Bye, Bye, LPN's

Nursing Students LPN-RN

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I work at a level 2 Trauma Center in Ohio. Recently they layed off all of the LPN"s. :cry: They offered them a few options to cross train for another position for less pay such as a nurse tech or Unit Secretary. However, this would be fairly big pay cut. I heard some had the option to go back for there RN. Not sure if hospital was paying or not. Some of the nurses have been there for years and have more on the job experience in their pinky than I have in my whole body. Some have opted to stay b/c they are so close to retirement. The severence pay wasn't good from what I hear. Just a few weeks worth. I feel terrible that this has happened to them and my heart goes out to them all. :heartbeat My question is: Is this the new trend? Are your hospitals doing the samething? What does this mean for LPN's out there if so????

Where I live, most hospitals hire them faithfully. When ads are placed, it will usually say rn/lpn needed unless a Nurse manager is needed.

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Specializes in LTC, Acute Care.
Where I live, most hospitals hire them faithfully. When ads are placed, it will usually say rn/lpn needed unless a Nurse manager is needed.

Same here. I live in south Georgia and there is an abundance of LPNs working in the local hospital and LTC facilities with no evidence as of yet phasing them out. I don't know about the scope of practice in other states but as a student LPN I was taught how to do everything except hang blood and blood products. From what I've witnessed and what I've been told, LPNs in the ER are allowed to perform pushes; we are a very important part of the healthcare team and we are regarded as such.

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Here in Spokane, Sacred Heart Medical Center laid off all of their LPN several years ago. The other hospitals don't use alot of LPNs either. LPNs now only have Nursing Homes as Assisted Living facilites to work in. Doctors offices hire Medical Assistants. Spokane, however, has three schools of nursing- two BSN programs one ADN program that also has an LPN program. Right over the border in Idaho (40 miles), North Idaho College has an ADN program and there are numerous ADN program all over Washington State. There is no shortage on RNs in Spokane.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

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One of our local hospitals has decided to phase out the LPNs. A couple of years ago they decided to not hire any more LPNs but they did not lay any off. The ones they had/have are able to stay on or bride to RN with the hospital providing tuition. My friend worked there and said there was a total of 7 on the med-surg floor but three were getting ready to retire and two were currently working towards their ADN/BSN

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Same here. I live in south Georgia and there is an abundance of LPNs working in the local hospital and LTC facilities with no evidence as of yet phasing them out. I don't know about the scope of practice in other states but as a student LPN I was taught how to do everything except hang blood and blood products. From what I've witnessed and what I've been told, LPNs in the ER are allowed to perform pushes; we are a very important part of the healthcare team and we are regarded as such.

Yep, here in the southeast LPNs are still being hired tenfold. But RNs and LPNs are the lowest paid in the country here. As an LPN you may earn less in the southeast, but the job market is wide open!

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Specializes in LTC, Acute Care.

Shellly,

Yes, I can cosign with you on earning less in the southeast:up:. Especially in some of the private practices; they have a different kind of "phasing out" most times preferring to hire an MA as opposed to hiring any type of nurse at all. For private practices I guess it's more about cutting salary overhead due to Medicare and private insurances reducing the amounts they allow for medical services.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Rehab,Acute LTC ,PCU.

Yes this is a big trend here in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. Amazing that hospitals are quick to boot LVN's out, but many of them will let LVN's work through the Agency. It just goes to show who's help is appreciated and years of service are respected and who's aren't.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

In the 90's we had a massive layoff, including nurses - the majority of whom were LPNs, but there were some RNs and lots of administrators thrown in the mix. Since then they have hired only RNs. There are still LPNs around, but as they leave, they are being repladed. I think it does seem to be a trend that more hospitals are hiring LPNs. I think part of it is lead by the JACHO mandate that hospitalized patients receive an "RN level of care" whatever that means.

There are still some LPNs where I work that have more experience and knowledge than I do, just because I am RN, BSN, doesn't mean crud compared to their skills and knowledge. On the other hand it aches me when I give them their annual review and see them making $19.00 for 25 years experience on the unit. They work too hard and too much responsiblity, so if it were me I would kissing the hospitals goodbye and working someplace where I was appreciated and rewarded.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

We just had a staff meeting and the handwriting's on the wall; they want the LPNs out of here (telemetry/ICU stepdown). I'm frantically trying to get into an RN program, but even with a 3.9 GPA and an undergraduate degree in something else, there's just not enough seats locally to get into a program. What ticks me off is we have nurses working at the hospital that are clinical instructors for the 2 schools in the area (and that means w/in 75 miles, each with a 3 year wait list) -- if the hospital is pushing us to become RNs or vamose, then why not HELP us by doing a bridge program at the hospital? Virginia has just recently said it won't accept Excelsior anymore, and the only onlines available are Indiana State, since Virginia says they want 500 clinical hours to accept a RN.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

They are being phased out at all local hospitals around my area. LPNs can find positions in nursing homes and in home care. The next step will require RN's to have the BSN (I think anyhow). Hospitals are becoming giant ICU's, nurses need to further themselves in their education and in their profession.

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I think this is the new trend. I live in california and most of the hospitals I know are not hiring LVN and they are encouraging thier current staff of LVN to go and get thier RN. They are offering tuition rebursment. Most of the Acute care hospitals here are phasing LVN out and every body will have an RN soon my guess is most nurses will need a BSN. I am a recently graduated RN (ADN) and I have having difficulty finding work. The local hospital Kaiser accepted only 12 New graduates and had a total of over 450 applicants mind you they are paying about $50.00 to start and full benifits day one so it is highly competetive. soon LVN will be a thing of the past here. PS I passes NCLEX after 75 questions!!!!

:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:CONGRATS ON PASSING YOUR BOARDS!!!!!!!!!:nurse::redbeathe:nurse:

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I have not seen this happen that much as of yet, here in the New York metropolitan area, but I am reading it here on these boards often. Of course, I hope it doesn't happen, because I really do not wish to become an RN. However, what I decided to do, is to gain as much experience as I can within my hospital in case this does happen. I work in a clinic in my hospital, but have the opportunity to work in med-surg per diem. I decided to do this as often as I can. I was also told that I can also gain experience in psych and the ER, which I will take advantage of this. If I do have to go to a nursing home, or elsewhere, I want to have the necessary skills to function and now is the time to do this.

At this time, I work for a city hospital that gave me a leave of absence with pay to become an LPN. Not long afterwards, a freeze on jobs occurred. Both, LPNs and RNs can transfer within this facility and other city hospitals, but they are not really hiring outsiders at this time. I have wondered what would happen if the hospitals in our area continue to apply for Magnet Status, because they are pro-RN (BSN in specific). What I have seen happen in most city hospitals is if they lay off a title, they usually place the person in another position of equal pay. If it really came down to that, I would take that and move on...do nursing elsewhere on the side.

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