Why LPN??

Brownms46 · Mar 17, 2003

bella548, no there isn't, and I see no reason why anyone who wants to comment respectly on it shouldn't be able to. There are many old threads on here, and I see no comments on them being closed or dropped.

In the past I have been guility of saying a subject is old and should be let go. But I was wrong, as I had no right to make that statement.

I have been on this board a while, and have missed threads that others have participated in. I also now realize that there are new people coming on this BB daily, and may want to have their say. I feel that is their right, just like any other member, to be able to voice their opinion on any thread, and to start any thread they wish(within the rules of this BB). My feeling now is...more power to them.....let them have their say! :cool:

MishlB · Mar 17, 2003

The reason I made the comment about closing this thread is because of the heated arguments about LPN vs RN that have come up and totally missed the point of Susy K's thoughts, that were posted TWO YEARS ago...sorry, I will ignore from now on.

Brownms46 · Mar 17, 2003

MishlB

Your response is totally valid and reasonable, about the heat that this topic generates. But I just feel somewhere and somehow we have to get past this and begin to discuss it. When this subject was first bought up I thought it was an excellent idea to have someone actually ask why, and not just assume why.

Lately there have been some very thoughtful posts to this question. And even some rationales from the RNs as to why they made their choice. If this thread got out of hand I would totally agree with you it should be closed. But until then, why not allow others to speak on their experiences?

I just felt the question was a very valid one, and would like to read what others have to say. I really hope it will continue to be an open dialogue, with experiences only being respectly related. Thank you for your understanding.. :cool:

baseline · Mar 17, 2003

Thank you Brownie. I really have enjoyed many of the stories of how people made their decisions. I have found it quite interesting.

Brownms46 · Mar 17, 2003

You're very welcome baseline, but I agreed with you, as I found them interesting also. :cool:

zudy · Mar 17, 2003

I went to LPN school first because I really wasn't sure of what I wanted to do. I thought I would enjoy nursing, but I didn't want to invest 4 years and end up hating it. I was in college, majoring in BUSINESS ( talk about boring) and I took the EMT class. I loved it, and started working for the local ambulance service while I was in school. We were based in the small local hospital there, and we were expected to work in the ER. Many of the other EMTs were nursing students. I finally realized I was hanging out more at the hospital than I was with my sorority sisters. So, I went to LPN school first, graduated , loved it, and went back for my RN. It was a different pathway, but it worked for me.

Love-A-Nurse · Mar 17, 2003

i started as a nursing assistant because the classes i wanted to complete my business degree, after sitting out for many year, was not available until the next quarter. a lady told me to take a nursing assistance class and although i had never thought about being in the nursing profession, i enrolled, graduated and worked one year as a na.

my instructor told me to go on an get a nursing degree and i took the entrance exam for the lpn class and graduated one year later and have been an lpn for over 11 years.

in 2000, i finally decided to continue on because of the goals i have for myself and they would only be met if i am an rn.

i started rn clinical rotation aug 2002 and this is my 2nd semester. if it is god's will and studying hard, i will graduate may 2004 and after taking the nclex and passing, i will be an rn.

so, i took this route and because of it, a great foundation was laid, if you will. i really know that nursing is for me and i love every minute of it.

if i could do it again, i would do it the same way!

lpn are nurses too!

whipping girl in 07, RN · Mar 17, 2003

My mom became an LPN back in 1971. She was a high school dropout who got a GED (couldn't pass algebra, so she dropped out of high school!!) She made straight As in nursing school (except for chemistry). She sometimes talked about becoming an RN but she thought she was too old and was afraid of chemistry.

When I first started talking about going to nursing school when I was a senior in high school, she discouraged me from the field. At that time in Arkansas, there were very few BSN programs and she really wanted me to have a bachelor's degree, so she encouraged me to become a teacher (what I had been talking about since I was five years old).

After a couple of years in college, I realized that teaching just wasn't going to cut it for me, and the university I was attending started a BSN program (replacing their ADN program). I could become a nurse AND get a bachelor's degree.

Nearly ten years after I started college, I finally graduated with a BSN. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't do it any differently.

If my mom had it to do over, she says she wouldn't do it any differently either.

So who's right? We both are. We made the choices that made the most sense to us at the time. I know I will always be able to find a job. My mom has always been able to work when she's wanted to (and LPNs being laid off from hospitals didn't bother her, since after her first year of being a nurse, she never wanted to set foot in a hospital again!!)

And incidentally, I didn't find Suzy's initial question or any of her responses offensive. I did find that some people must have read more into what she was saying than what was actually there.

baseline · Mar 17, 2003

I have no idea why I am so facinated with this, but I so enjoy hearing everyone's stories. What motivated them. What accidental happening contributed to the choice. Makes me smile. We all have different backgrounds, and different paths brought us here, but we all ended up in the same place! :-)

jdsalina · Mar 19, 2003

I'm a new lpn (1yr), chose this when my husband became disabled and I had to go into a field where I could make decent money, get good insurance for him (before cobra ran out!) and do it quickly. I was self employed and making good money as a dog groomer but could not get insurance on him because of his condition (pulmonary hypertension) Nursing was never even a thought for me until I had to find a career fast. (Don't worry, I'm a very compassionate person, my patients are always saying they wished most of the other nurses cared so much. And my skill level is high for the time I've been a nurse) In the hospital where I work the Rn's and lpn's do almost the same job. The rn's are the only ones who do charge and the only ones who can hang blood and do IV pushes, and must do an assesment on all lpns patients. They do have to work a little harder but they also get paid a lot more. We are a small hospital, do blood and pushes seldom. So I guess my reason for LPN was necessity, I couldn't wait 2 yrs for my RN with the necessity for health insurance. I have recently started we night option and plan to use my week days to start prereqs for rn fast track, just because of the pay difference. As far as jobs for lpns, here in central AR I could find a job in a few minutes at hospitals, drs. offices, LTC, rehab facilities, mental health facilities, etc. There are not even near enough rns for the hospitals here to consider operating without lpns! Even lpns are at a great shortage and jobs are everywhere.

lduch · Mar 19, 2003

THis is to CLO, may I ask why you feel that LPN's aren't necessary for patient care? Your remark was an outright insult. You didn't give any reason to your statement at all. I would appreciate an explaination.

I've been an LPN for 15 years. Do you know how many graduate RN's (2 and 4yr graduates) that I have taught how to drop and NG tube, insert a foley cathether, do trache care, because they either didn't know how or they weren't comfortable doing it? Do you know how many admitting assesments that I and other LPN's have done 'for' the RN's and the RN's will sign their name and take the credit for what the LPN has done, when it was their responsibility to do in the first place? One would think after 2-4 years of education that a person would know how and feel comfortable with doing these things. Sure, they know how to do it 'by the book' but to put it to practice, a lot coming out of school don't know HOW to do it IRL. LPN's come out of school with a lot more hands on training than RN's (that I have noticed) ALONG with knowing the fundamentals of nursing and knowing the same things that RN's do. SO! I don't know where you get off saying that LPN have no place in patient care. Why are we less valuable.

As I see it, we are invaluble. You say that we are an added responsibility for the RN...Well, if I'm not mistaking, isn't the charge RN over the entire floor? and responsible for all the patients, including the patients that other RN's are taking care of?

Where I've worked, it's been that way. So what if an RN has to do an occasional IVSP or site care for a subclavian, or hang blood. That doesn't mean that the LPN isn't smart enough or not capable of doing it. We would if we were allowed too. Some hospitals have started allowing LPN's to start IV's (in which we are not taught in school) after being trained at that facility. I say, why not train us to do other things as well to take that so called "burden" off you poor RN's.

The attitude that you have really shows how immature, shallow minded, and arrogant a lot of RN's(not all, but I've known a lot that have this attitude) are and it really pisses me off. Face it....LPN's are here to stay, whether you like or not, so you need to open your mind and heart, get off your high-horse and learn to appreciate us more.

mattsmom81 · Mar 19, 2003

I agree with Oramar...anyone who reads other posters stories and opinions on this board should have insight as to why many of us attended LPN school (or ADN or Diploma) vs a 4 year degree.

I just can't help but wonder why it is being brought up again...maybe just another disguised 'argument' ..er.. debate? RN vs LPN, 4 year RN vs lowly ADN Diplomas...here we go again .

Perhaps some here should try and understand the tiresomeness of these 'debates'. Particularly when they always seem to hurt feelings and generate tension. JMHO.