Do you feel that the LPN program should be more than one year?

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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this is soooo not meant to spark an lpn vs rn battle, but to help lpns cope with our respective programs. no one is better or worse than the other, and if you feel argumentative, i kindly ask you to hold your tongue. :rolleyes:

on that happy note... i just took my second med-surg exam in my lpn program. it was over 5 chapters. each chapter has roughly 30 disorders/diseases we are expected to know. the entire course covers like 12-14 chapters. do you feel as lpns we are expected to know as much about diseases as rns are, in 1/2 to 1/4 of the time? i also feel like we are at a disadvantage because, in our program at least, we are not required to take patho. i think that would make a huge difference in understanding and information retention, imho.

any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

~hishands

I have been an LPn for 8 yrs. I am currently in RN school, much different!

LPN school "skimmed" the topic. The RN studying is more indepth.

Agreed, but a good nurse will fill in those holes that were skimmed in school. This is why I think LPNs with experience should be given MORE credit than we do get when returning.

I had really hoped to finish my ASN now that my kids are grown but my ortho doc tells me I'll be lucky to still be working by the time I finish. Oh well, guess that's on goal that just isn't going to get done. Personally it would be very rewarding, but I do have to worry about paying for it!

I'm OK with it, so thanks to anyone who feels the need to say "sorry." But it sure would have made a difference if I and other LPNs got credit for nearly 30 years of learning instead of penalized for being out of the achedamia for so long!

On to my next goal, improving the scope of practice for LPNs. The RNs, who generally monopolize the BON, decides on our scopes need to get over it and give us credit for what we are capable of! Every state should have "advanced" practice scopes for LPNs.

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My LPN program is 12 months and that is long enough. why should I go to school for longer to go to the local hospitals and make 11 dollars an hour??? I also disagree that RNs need to have a 4 year degree. I have a 4 year degree in another field and I can tell you from life experience that it means nothing. for my previous career everything i needed to know i learned on the job not in school. I think ADN nurses are excellant nurses and I don't believe 2 more years of school could make them any better than they already are.

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My LPN program is 12 months and that is long enough. why should I go to school for longer to go to the local hospitals and make 11 dollars an hour??? I also disagree that RNs need to have a 4 year degree. I have a 4 year degree in another field and I can tell you from life experience that it means nothing. for my previous career everything i needed to know i learned on the job not in school. I think ADN nurses are excellant nurses and I don't believe 2 more years of school could make them any better than they already are.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying a BSN doesn't know much more than theh LPN or AD RN, what I am saying is that a BSN is not needed to provide excellent care at the BS.

Like you said, it is life experience that really makes the difference and that is where nursing should be placing the emphasis, not on degree.

A degree looks good, is useful for advancing into management, but is not what the pt needs to get/stay well.

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Whoops, sorry, I didn't make that clear. I think it should be a 20 month program like the one you went to. Typing too fast.

It does seem strange that nurses are called on to make so many more critical decisions than an ultrasound tech would in the course of the day, yet our educational standards are less than theirs.

(for clarification!) I did not say that LPN programs should be 20 months.

I completely disagree that entry level for RNs should be a bachelor's degree.

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Specializes in LTC.

I think we get a lot thrown at us in a short period of time, however..... I think that is the way it is planned. When we become a nurse we don't have a lot of time to make a decision, so in school if we can learn much in a short period of time it is likely we will be able to make a sound decision in an emergency situation when we do become nurses. Does that make sense to you all??

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If they got any longer they would be ADN programs. Of course we'd have to cut quite a bit of clinical, med/surg, pharmacology, etc so that we can take English, History and Sociology.

Not bad classes to take, there is nothing wrong with being well rounded and know a little bit about these things, however, nursing is what we really need to be mistreated by all those professional nurses who did go to college.

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I know of one PN programme here in Canada that effective September will require LPN's to pass first year university English, Psych, etc. Still will be four academic semesters...

Makes you wonder if the LPN is becoming the old two year diploma nurse???

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I know of one PN programme here in Canada that effective September will require LPN's to pass first year university English, Psych, etc. Still will be four academic semesters...

Makes you wonder if the LPN is becoming the old two year diploma nurse???

My school required that back in the mid 70s. Alas, the hospital they were attached to has closed, so did they.

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My LPN program is 12 months and that is long enough. why should I go to school for longer to go to the local hospitals and make 11 dollars an hour??? I also disagree that RNs need to have a 4 year degree. I have a 4 year degree in another field and I can tell you from life experience that it means nothing. for my previous career everything i needed to know i learned on the job not in school. I think ADN nurses are excellant nurses and I don't believe 2 more years of school could make them any better than they already are.

My LPN program was 12 full months, no breaks. The same hospital had an RN program (ADN) that was only 6 months longer than ours, and we had more clinical hours. They went 9 months Sept-May x two yrs. We also had to perform each procedure during our internship 3 times before we could pass and take our boards. There were some 4 year BSN students who, in their 3rd year never had even inserted a foley!! I have been a nurse for 19 yrs. now and still some hospitals don't want to take an app from me. I have had critical care, peds, management, and all types of experience, but this doesn't seem to matter.

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Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum but am a 20 year LPN. I work in a small rural hospital on med-surg. I have worked in OB also. During my tenure, I have taught new RN's just about everything. Why does the nursing profession fail to see that what really counts is experience. The RN's I work with realize this, but only after they get out of school and put their "book smarts" to use. Then they realize anyone can learn something from a book for the sake of passing a test, but in real life the book cannot help them start IV's on a real patient with no visible veins, or put NG tubes down, or, well, you get my point. I have worked beside RN's my entire career and was taught by some of the best. I legally cannot hang blood or do IVP's, but believe me, I know how. Would you rather have a new RN that is unsure and has never done it before or someone who has loads of experience do it because she/he has watched it being done for 20 years. I just dont get it... I can train new employees and yet ... My only hope is that they actually turn out to be like me, a professional nurse who loves her job. Nursing is not going to school and thinking your "done", it is lifelong learning at it's best!!! Thanks for listening and to all LPN's BE PROUD! :rotfl:

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My LPN program was 12 full months, no breaks. The same hospital had an RN program (ADN) that was only 6 months longer than ours, and we had more clinical hours. They went 9 months Sept-May x two yrs. We also had to perform each procedure during our internship 3 times before we could pass and take our boards. There were some 4 year BSN students who, in their 3rd year never had even inserted a foley!! I have been a nurse for 19 yrs. now and still some hospitals don't want to take an app from me. I have had critical care, peds, management, and all types of experience, but this doesn't seem to matter.

RN's have more than just 6 months extra schooling...most have a year of pre-req's that include intense sciences classes with labs (I had micro, Anatomy, physiology). I tire quite easily of bashing each other's degree. LPN's serve their place as well as all levels of RN's. So a BSN may not have put a foley in (this is basic and can be learned on the job) but an LPN is not qualified to carry the supervisory responsiblity of the BSN--nor are they licensed to do so.......

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Specializes in Operating room..

Yikes...I'm actually in my last semester of school for my LPN. I have all the pre-req's (straight A's), and 5 years of previous college as an education major. I guess it just depends doesn't it?

RN's have more than just 6 months extra schooling...most have a year of pre-req's that include intense sciences classes with labs (I had micro, Anatomy, physiology). I tire quite easily of bashing each other's degree. LPN's serve their place as well as all levels of RN's. So a BSN may not have put a foley in (this is basic and can be learned on the job) but an LPN is not qualified to carry the supervisory responsiblity of the BSN--nor are they licensed to do so.......
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