How are you treated by RNs

iLOVEbees · Aug 1, 2006

When I was an LVN, there were always those RNs who looked down at us snidely. It could be minor comments, or the highly annoying habit of prefixing "only an" before my title. They were the minority.

As an RN, I don't hear so much of it now. I think it's because everyone who knows me knows I was an LVN for 10 years before I became an RN, so I'm not going to listen to that nonsense.

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · Aug 2, 2006

I am treated as a part of the team (period). I work in acute care- Med-Surg.

luvmy2angels · Aug 2, 2006

When I worked as an LPN in the hospital the RNs treated us like TOTAL crap!!! We were basically meaningless to them and quit frankly I don't know why they bothered to hire us since all they wanted us to do was vitals and caths. Even the upper management didn't "recognize" us a valuable part of the team. They had a 5 tier program but it was only for the "real nurses" , not us LPNs ( and that came right from the chief executive's mouth). I didn't stay there long.

I am now in LTC and LOVE it!! The Rn supervisors we have are AWESOME, they treat us with respect and kindess and we all work as a team, noone is better than anyone else. I love my job!!!

amylc · Aug 2, 2006

Thanks for your reply. That's what I was afraid of.

lisamc1RN, LPN · Aug 2, 2006

The RNs I work with are awesome! I've never heard anything but positive encouragement from all of them! :)

BlkQueenLPN · Aug 9, 2006

Well for me, in LTC it's mostly LPN's so there isn't really an issue. From time to time you get an RN working the floor and they feel the need to deligate to you as if they are a monager. I just tell them "no" and to ask nicely..lol.

Here in Michigan in the hospitals LPN's work under an RN and are like glorified CNA's so I won't do it here. In La I did med-surg and was on my own and was treated as part of the team. Neuro & Physical rehab was about the same.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Aug 20, 2006

One of my pet peeves is that I have met up with many RNs that have said to me, "You ARE going for your RN in the near future, AREN'T you?" and they are quite shocked when I say " I have not given it one single thought."

I recently passed NCLEX-PN and am now in orientation for my job. At this moment, I am experiencing the transition from nursing assistant to nurse and it is very overwhelming. Things that I would not have paid a moment's attention to is now an issue. But, the reason why I specifically wanted to become an LPN rather than an RN is because I really don't want the responsibility of the RN in any sense of the word. I wanted to care for people a bit further, but am not interested in critical or emergency care or managing staff (I'd avoid LTC, obviously). I don't really care much of what an RN thinks, but I do get very annoyed (thus, very vocal), when I am constantly posed with the question of why/when will I become an RN. What they think does not matter...unsolicited advice is just plain rude.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Aug 20, 2006

I don't really care much of what an RN thinks, but I do get very annoyed (thus, very vocal), when I am constantly posed with the question of why/when will I become an RN. What they think does not matter...unsolicited advice is just plain rude.

Have to agree with this. I have yet to be asked, even after 2-4 years (if i count the time in school, and the time since i passed boards), IF i'm getting my RN, people ask WHEN. And that does gripe me, along with the unsolicited advice.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2006

There will be those RNs that stick their noses up at LPNs, I've seen them. Fortunately, they are in the minority.

O.K. I'm slipping on my flame proof suit here. I'm an RN, so I don't know how it feels to be asked "when are you going for your RN" or "why don't you want to go for your RN", so take it with a grain of salt. I disagree that it's a rude question to ask.

I rarely if ever ask an established LPN, but I often ask LPN students or new grad LPNs if they are going for their RNs. It's a compliment to their skills, professionalism and efficiency as a student/new grad. And quite frankly I hate that LPNs start out in hospitals making such poor money and are taken advantage of, doing such similar work and such responsibility for $6.00 less.

I also ask ADN students, "are you considering and BSN" and BSN students "are you ever going to get a Masters". Call it rude if you want. I disagree.

It must get tiresome to "constantly" (as was stated above) get asked. I'll take that into consideration next time I ask someone.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Aug 20, 2006

Hello Tweety;

LOL, you don't have to put on your flame proof clothing. What I think I need to do is to explain a bit more about how it may feel (to some). Any nursing program is challenging, and what a new grad would like to feel is welcomed and that they do, in fact, contribute to the health care team. And, it may not be just the fact that one is asked if or when they are going to become RNs, but other comments that also follow it. I can give an example. I had a conversation in my orientation class with an ICU RN who also asked this question and I told her that I really wasn't considering it, and she said to her friend "She doesn't want to become a nurse". I said to her "And are you stating that I am not ALREADY a nurse?" and then proceeded to tell her that comments such as those diminish what has already been accomplished. Most people that work in health care have chosen an honest vocation, no matter what the title or pay, and it can be really insulting when people make such thoughtless comments.

While I am new to actually being a nurse and need experience, I did carefully think about which type of nurse I wanted to be, and LPN fit more into my personality because I needed to work from the grass roots to build a foundation. I have no real interest in emergency or critical care, and don't care much for tackling deep pathophysiology or science that I may not ever use again (such as the dreaded chemistry). And, although I did well in school, I realized that I really didn't like the school setting. It was too competitive, went too quickly, and I hated dealing with wacky professors. I made a clear cut decision that I wanted to perform basic care for clients with predictable outcomes (although I know that that is not always the case). While I do admit that I would love the RN pay, I make no bones that I don't want much to do with their responsibility, and I'd rather admit it to myself now, than to pursue a career because of peer pressure. I have noticed that there are people that have pursued their RN NOT because they want to step up to the challenge and contribute more to patient care, but simply because they want to gain the respect of their collagues...a wrong move to me.

I don't think that you personally have meant to offend anyone, actually, and I have to apologize to you and others for generalizing. Next time, I'll be more clear in what I was meaning.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Aug 20, 2006

Pretty much my feeling after graduating, when people would ask me WHEN i'm going back to school was "i just got finished with 2 years of hell, and you're asking me when i'm going BACK?". Did i say that, no, came very close to it though. I did tell one person (who'd known me for all of a few minutes) who'd taken it upon themselves to launch into their career plan for me, that "my life, my career, i'll make the decisions on both, thanks."

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2006

pagandeva2000, thanks for reading my post and responding. The times I ask/encourgage students new greads to pursue an RN it's not meant to demean the LPN role. In the future I will be mindful of how I ask, if I ask, and how I respond to their answers.

Now, since this thread is not directed towards RNs, I'll step out. I just wanted to address the "it's rude to ask if an LPN is going for an RN" thingie. :)

That ICU nurse is a rude toad. I'm sorry there are RNs like that out there.