GS LPN-to-RN

[tippeny]

I manage a section at a military clinic and I have a wonderful LPN who would like to go to school to earn their RN degree. Does anyone know of any programs out there that would allow a nurse to earn their RN and maintain employment? I have been told (unofficially by colleagues) that the nurse would need to leave the GS system, get at least a year of RN experience under their belt, then reapply for open RN jobs. I know there has to be some way to retain valuable employees in an organization while allowing them to further their careers. I have been searching online and hitting nothing but dead ends.

 

*** I have reached out to our HR department but I have heard nothing back, which doesn't surprise me in the least. (sigh)

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

This is typically true, yes - they would need one year of RN time. One of my coworkers did an LPN-to-RN and they offered her a job as part of the GS 5/7/9 transition program (https://gogovernment.org/all-about-government-jobs/pay-and-the-general-schedule/) - but it was kind of ridiculous given her current skill set (LPNs functioned as RNs except for a very small amount of things), so she declined and worked in a civilian job instead.