Do hospitals hire LPN's?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2012

Your best shot would be to apply at a more outlying or rural hospital and see what happens. Most major cities have more than enough RNs to fill hospital slots, whereas the smaller cities and more underserved areas might be more willing to hire an LPN onto one of their hospital units.

treeye · Jan 25, 2012

I know Ohio Valley Hospital and West Penn are hiring experienced LPNs. LTC affiliated to UPMC is also hiring LPNs. Good luck

HazelLPN, LPN · Jan 25, 2012

I am a retired LPN who spent my entire career in the hospital setting.

At the time of my retirement (2009), the unit were I worked no longer posted LPN positions them to hire LPNs,yet if someone had some sort of "in" they could be hired as an LPN into an RN position. Both the state and hospital were I practiced allowed a very board scope of LPNs and there was little difference clinically between was an LPN could do and an RN could do.

What will give you an "in" is if you are actively working on your RN...be it in nursing school or taking your prereqs. I would suggest that you might want to do some volunteer work in the hospital during day shift and get to know people. Get to know the nurse manager and nurses on the unit. Do an excellent job and be helpful. People will get to know you and know they can rely on you. Of course, you won't be practing as a volunteer LPN, you will be making up charts, helping the unit clerk, passing trays, visting with patients, stocking the unit, help with transports and once you earn the trust of the staff you may get to do much more. When you make good human connections, the rules change.

For example, when I worked in the PICU, they had stopped hiring LPNs and retiring LPNs were replaced with an RN. Our unit clerk on the weekends was in LPN school. She did an exceptional job as a clerk...and it really makes a difference when you have a good strong person in that chair....because they pretty much run the unit with the charge nurse. When she graduated, the nurse manager hired her right out of school as a new graduate LPN because she knew she was intelligent, motivated and already knew the unit and the people. She is now only a handful of LPNs who remain in that unit and the only LPN who is not a veteran nurse.

The best way for you to work in the hospital is to go and get your RN. The second best way is to make thoes connections and set yourself apart from the rest because there are always exceptional people who are exceptions to the rule.

Best to you,

Mrs H.