Is It Possible An LPN Can Make More Then An RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm an RN. I work for a well known national home care agency. Somehow payroll mixed up our paychecks; I got her (she is an LPN ) hourly rate of pay on my paycheck and she got mine.

I found out she was making $23.00 an hour but I am making $21.00, and we both work on the same cases, so the acuity level of the clients is the same. She has been with this particular office for 2 years. I been with this office for 5 months. How do i approach the clinical manager about how unfair that is? (We also have the same level of experience)

Specializes in Occupational health, Corrections, PACU.
Yes in certain rare instances LPN's will make more money than RN's. An LPN who has YEARS of experience could very well be making more money than a new grad or 1-2 year experience RN...now don't get your knickers in a wad, those of us who've put in years and years of work SHOULD be making more than a new grad RN or LPN. I'm sure in a few years you as an RN will surpass the LPN wages.

And as others say, if you like your job it's a big no no to discuss others wages. A big mistake was made by accounting that let you in on private, privilaged info, so if you like your job...don't discuss it with anyone, buck up and realize that over the years your earning potential will far surpass that of an LPN's.

Years ago I was doing agency work at a large well known teaching hospital, I was on nights and my floor super was a brand new grad just turned loose on the floor. Because of my agency status my scope of practice was less than what would have been normal for an employee LPN. We had a patient come to the floor that needed a foley cath inserted...sigh, this woman had never put one in and never seen it done, I on the other had been doing the procedure for years. But because of my "temp" status I couldn't do it and it was up to her to insert the foley. Soooo, she called her night manager and was told to do it. So to be pro active and do what was best for the patient interests, I voluntered to to "talk her through it". Which I did, she managed to do it without too much trauma to the patient. Yet, when she gave me my eval for the night, she requested NOT to work with me again:mad:. I'll assume she was embarrassed that OMG an LPN knew more than she did and didn't want to be reminded of it by seeing me again. Fortunatly the night manager figured it out and refused to submit the report and made one of her own...Now my point of this long story is; Should she have been making more than me...I think not. I'm sure one day she surpassed my wages but not then...not that night.

I am a BSN, RN...and I absolutely LOVED this story!! Thank you for sharing. I have seen some self-righteous know-it-all RN's in my time, ESPECIALLY when I was a new GN/RN. And I have seen some LVN's that ROCK-one in particular taught me SOOOO much when I entered a new setting and had to do things that I had never encountered before. GOOD for you! And, yes...you deserve every penny.

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Specializes in Rehab, Infection, LTC.

I work with quite a few LPNs that probably make more than me. they've been with the company longer. i also accidentally found out that of the 6 RNs in our facility, Iam the one that makes the least amount per hour. i've been there longer than a few of the RNs but they've been nurses longer than i've been alive.

my point is this....

if someone makes more than me, then i'm happy for them. if i didnt like my salary, i could either ask for a raise or look for a new job.

cant you just be happy for her?

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Specializes in Occupational health, Corrections, PACU.

But, more to the point....I would heed the advice of the other nurses that answered first, and not say anything at this point. HOWEVER, I would keep that in my back pocket (figuratively) when it came time for a performance review. If you have the time in, in this type of job, and can do all of the same work (and more, by virtue of your RN license), then I would be straight-forward and say that, even though it was not your fault that you noted another person's pay scale, you DO believe that you should be making as much or more than the LPN and you would expect to be compensated as such. Then, if they refuse to raise your pay to an acceptable level, leave. There will be another agency that will.

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Specializes in NICU.

kajunnurse, I don't think the OP meant that at all and perhaps you took it the wrong way. Her concerns do hold some merit, anybody would be concerned if someone with not as much education as they have ended up making more money than them. It's a normal human reaction, but I highly doubt the OP was trying to belittle LPNs and imply that LPNs are too stupid to make more money than an RN. :-/

To the OP I agree with the others. This is a touchy situation and mentioning someone else's salary is usually going to get you into a sticky situation and you might end up wishing you said nothing.

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I do not think the OP meant that at all. I would be surprised, for example, if I found out that a staff nurse was making more money than a nurse practioner. The staff nurse may (or may not) have been "smarter" than the NP, had great skills, was a great nurse and be dependable....which was not why I would be suprised. NP's generally make more money than staff nurses....in the same vein RN's generally make more money than LPN's.

Relax folks.

I agree that in many circumstance RNS are more skilled than LPNs and should be paid accordingly. But I have worked side by side with RNs who went to school the same amount of time as me, with less experience than me, doing all the same job duties, with the exception of maybe two things such as hanging blood and IVP who get paid DOUBLE my salary or more. That is simply flawed and unfair. I think the most important thing to remember in the age old battle of LPNs vs. RNs is that no matter what our tile may be, that it takes everyone from the Doctor on down to the cook to successfully take care of a patient/resident. In my experience I found that more often than not, many non-specialized RNs feel as though they are leaps and bounds better than all LPNs. I agree with the previous post that it is a shame how I am treated with more respect as a student RN than a working LPN. The answer to the question is it fair for an LPN to make more than a RN is in some circumstances YES they should.

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Some of these posts really surprise me. In nj lpns made 22 and rns made 30,so that's a big difference.(in nc its different) Oh and I was an lpn for 4 years,so its not like I'm saying she shouldn't. So my point is why did I just bust my orifice to get the rn to get paid less? As I typed,we hjave an equal level of experience and years. We are doing the same job,so they are getting an rn level of work for lpn pay,and that seems fair to u guys? I swear nurses are aour worst enemy.

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And why do you care about who makes what?:uhoh3:

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And why do you care about who makes what?:uhoh3:

Because its my paycheck maybe? Let me ask,if your company paid male nurses more you would mind your own business if you found out accidently like I did? Why can't everyone get equal pay. I see comprehension skills are severely lacking on this board.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

Please can we refrain from making personal comments and keep this thread respectful, I appreciate this is a subject that many members are going to have strong opinions about but we can discuss and debate without being rude.

Thank you

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
This is funny. What a shame a little lowly LPN is making more than a great big RN. Never mind that she may be a valuable asset to the company. Have you ever thought maybe she is a GREAT nurse who has excellent skills and dependable? Maybe she is I don't know..........very good at her Job. Are you saying that just because she is an LPN she MUST be making less than that RN?Maybe when she was hired she was smart enough, even though she is an LPN, to make sure her pay equaled her value. I know it is hard for some people to process the words smart and LPN in the same sentence.

Wow. Chip on shoulder comes to mind.

And yes, in the real world, the RN does tend to earn more than the LPN due to increased education and passage of the RN NCLEX, thus, the OP's assumption.

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I, an Rn, work for a well known national home care agency. somehow payroll mixed up our paychecks; I got her(she is an lpn) hourly rate of pay on my paycheck and she got mine. I found out she was making $23.00 an hour but I am making $21.00, and we both work on the same cases,so the acuity level of the clients is the same. she has been with this particular office for 2 years.I been with this office for 5 months. How do i approach the clinical manager about how unfair that is? {We also have the same level of experience}

Like you stated, she has worked there for 2 years and thus has 2 years of raises as well.

otessa

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why can't everyone get equal pay. i see comprehension skills are severely lacking on this board.

yeah "equal pay" in same bracket. what is mean is that nurses should be paided based on title, specialty, and experience.

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