A friend of mine who is an RN at a hospital, as well as my sister, who is an RRT at a different hospital, tells me it's not worth it anymore. I've been told LPN's are being phased out, as more and more facilities are instead hiring CNA's to work under the RN.
My concern is that my GPA thus far, isn't going to make me top choice for nursing school, and the wait time is a minimum of 3+ years around where I live. I was considering taking a LPN course in the meantime, to gain valuable experience, but I've been told it's basically a waste of money.
It's worth it to me, but then again I love working with the elderly and have no desire to work in a hospital or critical care setting. The only reason I may end up going back for my RN is because I want to eventually work in psych.
A friend of mine who is an RN at a hospital, as well as my sister, who is an RRT at a different hospital, tells me it's not worth it anymore. I've been told LPN's are being phased out, as more and more facilities are instead hiring CNA's to work under the RN.
My concern is that my GPA thus far, isn't going to make me top choice for nursing school, and the wait time is a minimum of 3+ years around where I live. I was considering taking a LPN course in the meantime, to gain valuable experience, but I've been told it's basically a waste of money.
I think it is worth it. I was in your shoes. I have a gpa of 3.4 not bad but not great either. I applied for an RN program here in Florida and was denied. I was crushed. I cried and cried. Then I picked myself off the ground and did a bit of research. LPN to RN is not as strict on their GPA.
So I went thru a local LPN program and have learned sooo much. The RN's at the hospitals we did our clinicals were amazed at how many clinicals we did, but thought it paid off. They said that our hands on skills were very advanced and they had seen many recent RN grads with less hands on learning and skills. (just in my area)
The recent RN grads said that they had half as many clinicals and even if they knew more than us, skill wise many of us seemed to know more than them. There were a few times that a few of us showed a new RN how to do skill related things.
It might be in my area but I would totally suggest going the LPN to RN way if your GPA is going to make it harder to get into school or make you wait longer. I can now call myself a nurse and am very proud of what I have done.
I am going to work part time but like you heard many hospitals are phasing out LPN's. So it really depends on what you want to do. I used the past 14mths as a stepping stone and learning experience. I can call myself a nurse and work on skill building at a ALF or doctors office until I get the wonderful title as an RN.
I'm glad you asked that question OP! I've been wondering the same thing. I'd like to work towards my RN, but I am not ready to devote full time study just yet for the RN degree. There is a part time LPN class near me that would be perfect at this stage in my life. A great stepping stone, and a great way to save up money for future studies so that I don't have to take out student loans. I absolutely love the geriatric population (have worked as an aid and a volunteer there) so working LTC is no problem in my book. :)
Like you, I've heard that LPNs are being phased out and that getting the license isn't worth the time and money. So glad to hear from some actual LPNs that they found their LPN beneficial.
I'd like to clarify something...LPN's are NOT being phased out, I graduated in 1972 when dinos walked the earth and I heard it back then...and guess what we are still here. We might not be welcome in hospitals at this time, but there are plenty of opportunities for us. The LPN>RN>BSN route is always a good alternative for those who need to be working while in school. When you finish you will have a ton of experience your fellow BSNers who went the 4 year route won't have.
Check with your local hospitals... A lot of them have something similar to an LPN-RN bridge program where as an LPN you can work for LPN wages and basically you are being trained by an RN while you are in RN school. If you ultimately want to very your RN , and there is a program like this aground you I would do it! You will learn so much just being in that hospital setting with a seasoned nurse!
I just finished my LPN in May and I will be doing my LPN-RN mobility route as soon as I get accepted to one of the local schools here. I know their next round of application is not until winter but for the time being I will be working as a LPN in a hospital. I will be making some money and gaining some excellent experience. CNA is just a 4 credit class but I reccomend going to do the LPN as you could be waiting for awhile until you can get into an RN program as those are very competitive but if you can get in to a RN program right away then do that:) After LPN to get your ADN is only another year, 20 credits at most of the schools that i'm looking at.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
It will depend on your area and what area you want to be in. The hospitals here in my area (4 of them) will no longer hire LPN's. Only one hospital of the 4 still have them and they have given a deadline for those LPN's to get their RN. They are still utilized in the area, just not in the hospital here. This can vary greatly on where you're at.
It has been completely worth it for me! It all depends on what your long term goals are and what your opportunities are for LPNs in your area.
I work in acute care and do a number of skills that even 2nd and 3rd year BScN students haven't learned yet. There is a ton of opportunity for LPNs in my area.
Having said that, there is still more opportunity for RNs and I do plan to go back to school and get a BScN, RN. (In Canada, there is no ADN. Just LPN and BScN).
My education and experience as an LPN will put me heads and shoulders above most of my classmates at the beginning (I will bridge into 2nd year BScN). Although I'm sure by the end of 3rd or 4th year, my advantage will be gone. I am very glad I did it this way as I am earning a very good living now and have the very invaluable experience as I persue a BScN.
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Brea LPN
143 Posts
I'm very happy to be a LPN, but I love LTC. It depends on where you work. Most LPNs work in LTC, home health, and doctor's offices.