Is being a CNA better than an lpn

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Specializes in medical asst.

hi everyone

I am a bit confuse is an lpn better than CNA or what I just need to know

I am going for an lpn class but if I need the CNA experience please let me know also I use to be a medical assistant , blood and all about 9 years ago does that help me, I work in a city job now but not happy advice please:innerconf:idea:

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Specializes in ALF, Medical, ER.
hi everyone

i am a bit confuse is an lpn better than cna or what i just need to know

i am going for an lpn class but if i need the cna experience please let me know also i use to be a medical assistant , blood and all about 9 years ago does that help me, i work in a city job now but not happy advice please:innerconf:idea:

Well I don't know what you are trying to ask by saying "better" than so let me give this a shot.

First off my personal opinion is that anyone could benefit from the experience of being a CNA. I think it lays good groundwork for prioritizing, time management, learning how to handle patients, family members, other members of the healthcare team. So yes I would say that any CNA experience would be beneficial. Keep in mind tho that some LPN programs would do some clinicals regarding CNA work so you may not need to pursue that avenue seperately, rather it would be incorporated into your LPN program.

Any experience in the healthcare field can be helpful to you. Even tho it was 9 years ago, alot of the information you learned previously may come back and help you now.

As far as LPNs being "better" than CNAs I would just say that they have more time in school and more responsibilities than a CNA does.

Good Luck in whatever you do. Hope this was helpful

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Specializes in Hospice.

Some LPN schools where I live even require their students to get certified as a nurse aid before you can start nursing school!

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

What do you mean by "better"?

A CNA is a Certified Nursing Assistant. An LPN is a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Not to oversimplify, but a CNA functions in a support role to the nurse, assisting with things like the measurement of vital signs and oral intake and urinary output, and assisting the patient with activities of dailly living. The LPN provides nursing care to the patient, such as assessment, medication administration, and patient care procedures such as those that require sterile technique.

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What do you mean by "better"?

A CNA is a Certified Nursing Assistant. An LPN is a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Not to oversimplify, but a CNA functions in a support role to the nurse, assisting with things like the measurement of vital signs and oral intake and urinary output, and assisting the patient with activities of dailly living. The LPN provides nursing care to the patient, such as assessment, medication administration, and patient care procedures such as those that require sterile technique.

Good description. I tell my family when they ask what I do that I do the things that nurses were trained to do but don't have time to do. I do all the little things that can be time consuming, thus freeing up the nurse to talk to dr's, family members, administer meds, etc. I see the pt's more than nurses do (most of the time anyway) and I am their eyes and ears.

I don't know what you mean by "better" either. I don't recall if you stated what state you live in, but I know that in some states LPN's are really limited in what they can and cannot do. I've heard that some states will not allow LPN's to assess, administer IV medications, or hang blood. In Indiana it's pretty lax. They have to have an RN sign off on care plans and initial assessments but I think that's their limit. If you are thinking of becoming a LPN, I would suggest looking at what you will be able to perform as a nurse.

I'm a CNA right now and if I had a choice between staying a CNA or becoming a LPN, I would choose the latter. But I'm choosing a completely different career path - law. A CNA is stuck as a CNA. As an LPN you can become a RN, and the possibilities are endless as a nurse (LPN or RN). There is nothing wrong with staying a LPN. I work with some incredible LPN's, although they're nurses to me. I don't think they get the respect they deserve though.

As an LPN you can work in most of the same areas as a RN. Where I work there are no LPN's in ICU but they are in every other department.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, Hemodialysis.
hi everyone

i am a bit confuse is an lpn better than cna or what i just need to know

i am going for an lpn class but if i need the cna experience please let me know also i use to be a medical assistant , blood and all about 9 years ago does that help me, i work in a city job now but not happy advice please:innerconf:idea:

I hope everyone does not get "bent out of shape" over your use of the word better!!! I don't THINK you meant it how some will read it.

However, in the hierarchy of nursing, it would go...CNA, then LPN, and then RN.

LPN and RNs are nurses while the CNA is a nursing assistant. Just like you were not a doctor, you were a medical assistant!!! You were VERY valuable to the doctor and surely he could not have made it through out his/her day without your help, but you were still there to assist him/her with delivering his/her medical treatments to his/her patients.

As for your second question, YES, being a CNA will help you along the path to becoming a nurse. Also, your medical assisting will help. I worked as a medical assistant, cardiac monitor tech, unit clerk, hospital transporter, as well as a CNA!!! All have been of value to me now that I am and RN.

I wish you all the best with your decision.

Sincerely,

Jay

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hi everyone

i am a bit confuse is an lpn better than cna or what i just need to know

i am going for an lpn class but if i need the cna experience please let me know also i use to be a medical assistant , blood and all about 9 years ago does that help me, i work in a city job now but not happy advice please:innerconf:idea:

I love being a CNA and plan to keep my CNA license after I graduate nursing school.

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I'm a CNA right now and if I had a choice between staying a CNA or becoming a LPN, I would choose the latter. But I'm choosing a completely different career path - law. A CNA is stuck as a CNA.

I'm doing the complete opposite as you. I am a patent and trademark paralegal who grew tired of the constant pressure to produce more client-billable hours. I worked overtime weekly (not by choice). The paralegals in the IP (intellectual property) group worked nearly every weekend. The job was very deadline-intensive! The pressure was great. I left my well-paying job of $56K per year (that was w/o overtime pay) to become a CNA. My course begins on Tuesday, 1/15/2008. If I like it, I will consider becoming an LPN and then an RN. Law is the opposite end of the spectrum from hands-on nursing.

Also, becoming a CNA is more of a stepping stone for other nursing-related careers. I don't think we're ever "stuck" unless we choose to be.

I guess it's a personal choice. I'm ready for a major change and am prepared for the dip in pay. Hey, it's only money. I just want to love my work.

Good luck to everyone out there making career changes, and please wish me luck too!

Thanks!

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Good luck, gonzo!

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Good evening all! Thanks for such a wonderful forum! Being a CNA IS better than being an LVN in that, as CNA's, we can spend a great deal of more time with the residents than an LVN. We develop a more interpersonal rapport with the residents, and, from my own personal experience of being a CNA for the past seventeen years now, I find that those residents become like part of MY OWN family!! They look forward to having me care for them on a regular basis. I guess in a sense, LVN's also develop some sort of a rapport with the residents, but it's just not the same as a CNA/resident rapport. If you talk about financial-wise type of "better", then of course being an LVN is better than a CNA ANY DAY!!! I will also say this: Both LVN's and RN's are MORE RESPECTED AND VALUED THAN CNA'S ARE!! I see evidence of that each and every time I see in my newspaper employment classifieds the ads for "new LVN Graduates" or "new RN Graduates" to come and apply for employment with any given hospital, and especially on the educational front with the "step-up" programs for LVN's to become RN's and for RN's to go on and get their Master's or Phd degrees. I don't see ANY educational advancements for us CNA'S AT ALL!! And that's very shameful, as we are the "backbone" of the field of nursing proper. When you attend a nursing school program, albeit a vocational or Registered Nursing program of study, you cover the "grass roots" of nursing, (ie: CNA nursing) before you go farther off into the program. I don't know if this will ever happen in my lifetime, but I hope that the "future and upcoming CNA's" will have the respect, prestige, decent wages per hour and advancement opportunity accessible to them that CNA's in my era were denied.:nurse:

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant.

Well put San Diego! Actually, a community college in my area allows CNA's to challenge certain clinical portions of the nursing program based on their experience. They can "test-out" so to speak, and save some time and money!

To help answer the orignial post question, an LPN is a nurse, a CNA is an assistant to the nurse. Many programs for LPN's incorporate basic patient care (CNA work) into the curriculum. Good luck with your indeavors!

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ive been a cna and im now going to nursing school. i would have to say i think being a lpn is going to be alot better. more money, and better hours. from my experience as a cna, i would never do that again. the nursing homes i have worked at treated the cna's like crap. they do the "dirty" work. being a lpn, or rn is alot better than being a cna. i have lpn's and rn's in my family, and they agree. im not putting cna's down, if ya can do that job, and be happy with it, god bless ya!:bow:

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