How far can an Practical Nurse go in their Career?

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These are questions about Practical Nursing in Canada:

FIRST:

I was just curious to know how far up the corporate ladder Licensed Practical Nurses/Registered Practical Nurses can go in their career. Is bedside care the last stop in a LPN's/RPN's career path? Please advise.

My goal is to become nurse. I want to become an RN simply because i hear that they have much more opportunity in various areas of nursing and greater opportunity for advancement. I am the type of individual that gets bored easily once a certain line of work is championed and so my concern is reaching a dead end very early in my career.

SECOND:

Would any nurses (RN's or RPN's/LPN's) know the government funding situation for LPN's/ RPN's in Canada? I hear rumors that RN's will slowly be phased out of various hospital settings, as the RPN's/LPN's will he inheriting their roles and responsibilities (which than contradicts the above statement of greater advancement and opportunity for Registered Nurses. Does that mean that RPN's will incur a pay increase as their scope of practice expands?

Does that mean RN's will be left to do administrative/managerial work?

I guess it would help to let you know that i am greatly interested in becoming a nurse that invests heavily on bedside care however, not just in one area of bedside care. I want to experience bedside care in various areas of practice, from the elderly to the very young; and also i want experience practicing bedside care in the OR, ER, ICU. Basically bedside care in all areas of nursing. Later in my career, i see myself teaching. I hope this helps with your reply.

I really don't know what Route i should take, RN or the RPN.

Looking forward to your Feedback!

Thank you,

Sincerely,

future_hero

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Specializes in Hospital nursing.

RPNs/LPNs can work in ER, OR and most other settings. So far, not many places have them in ICU, but that could change one day.

For OR you usually need the OR certificate, but you can usually do that part-time while you work in another area of nursing.

RPNs/LPNs can do things besides bedside nursing...many Directors of Care in LTC are RPNs/LPNs. Hospitals are a bit more limited...

You can always bridge to RN if you find that you have gone as far as you can in your career as an RPN/LPN. In the meantime, you could work and gain valuable nursing experience.

Best of luck in your career!

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There isn't really "bedside" care in the OR. The circulator has more contact with the patient than the scrub. The scrub mainly handles the instruments and works with the surgeon. The circulator is more hands on pre-ope (they aren't sterile) and will assist with positioning, etc.

The OR certificate isn't really difficult, in most provinces it's self study, it's the practical part of the course that is more intense.

Dialysis is interesting but a very mechanical job also. With three patients get on and off their machines there really isn't a lot of getting to know your patient. They are a very different population due to their chronic illness.

Wound care is an area that PNs are becoming expert in within my hospital. Ostomy care and education is an area that is expanding.

In my province PNs are in the ER setting and the ICUs.

What you have to understand with the pay situation is your union bargains for you NOT your provincial college. The College is constantly working to expand our scope but will do nothing to increase our earning potential. I think that is a mistake that many new grads make. They become active within the College thinking they can change things but they should become active within their unions, because that is where the negotating over wages occurs.

There is a theory within my province that the RNs and their union have reached the top of their earning potential. They've bargained hard and fast and got what they wanted. But there is also a ceiling on how far they can go.

To teach PNs you need a degree. LPNs with BEds teach in my province and RNs also teach. Unfortunately, the RNs do not require a degree in education and many have no teaching skills (I speak from my experience in College). Nurse educators within the hospital setting are BScNs and we are seeing a trend for them to have Masters.

The reality is within my hospital setting we are seeing more and more LPNs on the acute care and outpatient floors. Degree RNs are working their way more and more into management and further away from patient care.

Your haven't started your education yet, so it is easy to imagine an area where you think your interest will lie. Trust me it will change with your education. I thought I'd work in Geriatrics. LTC isn't for me. Too many family dynamics and the nurse is never given the support from management they need. I work with elders on a daily basis but I'm not in LTC, wouldn't go back if my life depended upon it. Most of my class wanted post partum. Very few jobs there in reality (the staff there usually has a very low turnover), I think 2 out of 50 have ever had work there.

Pediatrics is an option. But I knew before I went there it wan't an area that would lure me in.

Corrections hire LPNs. Management is more accessible in LTC for LPNs, if you want that kind of job. Public Health's school immunization here is heavily LPN.

It really depends upon your province and where your interests during College lead you. I have friends who walked away from nursing within two years of qualifying because nursing just wasn't what they had thought it would be. A good friend from College works in Home Depot and let her permit lapse because she found the job brutal and the hours terrible.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I will second the statement that Fiona made regarding scope of practice and pay. I find that the PN scope is rapidly expanding where I work but the pay is not increasing accordingly.The college is quite willing to pile responsibilities on us but we have to depend on our unions to fight for higher wages, something they haven't had much luck with.

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Thank you CDNGRL79. With regards to the below statement,

For OR you usually need the OR certificate, but you can usually do that part-time while you work in another area of nursing.

Just to confirm, for the OR certificate and other certificates, isn't the minimum requirement a 4 year degree in nursing? please advise.

And thank you for your kind wishes!

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Thank you for your detailed reply Fiona. I have a few questions to ask you about your response as i am new to some of the wording that you have used in your reply and am looking to get clarity on the following:

May i ask what province you work in?

What/who is it that you are referring to as the scrub?

What/who is it that you are referring to as the circulator?

are the above roles nursing positions?

Do you require a 4-year RN degree in order to study for the OR certificate? Do i require a certificate to study in the ER, ICU settings?

About the involvement with Unions and Colleges, i thank you for that very important piece of information. This will definitely assist with my decision making as to where i want to be more heavily involved. I live in Ontario and from what i hear RPN's are under appreciated but yet again its all hear-say.

Your haven't started your education yet, so it is easy to imagine an area where you think your interest will lie. Trust me it will change with your education. I thought I'd work in Geriatrics. LTC isn't for me. Too many family dynamics and the nurse is never given the support from management they need. I work with elders on a daily basis but I'm not in LTC, wouldn't go back if my life depended upon it. Most of my class wanted post partum. Very few jobs there in reality (the staff there usually has a very low turnover), I think 2 out of 50 have ever had work there.

I would have to agree about the lack of support. I have seen some RN's in LTC settings and they always appear to be overworked. I am guessing that has a lot to do with the provincial funding???

Corrections hire LPNs. Management is more accessible in LTC for LPNs, if you want that kind of job. Public Health's school immunization here is heavily LPN. >>>>>What/who is it that you refer to as corrections?

Thank you very much for your in depth insight. This info I am certain would not be in any theory text book and thank you in advance for answering all my newbie questions.

Future_hero

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

There are OR certificate programs available for RPNs.

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Thank you CDNGRL79. With regards to the below statement,

For OR you usually need the OR certificate, but you can usually do that part-time while you work in another area of nursing.

Just to confirm, for the OR certificate and other certificates, isn't the minimum requirement a 4 year degree in nursing? please advise.

And thank you for your kind wishes!

Nope if you look at some college websites they tell you which certificates for RNs and which ones are for PNs. Most of the time it requires that you are entitled to practice with a college of nurses as either an RN or a PN.

e.g.

http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/continuing-education/registered-practical-nurse-operating-room-nursing.html

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Do i require a certificate to study in the ER, ICU settings?

Usually (not always the case) what happens is that you have at least 2 years experience on a med-surg floor. Then you apply for an ER or ICU positions where the facility puts you through school to be certified in the said area of nursing. For example, if you want to do ICU, they usually make you take a coronary care course, etc. If you want to know what each specific nursing area requires for them to hire you look at current job postings because they usually state which certifications they want for you to have.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

It depends on the workplace as well. Where i work there are RPNs in the ER and they have no special training, just a few days of orientation.

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Corrections equals prisons, think Corrections Canada.

Scrub is the OR nurse responsible for setup and passing of instruments during a surgery.

Circulator is the nurse who records, monitors, communicates with the world outside the OR. They are sort of the eyes of the room. They monitor for breaks in sterile technique, log off the items used during a surgery. Count with the scrub. If something is needed from outside the theatre, they request and receive it.

In Canada an LPN with a post grad certificate in the OR is know as an LPN/ORT. OR Tech in other words. It's a course that usually takes six months and is usually funded by the nurse. It involves a loss of pay for three months, while the practical hours are obtained.

I work in Alberta. LPNs in this province have one of the broadest scopes in Canada. Unfortunately, CLPNA with our provincial government are only to happy to expand our scope. Working LPNs are never consulted as are my RN co-workers who have the same thing happening to them with CARNA. It's ultimately about the provincial government getting as much value as it can from their healthcare workforce/dollar.

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I hear rumors that RN's will slowly be phased out of various hospital settings, as the RPN's/LPN's will he inheriting their roles and responsibilities (which than contradicts the above statement of greater advancement and opportunity for Registered Nurses. Does that mean that RPN's will incur a pay increase as their scope of practice expands?

Does that mean RN's will be left to do administrative/managerial work?

I personally don't think so because not all RNs and PNs want to take on administrative/managerial roles. Besides there just too many RNs and few administrative/managerial roles to go around.

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