Does being a CNA equal 1 year experiance for lpn?

[missbee10]

Im going to school for LPN and a classmate of mine stated to me that since she is a CNA that means she already has experianced. But, I have always been told that CNA and LPN are really two different things. She was saying since she already works at a nursing home that when she gets finish with school she can go straight to working at a hospital. So am I right or wrong? Thanks in advance for replying.

[missbee10]

Thanks to everyone for replying to my question. I understand that if you work as a CNA for a few years you might make a little more when you become an LPN. But what my classmate was saying is that basically being a cna is just like being an lpn and that qualifies as experience. She even had the nerve to say since she pass the exam to become a cna that the NCLEX will be a breeze to her. I really don't know what she is thinking. I just can't wait til we get to clinicals and ask her then is lpn and cna the same thing. This is coming from someone who was also bragging that she goes to her car and sleeps during her shift!

[rn/writer, RN]

Thanks to everyone for replying to my question. I understand that if you work as a CNA for a few years you might make a little more when you become an LPN. But what my classmate was saying is that basically being a cna is just like being an lpn and that qualifies as experience. She even had the nerve to say since she pass the exam to become a cna that the NCLEX will be a breeze to her. I really don't know what she is thinking. I just can't wait til we get to clinicals and ask her then is lpn and cna the same thing. This is coming from someone who was also bragging that she goes to her car and sleeps during her shift!

Consider the source.

If she flashes this attitude around enough, she might find her instructors itching to take her down a peg or two. Her fellow students will certainly be watching. When I was in nursing school, those of us with previous experience in health care (LPNs, EMTs, CNAs, etc.) kept our mouths shut and tried to fly under the radar, lest we give the impression that we "knew it all." She would be wise to do the same, but if she's bragging about sleeping while on the clock, that says plenty about her values. Or lack thereof.

Just do what you need to do. She'll either trip herself up or turn herself around while you watch.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Sorry to say it, but your friend is wrong. As mentioned, you may have advantages in school...such as not being as inhibited when interacting with patients, doing intimate things to them such as bathing, etc, but, there is a HUGE difference between what a CNA does versus an LPN. In terms of obtaining a position in a hospital or anywhere is the same luck of the draw as it would be for someone who had no CNA experience whatsoever and is a new grad LPN. In fact, if your friend is currently in an LPN program, she should be able to see the sharp difference already.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Thanks to everyone for replying to my question. I understand that if you work as a CNA for a few years you might make a little more when you become an LPN. But what my classmate was saying is that basically being a cna is just like being an lpn and that qualifies as experience. She even had the nerve to say since she pass the exam to become a cna that the NCLEX will be a breeze to her. I really don't know what she is thinking. I just can't wait til we get to clinicals and ask her then is lpn and cna the same thing. This is coming from someone who was also bragging that she goes to her car and sleeps during her shift!

Then, she must be sleeping in class as well. The comparison is like apples to oranges...but, she'll see soon enough...

[lglpn09]

I posted this in another forum so I will post it again. I was a cna working at a nursing home for 11 years and I am now a lpn working at the same facility prn and they told me that my time there did not count. I would be starting over. They said that a cna is a cna and a lpn is a lpn. I don't think that is right especially since it is at the same facility. I can kind of understand not getting extra pay but my 11 years with the company should still count. I should not be considered as a new employee.

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

Even when going from LVN/LPN to RN, having experience as a LVN/LPN doesn't count towards your RN, you're still considered a new graduate RN. Say you have 3 years experience as a LVN/LPN and your friends only experience is nursing school, then you will have three years experience as "a nurse" and she wont have any experience. But both of you will be considered new grad RN's with 0 years experience as a RN.

[nursel56]

Sometimes, students with some prior healthcare related job give off an air of superiority and anoint themselves above the rest of the pack. I would ignore everything they say. :doh: Other times, students with prior healthcare jobs such as CNA, will not broadcast it, but quietly offer help and support with some of the basics she knows so well, while still realizing everybody is standing at the same starting line. I would want to make that person my friend. :)

I'm remembering the sweetest classmate of mine, who worked as an aide before and during school, in the classroom she was actually embarassed to be singled out by our instructor to answer a question about vital signs. Boy, did she know her stuff, too.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

It may be (depending on the facility), that if you had a previous position, it counts as senority for that hospital, nursing home (and this usually happens in union hospitals), but it doesn't count for experience in the new title. Under those circumstances, if there were a lay off, a new grad LPN who has worked 10 years as a CNA would have more consideration and would probably escape the lay off compared to another LPN who was employed as an LPN for 6 years because of the combined seniority. However, a new LPN is a new LPN and should be treated as such. Hopefully, it would mean a more comprehensive orientation, longer preceptorship, etc (but that may not happen, either).

CNA-LPN-RN all fall under the umbrella of nursing, but there are different scopes of practice in each step. Many LPN duties blend with RN duties, but, the deal is that the RN has a higher license, thus, should have more responsibility, and again, should be treated as a new grad if she starts, even if she worked as an LPN in the same place. She worked in the same place, but did not have the same responsibility and accountability (even though she worked along side and saw what RNs do).

[kat7ap]

Even when going from LVN/LPN to RN, having experience as a LVN/LPN doesn't count towards your RN, you're still considered a new graduate RN. Say you have 3 years experience as a LVN/LPN and your friends only experience is nursing school, then you will have three years experience as "a nurse" and she wont have any experience. But both of you will be considered new grad RN's with 0 years experience as a RN.

In a couple hospitals where I worked they actually credited you for your LPN years of experience if you had became and RN. One place gave you 1 year credit for every 2 years experience and the other gave year for year. However I don't believe they had same thing in place for CNA/PCT to LPN. I would think that if you have been with the same company for years you would maintain your seniority.

[rn/writer, RN]

There is a difference between seniority with a company or facility and experience at a particular job or licensing level. You could have ten years with ABC Healthcare Systems, working your way up from PCA to LPN to RN, but only two years in an RN position. That means you have ten years seniority within that company but just two years as an RN. Ten years with the same company might give you an edge over someone else who has been an RN for three years but has only that same three years within the system. It can also benefit you when pension or other benefits are being calculated.

To throw another wrinkle into the cloth, you can also have years of seniority at a specific facility within a system. Foe example, you might have ten years with ABC Healthcare Systems, five years at St. Elsewhere Hospital, and three years as an RN. Each of these track records can have a different meaning when HR is looking at considering layoffs or other decisions.

[heathert_kc]

I would certainly say that most employers, especially those in acute care settings, would prefer to hire an LPN who had at least gotten their feet wet but the two are not the same. I mean if an employer has an absolute minimum of one year work experience (such as with travel nursing) saying that you have been a CNA for forty years in the same type of work environment, or different in the case you are talking about, simply is not going to count for much and you still won't be qualified for the job.

[Pertlvn03rn08]

The only qualified CNA or as we call it Medical techinicians are the Armed Services Medics with bedside experience. Some states will allow these individuals to challenged their LPN boards.