Are we set to do long-term non emergency care MOSTLY?

voneek, ADN, BSN, LVN · Sep 16, 2009

i dont know exactly where you go to school but where i live at which is california it is mandatory to have cpr /BLS. my school gave the training for it and every job that i know of or see advertised require it. and yes i know some LVN'S that work in ER or the hospital not many but there are some, in fact one time i went to hospital as patient and there was a LVN working ER she gave me my IV and might i add she did an excellent job. also one of my postpartum was a LVN.

DaniLPN2RN · Sep 16, 2009

I'm located in FL and it is mandatory to have BLS during LPN school. I also happen to work LTC and BLS is a requirement. Not everyone in a nursing home is a DNR; so at some point, you will be required to perform CPR ... you need to be certified.

Why do you think a school/community college would not require it for LPN's?

momtojosh · Sep 16, 2009

hello...i live in NYstate and we had to have it BEFORE we entered class.....CPR/AED...and here in ny where i work we have to renew every year.......

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 16, 2009

Another New Yorker here...we needed BCLS well before entering Fundamentals, also. I know of LPNs working almost everywhere in my hospital. They may be a bit limited in what they are supposed to do, but we are in the ER, psych, post partum (not Labor and Delivery), even ICU (medication nurses), step-down and telemetry.

mearrepiento · Sep 16, 2009

I'm located in FL and it is mandatory to have BLS during LPN school. I also happen to work LTC and BLS is a requirement. Not everyone in a nursing home is a DNR; so at some point, you will be required to perform CPR ... you need to be certified.
Why do you think a school/community college would not require it for LPN's?

Well, I'm taking prerequisites for LVN in Merritt College (Oakland, CA). I don't see anywhere stating that I need to be certified in CPR to be an eligible applicant. Same thing with Los Medanos college (Pittsburg, CA). However, City College of San Francisco requires it. I don't know why there is such a difference. Anyway, I'm not in the program now. When I'm in it, perhaps I will know whether I need it or not.

By the way, do you think it will do me good if I take a first responder course instead of only CPR. My school, Chabot college, has a short 3-week CPR class and a semester-long class First Responder. Both will result in students getting CPR card from AHA. Thank you!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

Do you think that is the reason why we are usually put in long term care over other areas? Is there any LVN who works in ER?

The state in which you plan to earn your LVN license (California) has a powerful advocate for RNs called the California Nurses Association. The CNA has fought tooth and nail to ensure that the most desirable nursing positions remain in the hands of RNs, while LVNs in California tend to receive the leftover specialties such as LTC, home health, prison and correctional nursing, etc.

I live in Texas and attend an LPN-to-RN transition program in Oklahoma. Several of my classmates are LPNs who work in the ER. Other classmates are LPNs who are employed as hospital surgical scrub technicians in the operating room. Other LPNs in my class have worked in hospital units such as med/surg, ICU, rehab, psych, etc.

The problem is the state in which you reside.

sasha2lady · Sep 16, 2009

I am in NC....We all had to have updated and valid CPR/ BLS before our first day of nursing school. I work in LTC and us nurses as well as our CNAs must have valid CPR certification to maintain employment. Now...in the facility I work at we do regular CPR when needed. We do not use defibrillators though..and that is a ? I have had for several years as to why we dont have a defib machine but here in my area none of the nursing homes do. Ive had to actually do CPR twice as a nurse and I helped a nurse do the heimlech as a cna once. Scary stuff but handy when necessary.

kat7ap · Sep 16, 2009

My LVN school required me to obtain CPR/BLS for Health Care Providers before I entered clinicals in the second quarter. Every place I've worked has required me to have the certification, with exception to hospice. The last hospital I worked at hired LPNs in postpartum, ER, med-surg, oncology and telemetry. I don't see any reason to get a first responder CPR certification, but once you graduate you could get ACLS.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 16, 2009

Well, I'm taking prerequisites for LVN in Merritt College (Oakland, CA). I don't see anywhere stating that I need to be certified in CPR to be an eligible applicant. Same thing with Los Medanos college (Pittsburg, CA). However, City College of San Francisco requires it. I don't know why there is such a difference. Anyway, I'm not in the program now. When I'm in it, perhaps I will know whether I need it or not.
By the way, do you think it will do me good if I take a first responder course instead of only CPR. My school, Chabot college, has a short 3-week CPR class and a semester-long class First Responder. Both will result in students getting CPR card from AHA. Thank you!

You may find out if you are actually accepted into the nursing program whether or not BCLS is a requirement at your particular school. What I would do is visit the nursing department and ask them. When I started taking the pre-requisites, I had no idea what was required for the clinical phase of the nursing program until after I received my acceptance letter. It was then that they required that I have malpractice insurance for student nurses, BCLS, updates on vaccinations again and whatever else they demanded.

First reponder, I am sure, would not hurt. Just be sure that taking this semester long class does not interfere with the studies for you to enter the nursing program, especially if that is not really the requirement. Good luck!

mearrepiento · Sep 17, 2009

You may find out if you are actually accepted into the nursing program whether or not BCLS is a requirement at your particular school. What I would do is visit the nursing department and ask them. When I started taking the pre-requisites, I had no idea what was required for the clinical phase of the nursing program until after I received my acceptance letter. It was then that they required that I have malpractice insurance for student nurses, BCLS, updates on vaccinations again and whatever else they demanded.
First reponder, I am sure, would not hurt. Just be sure that taking this semester long class does not interfere with the studies for you to enter the nursing program, especially if that is not really the requirement. Good luck!

Thank you very much!

When you mention malpractice insurance, how do I get it? Is it expensive to buy?

By the way, since we're only LVN, and we don't do IV (unless we have certification), what kind of malpractice can we do? LVNs are not assistants, but they do their job under a physician or an RN's supervision. Isn't our work checked before it's passed to patients?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2009

Isn't our work checked before it's passed to patients?

Uh, no. You will have a license for a specific reason. You work under your own license. If you practice safely, you get to keep and maintain that LVN license for years to come. If you do something that directly or indirectly harms or kills a patient, your license might be revoked.

In many healthcare settings (nursing homes, home health care, hospice, etc.), there's no RN or physician in the building, so you will be responsible for the efficacy and safety of your own work.