Fired all the LPN's

Published

So the hospital I work for called all the LPN's into a meeting on Friday to let them all know effective immediately they were to hand in their badges and clean out their lockers they were all being replace with RN's so the hospital could implement a new care delivery model. I am an RN and was mortified that they would treat excellent LPN's that have been loyal for years some for 30+. None of these nurses were offered another position in outpatient settings or given the option to continue their education to acheive their RN. The "severence package" was 2 weeks of pay and 1 month of benefits. Has anyone ever heard of something so abrupt being done to LPN's at other hospitals? The message that I felt was sent to all employees is that we are disposable and that no remorse is felt when letting loyal members of the healthcare system go. Oh and prior to this the layed of 50 employees so as not to have to lay off anymore including LPN's!

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
I am an LVN that has been an ER and ICU nurse for 13 years and now the hospitals don't want to use me either or lots of LVN's with lots of experience. I asked a medical director why and he states that it is because of liability!!!! It hurts because I have worked hard to get to where I am at and had to raise 3 sons and was unable to get my RN...I was told my resume is impressive but that if I were only an RN....... yes I am an LVN but I work with RN's who have trusted and depended on me to do my job and take care of patients as much as they expect of themselves.....with the shortage it scares me that experience is not being utilized!

Liability? If the institution is not forcing LPNs/LVNs to work outside the scope of their practice as per the state nurse practice act, how can there be any liability issues? I think what the hospitals have told you is a load of horse hockey!

An institution would be very wise to hire/retain experienced LPN/LVNs who have clinical experience and expertise and help them, through generous tuition reimbursement programs and flexible scheduling, to become RNs if they want all-RN staffs so badly.

Do any of these bean counters who make decisions about nursing have any knowledge of nursing? Have they ever looked at the various curricula of different programs or the state nurse practice acts to figure out exactly what differentiates the different levels and degrees in nursing? With the exception of nurses who have gone into administration, I doubt it.

It makes far more sense for institutions to invest in their best nurses than to turn them out to pasture. :banghead:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Join the club. In most of CA, particularly in the bay area, it happened about 10 years ago....spearheaded by the state RN union.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Surgical, Neurology.

A hospital I used to work at in Michigan did the very same thing. They were excellent nurses and they even had a union.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Firing all the LPN's is a veritable oxymoron to the "Nurse Shortage" we are currently suffering from.... I am now a Masters Prepared Registered Nurse that learned most of his people and clinical skills from the great LPN's throughout my career. While the Batchelors Prepared Nurses understood theory... the LPN's understood applying that theory to make it work under all kinds of circumstances.

I mean what kind of a message do you give those fired and the rest of the nursing staff that may not be affected? You state the LPN's didn't even get a change to pursue RN status... Surely a grandfather clause would of assisted retention and encourage further education. Get out now while you can! It's obvious the corporation you are working for does not care about their nurses and you don't need to work under those circumstances. Come to Dallas, Texas and be accepted for the professionals you truly are... :0)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry/Med-Surg.

Yes Good Sam is where I work and what prompted this post. The moral at the hospital has been horrible since everyone was let go. They will be losing quite a few of the RN's that they have due to the way they treated the LPN's that dedicated so many years of loyal service to the hospital. I wish you the best of luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am really shocked at what some posters have said!

I do not think that being an LPN is a "stepping stone" to becoming an RN. It CAN be used that way. It also can be someone's career! To say that the LPN is a stepping stone to the RN, that an ADN is a stepping stone to a BSN...where does that end? Is a BSN a stepping stone to an MSN? An MSN to a doctorate in nursing? Is everyone who doesn't have a doctorate in nursing lazy or not ambitious enough? This is ridiculous!!

People have different career goals. Some may want to work in long term care, which, in many places requires an LPN. Some may want to teach nursing, which in many cases requires a doctorate.

Also, it is incorrect to say that nurses with an ADN are stuck working on rehab floors or medical-surgical units. Not true. There are plenty of ADN nurses working in pediatrics, emergency, and every other unit in the hospital. What is true is that given equal everything, an ADN nurse and a BSN nurse - the BSN nurse will probably get the job.

Also, since when was money the only hinderance to further education? Just because an employer is willing to pay for an LPN to go get their RN license doesn't mean they want to! People have other responsibilities, like family members to care for that may inhibit people from other responsibilities

Up Vote Up Vote ×

the LVN's here were unionized too. Didn't matter. There were way more RN's and they have A LOT more money.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

Attitudes like those displayed by the managers of this place are precisely why I got out of hospital nursing. Administrators love to throw around the phrase "quality care", while doing everything they can to cut staffing to the bare minimum and implementing ill-conceived "care models". While it may look good on paper to say that they have an all-RN nursing staff, if there are too few RNs this is hardly a plus. Nurse-to-patient ratios have far more influence over outcomes than having only RNs.

To echo the sentiments of several people before me - some of the best nurses I have ever known have been LPNs. One in particular that I was paired with during my last clinical rotation in nursing school (oncology unit) was one of the most knowledgeable nurses I have ever met. RNs frequently called upon her when something puzzled them or there was an IV they couldn't start. She had done and seen it all. She retired shortly after my rotation ended (after 30+ years in the field) and nursing is poorer without her.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks to ORCA who said what I was so happy to hear. I am one of those nurses. Other nurses come to me to start IV's or catheterize pts. or tell them what's wrong with their pt. I am not smarter than them, but I have seen most of these problems several times in my nursing carrer.(35yrs.) We recently had a pt. Dx. w/ Bulous Phemphagoid. No one else on the unit even knew what it was. We used to see this condition a lot, years ago, but it is not so prevalent today. I had to explain it to most of the nurses. Also we had a pt. with a pessary, ( I'm not sure I spelled it correctly )It is inserted into the lady parts to help shore up the uterus and bladder. Much like a diaphragm. Her Nurse Practioneer called me & asked me to go to that unit and replace it. None of the nurses in the building OR her physican knew what it was or how to insert it. I used to insert many "in the old days" and there was talk about," Could an LPN insert one?" P_L_E_A_S_E! It's not an invasive proceedure. The doctor in charge of this patient said," I'll go with you and chart that I supervised you" OMG He didn't have a clue what is was or how to put it in. I let him "supervise me", without his having to lose credibility or dignity. I taught him how to insert it and I know that because he asked me to explain what and why I was doing this and that. This MD. now treats me very well & usually acts on anything I have to suggest. Once an MD or NP, gets to know you, and knows what you are saying is valid, they develope respect for you, whether you are an LPN or an RN. The initials go out the window. THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY! Laurie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

https://allnurses.com/registered-nurses-diploma/looking-history-behind-55772.html

Lots of info on the history of LPN licensure. As the poster who provided all the links to articles bolded............nursing is the least educated field of medicine. Yes, you heard that right..........THE LEAST EDUCATED. We have the most general practice in the field, are expected to balance the greatest number of responsibilities, yet your licensure requires the least effort to obtain. Does that strike anyone else as odd?

The LPN role came about due to shortages, not because the LPN role was the direction the profession wanted to take. It was, at the time, necessary. The writing is on the wall that when said necessity no longer exists, the role is no longer needed either.

I do not think that being an LPN is a "stepping stone" to becoming an RN. It CAN be used that way. It also can be someone's career! To say that the LPN is a stepping stone to the RN, that an ADN is a stepping stone to a BSN...where does that end? Is a BSN a stepping stone to an MSN? An MSN to a doctorate in nursing? Is everyone who doesn't have a doctorate in nursing lazy or not ambitious enough? This is ridiculous!!

Think what you want, but denial wont change administrations minds. And yes, actually, the ADN will eventually be treated much like the LPN is now. ADNs are just as guilty of squatting as LPNs are. Administration/the general public/politicians (basically, everyone who makes our paychecks) resent that so many ADNs refuse to seek higher education. Hence, the many attempts to make the BSN mandatory for bedside practice. As of right now, fear has stayed their hands. With the nursing shortage over for the time being, maybe that fear is gone. Perhaps, in ten years, many ADNs will find themselves being treated like the LPNs at OP's hospital. And they too no doubt, having denied the writing on the wall, will come to places like this to discuss how immoral it is......nevermind that you could have seen it coming from miles away and they decided to have "higher priorities".

Also, since when was money the only hinderance to further education? Just because an employer is willing to pay for an LPN to go get their RN license doesn't mean they want to!

:cool:Because waiting until you have to do it and paying for it yourself makes so much more sense. Hey, at least you get to do it on your own terms. Way to show them who the boss is.

People have other responsibilities, like family members to care for that may inhibit people from other responsibilities

For me, having to care for family members, whether that be children or elderly/sick who are in need..........requires staying employed. No good being at home with the loved one day in and day out if said home is being repossessed by the bank because one refused to see the writing on the wall.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

To: Brass Monkey I think after 3 yrs in this field, you MAY know all there is to know - I'm not sure. I think that nurses who travel as you do & are in a specialty fields like pulmonary, are not held to the same standards as the floor nurses who are with their pt.s 8 hrs. a day / 5 days a week & are expected to assess ALL aspects of their pt.s, not just their lung function. WOW! Most nurses have a definate opinion of agency nurses or traveling nurses. Have you ever asked them what they think? Why don't you post a new blog asking full time nurses what they think of these kind of nurses? You might be surprised what you hear. People need to walk a mile in other people's shoes before they judge them.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The whole BSN as entry to practice is baloney and it will never come to pass.

Why?

Because:

Healthcare is a business and all businesses benefit from having a large pool of applicants who are desperate for work.

When the economy is good and nurses have more options then hospitals want LPNs who work for less $$ but do 99% of an RNs job. It makes more sense during those times to have a RN/LPN staff then to try and get RNs to work under the slavish conditions that make them leave the bedside.

When the economy stinks like it does right now then use the excuse that patients need a professional nurse and kick the LPNs to the curb and give the ADNs a hard time. Hire a skeleton crew of RNs supplemented with a few UAP and work those RNs to death. When the economy is bad the RNs cannot easily quit their jobs and will have to put up with terrible conditions for lack of options.

Gee isn't that what's happening right now?

All businesses like to have a pool of applicants who are desperate for work. Why would they have it any other way? Having the BSN as entry to practice will significantly reduce the amount of RNs available right now and for years to come.

Gee that would place the power squarely in the hands of nurses and no one who hires nurses wants that to happen.

I spoke with a nurse recruiter today and she told me that she has 1100 resumes for less than 10 spots. Now how did that happen? How is it that a small community hospital in one of the most undesirable neighborhoods in NYC has 1100 RNs trying to get their foot in the door?

Where the heck did all of those nurses come from in this supposed shortage?

Might be cuz the shortage is crap and a lot of those nurses were working in other fields.

No way is this about people in power resenting people who "squat" on their license. They could care less about quality healthcare. It's all about using the economy as an excuse to hire less nurses. They will simply give the remaining nurses heavier work loads until the outcomes are so poor that they are forced to hire more nurses due to liability. At that time LPNs will magically be considered good enough to work in hospitals again.

It's not personal it's business.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion