i'm still just in shock. Some had been there for 30 plus years. Everyone was called into HR and told they were no longer needed and would not be working another shift. So much for my educational loan assistance....
So we were good enough to take teams of patients and make half RN pay while doing the work before, but as soon as the hospital had budget issues, we were suddenly not good enough nurses anymore apparently.
Obviously it was impossible to work on hospital layoffs throughout the entire hospital rather than targeting one class. (sarcastic)
I worked as a CNA with my nursing license and I don't consider myself to be judgmental about this. I would never again put my nursing license in jeopardy by doing this again. It was not fair to me and to the profession. I was able to eventually get a job as a licensed nurse so I find it hard to believe that other people can't do the same. Especially when you know that they have been working in acute care and therefore are more desirable as employees.
this is a really rotten thing to do.Most hospitals here that arent in hiring freezes only hire LPNs in the clinics-and that has fierce competition.Even the LTCs here are swamped with apps and there are two LPN schools graduating in December.There arent enough jobs for the existing work force.Its just a huge mess.
Wow... how tragic.. and what a loss. Which they will only too soon realize.
The (national) dialysis facility I worked for attempted this very move some 5 years ago.. and ALL the nurses .. RNs and LPNs went up in arms and threw such a hissy-fit at this company that in the end, they recanted.
They wanted to have all the LPNs either quit, OR commit to going to school full time for their RN, OR stick their license in their pocket and work as PCTs at PCT pay.
It was sickening. I had learned SO MUCH from these awesome LPNs.. and their heartbreak was mine. It was a horrible six mos. for all involved before we heard the company had retracted their initial statement, and would keep things as they were.. with the exception that they would no longer hire any NEW LPNs.
It's all about the money.. cost-cutting... profit. And yes..if they load all the work on the RNs now without hiring more, they stand to lose these as well.
I'm so sorry, Flowerbudd....... truly I am. My heart grieves with you and your colleagues. I am an RN in HH, and I know here in my neck of the woods, we utilize more LPNs in HH than RNs.. so it is a viable option, if LTC is not your thing.. so pass it along to your friends as one more avenue to consider.
I wish you and all your colleagues only the very best in their persuits. :icon_hug:
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
What I find disgusting is that they don't seem to offer these same threats as often to CNAs or techs, but the poor LPNs in the middle have to walk around in virtual fear? If an RN can assume responsibility for an unlicensed employee, I can't see too much of a difference having an LPN working under them...at least if the LPN screws up, she has a license of her own to consider, before blatently making errors in judgement or acting out of scope.
Just heard 2 days ago that a hospital in my area has laid off all their LPN's. This is very scarey! I hope my hospital doesn't decide to do the same. I've been a long time and remember the last time our place did this. It was 1986. Of course after a while when they realized how much money they were paying for all RN's, they hired LPN's back.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Just heard 2 days ago that a hospital in my area has laid off all their LPN's. This is very scarey! I hope my hospital doesn't decide to do the same. I've been a long time and remember the last time our place did this. It was 1986. Of course after a while when they realized how much money they were paying for all RN's, they hired LPN's back.
This happened in my hospital some time back, in fact, around the same time as you, in the late 80s. And, as yours did, they rehired most of the LPNs back. I have seen many see-saw situations happen like this with LPNs and RNs in New York over the years. I just hope it doesn't come to affect my position.
WOW over 100. I am sorry for you and your peers. The hospitals by me do not use LPNs... Is it me or does this seem to change throughout the years? They get rid of LPNs and years down the road they start hiring LPNs and start weeding out RNs because of pay/budget. Then years down the road again, they weed out the LPNs and bring back RNs.
Can you work in a clinic vs a LTC facility? Clinics are a nice option if you can because many times they are a part of a bigger health system and you still can get nice benefits.
Our hospital is no longer hiring LPNs and the existing LPNs are not to pass any meds unless in an emergency...huh?! Existing LPNs are encouraged to go to school for their RN; or they can work as CNAs. I think it is a waste and a slap in the face to hard-working dedicated nurses who have taught me much!!
Hugs and prayers to you as you look for a new position. Please let us know what you find.
Most of this seems to come from hospitals.....letting go of LPN's. This is not new, in the early 80's most hospitals made a shift to R.N's. But, no one seemed to notice. Do you know that there are many positions still out there for LPN's? OUTSIDE OF HOSPITALS? Do you know where you pts. go after they are discharged from the hospital one day after surgery? No longer do pts. have the gift of staying 2-3 days after surgery to recover. Now they go to re-hab and acute care facilities.
The skills you have gained in that hospital can be the very skills that get you a new job in a place that will be more than glad to use the skills you have. Home health has a great need for nurses. Hospice is intergrating LPN's into thier staff. LPN's are taking leadership postions in many facilities. As each state gives greater and greater scope to LPNs, we will find more and more job options avaliable to us. Don't be afraid to look outside you comfort zone to find a new place to work.
This has been in the works in many areas for sometime. CA has ratio laws and you will not find the LVNs finding much work in the hospital setting any longer. There are cutbacks going on at many hospitals and when one is not able to do everything, then they are among those that are cut.
Have not seen an LPN hired by a hospital in quite sometime. Best bet would be to go back for your RN if you can, and if you can afford it. See what your hospital is offering for you.
Things are really getting bad across the country right now, and expect it only to get worse, not better for quite sometime.
I'm collecting my unemployment. I was already accepted into a bridge program, I never intended on staying at LPN, I only did it so I would have more clinical experience and could work while I worked on my RN. The only place I'd ever want to work is in a hospital, the LTAC facility in our city is pretty much a more acute nursing home, and the nurses really disappointed me, I took a second job there, and couldn't stand it after a week.
Fortunately there's a great program called WIA which is paying for my year in school coming up in January since I was laid off, saving me 6k in loans.
My manager has already said she wants me back next year after I graduate in OB. I'll just take my year off, collect unemployment and do school.
The layoff bothers me for the nurses who have worked there for years and years with no desire to taken on more school, and get an RN, but have no desire to do clinic or ltc.
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
I worked as a CNA with my nursing license and I don't consider myself to be judgmental about this. I would never again put my nursing license in jeopardy by doing this again. It was not fair to me and to the profession. I was able to eventually get a job as a licensed nurse so I find it hard to believe that other people can't do the same. Especially when you know that they have been working in acute care and therefore are more desirable as employees.