help! should i become an LPN?!

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Hi! Sorry this is a bit of a read but I have alot of questions/concerns and I hope someone can help!

I have just recently started thinking about going back to college to be an LPN. I've taken Business Administration and found it to be very unfullfilling as I want to do something where I'm going to feel like I'm really making a difference! I've thought about Child&Youth Care and Social Work, but I keep thinking that the LPN makes more sense in terms of amount of schooling I'd need to take, income level, and job stabilty/opportunities. (this may not be correct??) I have a lot of questions though, so hopefully somebody can answer them for me! :)

I am a resident of Alberta and have been hearing/reading nothing but troubling issues going on within Alberta Health Services right now and can't help but wonder if it is a bad idea to get into nursing.. most of the posts I read are negative and seems to me like LPN's feel underpaid for the amount of work they do? Does anybody know what the job opportunites for LPN's will be like in the future? Is it so understaffed and busy that you don't even have time to talk with patients and feel like you're helping them? How satisfying is it working in hospitals in Alberta as an LPN? (or anywhere in Canada)

I would LOVE to work in Maternity/Labour and Delivery or with kids in Pediatrics..can LPN's choose to do this? Or is it mostly only RN's that work in these areas? I've always dreamt of working at Alberta Children's Hospital, but don't know if they employ LPN's?

Also, I am a travel nut and would LOVE to be a travel nurse, at least for a little while(within Canada, US, and elsewhere).... is there opportunites for LPN's to do this or only RN's? I'm also interested in volunteering overseas, can LPN's do this? Sorry if I sound naive but when I google most of it it only takes me to US sites.

I guess thats all for now. My main concern is that I want to go to work everyday feeling like I am truly making a difference, and feeling satisfied in my job. I am not concerned about making a lot of money but I would like to feel like I am getting paid what I deserve. It seems like Alberta Health is kind of a gongshow right now? Just from what I've read, that kind of worries me too. And I dont want to go to school for 2 more years to find out that I cant get a job. I hear mixed things between phasing out LPN's or expanding their scope and using them more... just want to make sure this is a good decision for me! thanks for anyone who replys!!!! :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Geriatrics.

I am an LPN, 1year experience. It has been my experience that the hospitals are not hiring LPN's and when they do it pay very little, HOWEVER, Doctor's offices and Nursing homes, Assisted livings are always hiring LPN's and you do feel very fulfilled. Plus..if you did decide to go on to get your RN, you only need complete one extra year of nursing (thats what Im doing now)

Hope that helped a little

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Specializes in Pediatric Home Care.

I am an RPN (LPN's in Ontario are called RPN's). I have been working in homecare for the last 4 years. I have been doing pediatric home care for almost 2 years now. That being said, my company is currently on a hiring freeze right now because the amount of funding and clients are declining. I know you wanted to know about Alberta, but I thought I would reply because in Ontario, if you want to continue on to becoming an RN after getting your RPN (LPN) it is another 3 Years, not just 1. My advice would be to you is if you are going to go to school to become a nurse, wait until you go through the different settings and placements of it before you limit yourself to one specialty/area. It may just change as you find out that you like another area more.

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I am an LPN, 1year experience. It has been my experience that the hospitals are not hiring LPN's and when they do it pay very little, HOWEVER, Doctor's offices and Nursing homes, Assisted livings are always hiring LPN's and you do feel very fulfilled. Plus..if you did decide to go on to get your RN, you only need complete one extra year of nursing (thats what Im doing now)

Hope that helped a little

IGNORE THIS POST. It's from an American and there version of nursing education is very different from ours.

OK, having said that, I'm an Alberta LPN.

AHS is in a state of flux as you know. Duckbrain doesn't have a clue in what he's doing. We don't know what is happening in healthcare in two months never mind two years.

Check out the clpna.com website for a better understanding of what a practical nurse does in Alberta.

Travel nursing doesn't really exist in Canada. You need to acquire a practice permit in each province you work in. Too keep multiple permits current is very expensive.

LPNs in Alberta are found pretty much in every unit except L&D,NICU and PICU (areas I, personally have never wanted to work).

Our education prepares us (or did when I trained) to work in L&D, Pscyh, etc. Most of my class entered nursing school with the "I want to work maternity and with children" mindset. The vast majority hated those rotations and worked anywhere else but there. Maternity isn't for the timid but it can become boring very quickly. Fundal checks, breastfeeding instruction, etc. With most Mums having a 24 hour stay, it's exhausting and the paperwork never ends. You start your shift usually with 5 Mums and 5 babies (getting a set of twins, really blows your shift) and finish with a different set of 5. A lot of nurses I've met do it for less than two years.

You'd have to ask agencies such as the Red Cross what there policy is for overseas missions. I know the OR Techs and Ortho Techs (LPNs with specialty status) can go on certain ones. These missions aren't inexpensive and nurses I know who have done them seem to mention $5K a lot.

The scope of practice between an RN and PN on most units comes down to who can pierce a blood or travisol bag. The patient loads are the same as is the acuity. Hence, Duckiepoo looking at eliminating certain RN positions and replacing them with LPNs. I know several units where this would work very well.

Only you can make up your mind. If you think you can put up with a job where people either love you or hate you and will think nothing of spitting, slapping, punching or screaming verbal abuse at you then you might have found a niche.

For me, a lot of my job satisfaction comes from my co-workers. I'm very lucky to work with same great RNs, LPNs, NAs and surgeons.

Oh and look at the AHS jobs website, you can link to it from clpna.com. It' will show you where we work and our wages.

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My apologies of for the misspelling of their. My proofreading sucks today.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg..

Yes, it is interesting that many of us start out wanting to save the world and be the perfect nurse but then the reality of too many patients sets in.

I also find that coworkers keep one going. I was told very early on that even if you bend over backwards, you shouldn't expect any thanks for it. I am not saying I don't care, just that I provide care with a much more realistic view than when I started. I provide the best care I can because it is what I expect of myself, saving the world no longer factors in at all.

As for going for the LPN, my only advice is to check your local market and keep researching the way you are now.

Good luck to you.

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