Cna challenge lpn boards

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ok hear this out! i lived in california and i would hear cnas say they are going to challenge the california lpn boards. im like ''ok lets be serious''! lol. so i took it upon myself to see if this is possible.damn i was shocked its REALLY TRUE!! you have to be a cna for 5 yrs with x-amount of expr.in certain areas. personally i think this is crazy and dangerous. its just some roles as a nurse cnas just dont undertsand or know. TELL ME WHAT YA THINK????

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
Thats a great idea and I wish it was that way for every state. Im an LPN and went to school passed boards ect. I have to say that the correlation between what is learned in school and what is practiced out on the floor is very small. What percentage of what you learn in school is directly applicable? Not even 20%.

For that matter what is the difference between an LPN and RN curriculum? 8 MONTHS. There is no substantial difference in the complexity or breadth of the material presented.

Being exposed to the hospital environment for numerous consecutive years is adequate preparation for what we do as LPNs in the state of Illinois.

That save the public **** is just what people who went through the ropes say to

1. Secure job opportunities by excluding others from the profession.

2. Keep their pay high by excluding others from the profession.

3. Make other people suffer through it just cause they did.

MOST OF WHAT YOU LEARN AS A NURSE IS ON THE JOB THROUGH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, NOT FROM BOOKS.

Do you feel differently now that you are in an LPN to RN program or do you still think there is no substantial difference in the complexity or breadth of the material presented? I realize that programs vary widely in their scope and rigor and that one person may learn a great deal transitioning from LPN to RN (or RN to BSN) while someone else, because of differences in curriculum, professional experience, and stage in life, may not get as much out of the bridge. So I am curious as to whether your experience has been that you feel you've learned anything significantly different in your bridge program or if it seems more like just jumping through the hoops. Not asking to attack you, asking because I am curious about your experiences.

Thanks in advance for the answer!

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Oh, quite a bit more. I was a CNA before I went through the LVN program. I had no knowledge of sterile technique, no pharmacology, no wound care, no formal assessment skills, rudimentary communication skills, only basic time management, not to mention complex skills like IV starts, nursing process. Everything that makes me a NURSE, I learned in nursing school.[/quote

While cna's in California can challenge the lvn boards,think about what's happening in your state.The dumbing down of nursing indeed is happening right under our noses.

For instance, in Nc they have what's called med techs who can do all the skills listed above. They are known by different names in differenty

states, med techs,patient care technicians,and patient care technicians are a few of the names I've heard.

All functioning as nurses without any official education.

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If they met the criteria and pass the boards why not? RNs go to nursing school and get some hands on experience, but not on everything out there that they will ever do and they are aloud to practice. How much more can an LVN do than a CNA? This can be learned fairly easily.

Yikes. Well, at the very least this thread should be very illuminating to the "RN vs LPN" question!

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That's frightening. A CNA should have to go to nursing school and then sit for the boards just like the LPNS that are educated and trained had to do. What is Cali thinking? They are putting patients at risk.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
QUOTE=Moogie. . .ETA: Just realized that this thread is almost a year old! Talk about being late to the party! :D

Yeah, I noticed it had been resurrected but I find this so curious just had to comment on it. I wonder what the backstory is. And, as has been pointed out, California is one of the few states who will not allow Excelsior graduates to have an RN license in California (at least for initial licensure, not sure about reciprocity, etc).

It is also interesting that it is illegal to call yourself a nurse if you are a nurse's aide or MA, but 51 months of CNA work is considered to be bedside nursing experience. Work as a field paramedic is not sufficient experience to challenge the NCLEX PN OR VN, but work as a CNA is. Ahh well. I could make myself crazy trying to understand this stuff. I'm still wondering why LVNs and Psychiatric Technicians are regulated by the same board.

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Specializes in Adult ICU/PICU/NICU.
If they met the criteria and pass the boards why not? RNs go to nursing school and get some hands on experience, but not on everything out there that they will ever do and they are aloud to practice. How much more can an LVN do than a CNA? This can be learned fairly easily.

I am an LPN and can only speak for the state and hospital where I worked as each state and facility has its own scope of practice for LPNs.

What can an LPN do here?

As an LPN in various critical care units (adult ICU later MICU...and finished my career in PICU and NICU when my physical strength began to fail me), I took my own patient assignment. I performed 95% of the care on my patients...the other 5% was done by my RN charge nurse. I did everything except write an initial admission assessment (therefore didn't take admissions), I didn't give IV chemo products or push profofol or other anesthics. I must check all blood products and certain IVP meds with the charge nurse before I administered them. I did not serve as the charge nurse or carry the code beeper, I did not serve as a patient's primary nurse. I could not train to run the ECMO pump, though I did care for patients on ECMO...as well as with IABPs, PA caths....I had patients on Prisma and was responsible for the machine other than setting it up...the dialysis nurse did that...I started drips and maintained them....had patients on dopamine/dobutamine/nipride that required frequent titration, I had pts on vents and high frequency oscillation. I took off orders, called the docs, took telephone orders. I have ACLS, PALS and NRP. I did all dressing changes including around central lines and burn dressings. I drew labs off A line, UACs, CVLs and communicated the results to both the docs and the charge nurse. I served as a patients associate nurse and assisted the RN primary nurse with the care plan and problem list.

A CNA in our unit can do the following:

Stock shelves and bedsides, assist with baths, weights, and lifts, assist with transporting patients off unit to CT, MRI,etc, take speciments to the laboratory, set up beds for admissions, tear down beds for transfer, may assist with PO feedings of infants or hold the OG tube after placement has been checked by LPN or RN. Diaper changes (unless pt has an unstable airway), assist unit clerk if needed, assist charge nurse if needed. They can perform PDs with proper training. They take vitals on patients who do not have any kind of arterial line and record these in electronic or paper charting.

And you still maintain that all of what an LPN does can be easily learned by a CNA?

I agree with you...as long as that CNA goes to nursing school.

Best to you,

Mrs. H.

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Yeah, I noticed it had been resurrected but I find this so curious just had to comment on it. I wonder what the backstory is. And, as has been pointed out, California is one of the few states who will not allow Excelsior graduates to have an RN license in California (at least for initial licensure, not sure about reciprocity, etc).

It is also interesting that it is illegal to call yourself a nurse if you are a nurse's aide or MA, but 51 months of CNA work is considered to be bedside nursing experience. Work as a field paramedic is not sufficient experience to challenge the NCLEX PN OR VN, but work as a CNA is. Ahh well. I could make myself crazy trying to understand this stuff. I'm still wondering why LVNs and Psychiatric Technicians are regulated by the same board.

Remember, you are dealing with the state of California. All the explanation you need is contained in that fact.

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Well most of these comments on here are very old,but i dont care im commenting anyway! I am currently a cna and have been for more than five years. And for as long as i have been on, i have not saw an lvn do much more than pass meds, thru iv or orally, a bit more charting than cna's and working a lil closer with rn's. Frankly they dont do much more than we do at all. And if the board allows us to take a course or two or three. And challenge the board i see no harm done. Because theres not more to be done. I worked as a home care provider before becoming a cna. I administered med., inserted caths., and other things that i should not have been allowed to do. My clients never had uti's, overdosed or any other complications under my care (in their homes at that). And what about an lvn being able to challenge the board after a year of school to become an rn. Now thats scary, rn's have a heavy work load they run the hospital 24/7 365 ok. There is no way that an lvn should be able to have a patients life in there hands after only a year in school and taking a three hour exam thats crazy as hell. They also allow medical assistants to pass meds, and give injections. They perform these task daily, with only eight months of training. Uuuhhh they are not lvn's or rn's, and ive also taken that course. You basically fly through each module in 30 days come on. I have also saw alot of nurses in the field do things that are unethical so just because our title is cna dont try to belittle us, its a title we all earned just like you. On the other hand, there are a lot of titled nurses out for only that fat ass paycheck. Others like myself cna and all go to work because i love the people i care for, and my only concern and need is to care for them with compassion, morale, and dedication. That why you should become a nurse. The people we all care for day by day have their lives in our hands we work as 1 team. Once most of you so called nurses get that through your thick heads, we'll all work together just fine. We all have a job, one one is greater than the other in this industry. I also know how a lot of nurses actuall got there licenses so hows that? They sure were not smart enough, i work with them daily.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, LTC.
If they met the criteria and pass the boards why not? RNs go to nursing school and get some hands on experience, but not on everything out there that they will ever do and they are aloud to practice. How much more can an LVN do than a CNA? This can be learned fairly easily.

Seriously? Sure maybe the skills can be learned, but what about all of that knowledge behind the skill? Sure they could put a dressing on an edematous leg, but will a CNA know why the leg is full of fluid? Will they know about compartment syndrome and when to think something more is going on? They say LPN's don't assess (ha) but we do it all the time. I doubt you have many passing the boards, but if they can more power to them.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.
I worked as a home care provider before becoming a cna. I administered med., inserted caths., and other things that i should not have been allowed to do. My clients never had uti's, overdosed or any other complications under my care (in their homes at that).

Talk about scary!

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

uh there is a huge difference between a CNA and an LPN. Just b/c they can share some of the same tasks does not mean they are anywhere near the same. One is not "better" than the other. One has the knowledge base to PROPERLY assess and one does not. I agree everyone needs to be on the same page regarding patient care, but no, a CNA should not challenge boards to do a nurses work. If you want to be a nurse, go to school to become one, just like you took a class when you wanted to be a CNA. All levels of nursing are very important, but each level is distinct from the others, with different educational requirements for a REASON.

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Specializes in Geriatrics/ rehab.
If they met the criteria and pass the boards why not? RNs go to nursing school and get some hands on experience, but not on everything out there that they will ever do and they are aloud to practice. How much more can an LVN do than a CNA? This can be learned fairly easily.

Actually LPNS/ LVNS. Do a lot more than cna that's actually. Insulting to say. Cna. Don't get pharm. Umm yeah that's. Dangerous

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