more marketable in the long term.

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Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.

My hospital has not hired any LVNs for the past two years. The existing LVNs are also the first nurses to be put on call when our census is low. They are basically used as back-up workers, and we have very good and experienced LVNs! ADNs will be the next to be scaled down and phased out ...and that's me. :uhoh3:

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I live in Louisiana. The rural hospitals here still hire LPN. We have tons of jobs here for LPN's. Hospital,home health, extended care, and nursing homes. I currently work in the extended care area. Pay ranges from 12 - 20 an hour depending on experience aand type of job. Oh yeah I forgot dr.offices!!!

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Since I'm in NJ as you are sadly,id have to say yes. But,private duty still hires lpns from what I know.

I really don't like dashing peoples dreams,please don't get mad at me. But I'm going to say a certified nurses aid certificate will give you a better chance of getting hired then both the lpn and rn at this time.

Take a look at the classified in the star ledger under med/health jobs.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

It really depends where you live. In my area 2 of the 5 hospitals hire LPN's on a regular basis. LPN's are also working in Dr. offices, LTC, rehab, home health, hospice, private duty. Check out this thread:

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/lpns-they-really-159958.html

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Also,if you do decide to do the certified nurses aide route,they make about 9 an hour. But if you pair it with a certified home health aide certificate,the pay jumps to 14 to 16 an hour.

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Facility where I work (LTC/Subacute/Rehab) has been on a big push to hire RN's. When LPN's quit they are not replaced with LPN's, but RN's instead. There has been a growing rumor that LPN's will be phased out here which I think is a terrible mistake due to the years of experience our LPN's have.

I have been told that when the LTC/Subacute/Rehab units are ranked that RN hours are heavily weighted in factoring ratings.

Key problem we have are that most RN's -least the ones I know, do not want to work LTC..they want to work in hospitals or other specialty areas.

I always wanted to be a geriatric nurse so I feel right at home, but many of my fellow RN's just work LTC to get that golden year of experience then leave, or more often then not, they make it through orientation then promptly quit as LTC is not what they want to do. So this big transition to RN's only is rather haphazard and doesn't really endorse continueity of care. :twocents:

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Specializes in LTC.

LPNs might be dwindling in the hospital but there are still many places you can get a job. LTC facilities, doctors offices, clinics, home care, prisons(if you are up to that), sometimes schools.

Don't listen to people. What people say about nursing and what actually is the truth are two different things.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Long Term Care,.

I was told when I went to my local hospitals outpatient center that they were no longer hiring LPN's and they gave the existing ones the option to go back to school and work towards their RN or they had to take a pay cut and work as CNA/PCT so I do believe that they are being phased out. Also they are so many vocational schools that give the LPN and then when you try to transfer credits, community colleges aren't taking them.

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Here in Kentucky, LPNs are rare at hospitals. But, with that being said, LTC is probably about 60% LPNs (in relation to 30% CNA and 10% RN where RNs are usually just "charge nurses"), and then there are doctor's offices where the majority (at least in my experience) are LPNs.

I'd say that depending on your area, the best thing to do would be to do a little investigation and see what options there are out there for LPNs. At the end of the day, it seems that LPNs are being phased out over all, simply because RNs are considered higher because of scope of practice.

I will say, in addition to how a previous poster said that ADNs are being phased out, in my area the only people with a BSN or higher is either a nurse educator or a NP. Usually ADNs are the majority of the RN workforce around here.

Either way you go, I wish you luck!

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