Eliminating LPNs - are hospitals doing this?

[kalaith]

Hello All,

My mother is an LPN at a major women's and children's medical center in Honolulu. Recently the hospital announced that it may eliminate the LPN position throughout the hopsital in the next 12 months. My understanding is that they will supplement this loss by hiring additional CNAs.

My question to you all is if you have any experience with this. Do you work at a hospital that has done this? Was it a good choice? Was it a bad choice? And what's your personal opinion? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?

While I'm certainly biased for my mother's position, I am honestly curious what others in the field think of this major decision.

Thanks for your time. :)

[JnJTyson]

Our hospital does it down here all the itme. One year they decide they want to do away with all LPNs...next year they decide that an all RN staff is too expensive, so they start hiring LPNs to replace some RN floor positions. Then they decide to get rid of the LPNs again, and get all RNs...and back and forth. My friend is an LPN and has been working at the hospital for 10 years. The reason she is always passed up when it goes for letting LPNs go is the fact that she is an incredible nurse. They know they'd be done for if they let her go. She's one of those nurses that everyone loves, pt and staff alike. She's a hard worker, fills in all sorts of shifts when folks don't show up..things like that...

So basically...a good rule to go by..is be the kind of nurse that nobody wants to fire...=0)

Jules

[ERDIVA2B]

In Florida LPN's are able to do IV starts as long as they have their IV Therapy Certificate required by the state and most hospitals to practice in Acute Care Areas, able to do Daily assessments, not the Initial or Discharge. They can help in formulating a plan with the RN, Can do IV push meds as long as cosigned by RN and also hang blood with an RN. I was an Lpn before I finished my RN and I worked in Telemetry.

A hospital I worked at had a great idea of Team nursing, a great way to utilize LPN's. A RN, LPN, and PCA comprised the team and had a group of patients to care for. It works wonderfully and helps alleviate the shortage crunch. The RN does the admission, initial assessement, discharge, care planning, also assisting the LPN in Meds as needed, the LPN mainly does Meds, treatments, with the PCA helping her who is trained in Phlebotomy, and EKG.

The hospital I work for now has a Special Unit that has a Nurse Practitioner and all LPN's on that floor. It works well so far. It is a special Medical Floor. Hopefully hospitals across the country and State boards of health will re-examine the role of LPN in the healthcare delivery system. They are an invaluable part of the team. My hospital did not hire new LPN's until last year, and kept only the ones already employed but look at them now!

[graycious]

ok everyone blessing to you all i have been a nurse for over 15 years and been thru 3 lay offs and craziness

this is all a joke------------- i am proud of being a lpn dont wanna be an rn i love home care and that is where i have resided and i love it to be a nurse mean you need to be a warrior / we are so disrespected by institutions and such the point is we are needed we are licensed and we have to carry malpractice insurance so i spit on this propoganda

PROUD TO BE AN LPN EXTINCT WE WILL NEVER BE1111111111

[graycious]

EXCUSE MY GRAMMAR THIS STUFF REALLY MAKES ME ANGRY

[Godswill]

Originally posted by ERDIVA2B

In Florida LPN's are able to do IV starts as long as they have their IV Therapy Certificate required by the state and most hospitals to practice in Acute Care Areas, able to do Daily assessments, not the Initial or Discharge. They can help in formulating a plan with the RN, Can do IV push meds as long as cosigned by RN and also hang blood with an RN. I was an Lpn before I finished my RN and I worked in Telemetry.

A hospital I worked at had a great idea of Team nursing, a great way to utilize LPN's. A RN, LPN, and PCA comprised the team and had a group of patients to care for. It works wonderfully and helps alleviate the shortage crunch. The RN does the admission, initial assessement, discharge, care planning, also assisting the LPN in Meds as needed, the LPN mainly does Meds, treatments, with the PCA helping her who is trained in Phlebotomy, and EKG.

The hospital I work for now has a Special Unit that has a Nurse Practitioner and all LPN's on that floor. It works well so far. It is a special Medical Floor. Hopefully hospitals across the country and State boards of health will re-examine the role of LPN in the healthcare delivery system. They are an invaluable part of the team. My hospital did not hire new LPN's until last year, and kept only the ones already employed but look at them now!

I just find it so amazing how it differs fron state to state. i find louisiana to be like Florida in many ways too.

The Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (LSBPNE) has no "laundry list" of tasks/skills an LPN can perform. Such lists tend to LIMIT practice. Scope of practice is a fluid concept. It changes as knowledge and technology expand. LPNs must possess the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform their duties, therefore, scope of practice comes down to the competency of the individual LPN.

Following are some of the tasks (those most frequently inquired about) an LPN may perform when the above conditions are met (NOTE: THIS LIST IS NOT INCLUSIVE OF ALL OF LPN PRACTICE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO DEFINE OR LIMITPRACTICE):

I think its wonderful how they use the LPN here and they are all over here whether its hospital, LTC etc.

[muffylpn]

Well, lets see, in MASS., were I live they have done that. The

hospital that did it gave all the LPNs free education for 5 yrs

to get their RNs some did some did not. The ones that did

not they allowed to stay and be CNAs. That hospital has

the biggest nursing storage were I live. Now that RNs

are paid much better. I would love to know how any one

floor can support 4 RNs making between 30-35 dollars

an hour. I know of several hospital that work 2 RNS,

2 LPNS and 2 CNAS. Everyone has their own set of jobs

( RNS-assessments, admissions, charts LPNs-meds, txs

secondary assessments CNA-personal care and asst)

this works really well, know one is overworked. AND

MOST IMPORTANTLY the cost is kept down. Everyone

knows their job and it is really team work. Also when

things like this happen I would love to know where

the RNS are who we support

[WhiteCaps]

LPN's are being phased out of a lot of acute care hospitals. I do not believe this is because of greedy hospital administrators.

Instead I think it is done in order to meet the ever increasing & sometimes impractable demands placed on hospitals by JACHO.

Their standards are strict and regulations make it difficult to meet without placing extra demands on the RN's. It gets so complicated, it is easier not to have LPN's than to try to meet the regulations.

LPN's are and will remain in demand in doctor's offices and LTC, but if your heart is really set on working in a hospital for years to come, I would suggest getting an RN if at all possible instead.

Oh, I work in Florida too but our LPN's are never allowed to do IV push meds under any circumstances and do not hang blood. I'm not sure if those are state regulations or if it is just the particular hospital's policy.

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

Just a point to ponder. Why should nurses be the only profession that enjoy a middle level position as a professional with only 1 year of education? This is in no way meant to be a slam to LPN's. I was one for 13 years and felt "forced" to go for my RN to stay employable in my field (OB). Still, an associates degree requirement for entry level seems to be the way of the future for nearly all professions, so why not nursing? We live in a time where education is highly regarded and seen as necessary to performing our particular jobs to the best of our abilities. Sometimes you just have to give up the ghost.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

Originally posted by rdhdnrs

We did it on the L&D unit I work on....and now we're getting ready to phase in LPNs as techs instead of the unlicensed personnel we have now. We have one long-time employee who is an LPN and the extra knowledge is very helpful to her in her job as a tech. I'm looking forward to having them.

Yes, but what does that do to them? They now have 2 jobs to perform instead of 1. When I was an agency LPN, I went to places where I was utilized as a Tech, but I was also doing nursing care (drsg changes, trach care, etc.) in addition to the Tech work. The more behind the RN was, the more duties I was expected to perform. It was like doing primary care for 10 patients or more. It sucked big time, and I feel sorry for anybody who does this full time.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

Originally posted by sbic56

Just a point to ponder. Why should nurses be the only profession that enjoy a middle level position as a professional with only 1 year of education? This is in no way meant to be a slam to LPN's. I was one for 13 years and felt "forced" to go for my RN to stay employable in my field (OB). Still, an associates degree requirement for entry level seems to be the way of the future for nearly all professions, so why not nursing? We live in a time where education is highly regarded and seen as necessary to performing our particular jobs to the best of our abilities. Sometimes you just have to give up the ghost.

Because an LPN earns 56 credit hrs in that year (at least I did), and most general associate degrees require about 60 credit hrs. So, a mid-level employee with a 60 credit associate degree could be comparable to an LPN with 56 credits, right? That year in LPN school is much more intense than a year in a liberal arts program.

[Jen2]

In my hospital we have one floor that uses LPN's with the RN as charge. They are our Progressive Care Center and our Inpatient Rehad unit. Many times on all the other floors the RN's have only one of two aides on dayshift, maybe one on afternoons and usually none on nightshift. Lets just say that we are loosing alot of good nurses. It makes me sick when a hospital cannot be fully staffed bucause of the "budget". Where do they go first? Patient care. They should start with administration instead of those that are directly involved with patient care. Heck our secretaries have secretaries, but they are eliminating more and more LPN and Aide positions.

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

lgflamini

Excellent point you bring up about the credits. What that tells me is that the whole system needs to be revamped. Now I feel like I have rec'd a measly ADN when I have actually almost* earned a BSN.

Does it really seem right that the average 180 credits need for a BSN is just 60 or so more credits than a 2 year ADN? Don't you think something is really stinking here? I do!

* When I went on to upgrade only 24 of my credits were "transferrable" from my LPN program. I think maybe now that may have changed in most places, hopefully. What was "wrong" with the other 40 credit hours. Hmmm.