How different is RN school from LPN training

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jun 23, 2011

I'm currently a LPN in RN school. I hope to graduate in Dec. To be honest I don't see RN school any harder than LPN school. RN school does go more in depth about certain concepts and medications. I actually went more in depth about some things in LPN school than RN school, for example the heart.

Being a LPN has made RN school a little easier. Alot of medications and labs I'm already familiar with.

Good luck in your studies.

proudpops · Jun 23, 2011

thats what i was hoping, and more so thinking....thanks

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2011

In my opinion, the LVN program that I attended was slightly more difficult than the RN completion program. The RN program simply covered content that many LPN programs do not teach such as leadership, management, ethics, legal issues, advanced med/surg, and so forth.

LoLa.M · Jun 26, 2011

I am currently in RN in school and I feel that it is more difficult then my LPN training. I am not sure if it is due to the amount of content we are expected to learn in a short amount of time that makes it harder or if this time around I am more motivated to make higher grades in nursing school and the stress from that makes its seem harder. However, nothing in life worth having comes easily. Yes, obtaining your RN is going to take a lot of work but it is doable. :up:

Jenn_LPN · Jun 27, 2011

Hello All,
I am a 21y/o LPN student (graduating in December ) I was wondering from those who went on for RN training did you notice much of a difference in intensity. I hear nightmare stories of how RN school is LPN school times 40 in regards to content, is there that really that much of a learning curve? Am I wrong in saying that as an LPN you learn a vast majority of what you will encounter as an RN? If anyone can provide some input I would be a happy camper......

I am currently in my last semester of the RN program. Since I'm already an LPN, we are out of sync with the rest of the class, so our final, advanced med/surge semester is taken in the summer. That means that the semester has been reduced to a 10 week cycle. It's fast, furious, and VERY anxiety-producing. I would say that the RN program is there to weed out the weak. You better learn how to study. :nurse:

heathert_kc · Jun 27, 2011

I joined the second half of a one plus one program and feel that being an LPN graduate with 2 years experience gave me an advantage over the newly licensed LPNs that have been apart of the program the whole time. I mean they are a little more used to studying all the time, due to all the recent practice. I just finished my first semester (it's 2 semester program). Not sure if it is much easier than my LPN, but I know that I cannot say that it is significantly harder.

dee78 · Jun 28, 2011

I would say that it really depends on the LPN school and the RN school. My LPN school wasn't academically tough, IMO, but it was a very stressful environment. We went Mon-Fri 8-3, so those that had to work and study had a much harder time. It was a 1 year program.

Now I'm only a month or so into the RN program and it isn't harder. Right now we go 2 days a week, next semester it will be 3. I have more time to study and they give us more resources. Their skills checkoffs are more stressful because the LPN teachers basically walked you through them but the tests seem to be from the presentations. They provide audios of the lectures where we weren't allowed to record anything in LPN school. All of this is at the same school, btw.

Bebet39 · Jun 30, 2011

I would say that it really depends on the LPN school and the RN school. My LPN school wasn't academically tough, IMO, but it was a very stressful environment. We went Mon-Fri 8-3, so those that had to work and study had a much harder time. It was a 1 year program.
Now I'm only a month or so into the RN program and it isn't harder. Right now we go 2 days a week, next semester it will be 3. I have more time to study and they give us more resources. Their skills checkoffs are more stressful because the LPN teachers basically walked you through them but the tests seem to be from the presentations. They provide audios of the lectures where we weren't allowed to record anything in LPN school. All of this is at the same school, btw.

Yeah, I agree. College is so different; at least you can record the lectures.

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2011

I'm finding my BSN program more intense than my LPN program...not harder, though. I found that I really enjoyed my first semester of patho/pharm and I'm looking forward to semester 2 of it. I hated pharm in LPN school, because it was really just a lot of memorization...just the" how" and not the "why".

I began my LPN training w/ very little experience. I had been a group home manager for DD adults. Sometimes I find being an LPN gives me a little edge over the other students, but not always. For instance, an instructor is giving a lecture and I have to remember to think the "student way" not the "nurse way". A couple of my instructors haven't practiced nursing in YEARS and some of the things they say in class is total hogwash. I'll make myself a mental note to answer test questions the way THEY want it, not the way it is in the real world.

I also noticed that we had a lot more clinical time in my LPN program. Overall, I'm enjoying school.

Joseph Johnson · Sep 20, 2011

I received my ADN in '97. It was actually a 3-year-program due to the prereqs. Many of you have made remarks stating that your RN programs were not difficult. Mine was. We started with 80 students and only 40 graduated. I now have three college degrees: two associates and a bachelor's. I went to a private Catholic College for nursing and it was very difficult. My academic history includes A's in calculus and physics, but these areas were a cake walk compared to the intensity of that nursing program. I'm not telling my history to impress anyone. On the contrary, I must have been overtrained! I know that we all have to pass the same licensing test, but I know of very few college-trained RNs who would say it was "not difficult." And yes, I have had LPNs get defensive towards me at work and claim that I treated them "differently" at times because I was the Charge RN. Yet, many of those LPNs who became RNs have received the same "you're pickin on me" attitudes! Unreal. The fact is that RN programs make every effort to teach critical-thinking skills. Most learn them, some don't. And of course I know LPNs that I can't compete with because they are just too damn smart. And I know RNs that make me wonder how in the he'll they passed the NCLEX! Lastly, I feel that nursing is a field that can and will likely suck your emotions dry! I really hate to say that I remain in this field due to inability to match my income with anything else that I could do. I do like the ability to make more money by working extra when I chose to do so. Thanks and good luck to all.

1uvakindmom · Sep 23, 2011

I think my lpn program was harder...more intense.