"Just an LPN"....does anyone else get discouraged?

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hello nurses!

I have been discouraged lately...I feel like I am constantly fighting off the stigma of being "just an LPN." When people ask what I do, I always say I am a nurse....they then want to know if that means "RN" and of course what hospital do I work at???!!!!! I work in a clinic and have been an LPN for several years. UGGGHHH!!! Anyone else have this challenge?

Denise

Specializes in family practice, pediatric, LTC/AL/PC.
I don't know why some people are so thick-headed. A NURSE IS A NURSE, regardless of the initials behind her/his name. It is still a stigma, even in the hospital that I work in. One particular floor let's their "disdain" for LPN's known. I floated to that floor a few times (I am a RN), and a couple of LPN's were telling me about how the nurses felt about LPN's. I have met some LPN's who were better at nursing than many RN's. I don't think this stigma will ever go away. I know that there are some places that try not to even hire LPN's. It's crazy. Just try to IGNORE simple-minded people, and remember, you EARNED the right to be called and considered a nurse. :rolleyes:

:yeahthat: RIGHT I agree with you 100%. Thats exactly it, SIMPLE-MINDED PEOPLE. I like to see if any of those people can get through an LPN or RN nursing program and not to mention the state boards! Be proud of what you do, no matter what the title!!! :) YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

The stigma will never go away. Like a poster on another thread pointed out, if we were all BSN's and didn't have anyone to belittle and be better than, we would then start fighting over who went to the best/most prestigious nursing school and who had to work the hardest to become a nurse.

Example: "Oh, your school didn't require this subject or that subject? Man you had it easy, I don't know how you could call yourself a nurse unless you had the same cirriculum that I had."

:angryfire I know exactly what you are going through recently I have had several family members have surgery and they have called a nurse to ask a question when I have been right there. ahhhhhhh talk about making me feel useless.I am a very loving and helpful person and would do anything for anyone but people are making me doubt myself to where I am afraid to say a thing unless I run home and look it up. Those inside mind jobs do the most damage. By the way I am half way through classes for RN have been dragging my feet because I love my current job but keep plugging away to keep the family off my back. have a great day

:angryfire I know exactly what you are going through recently I have had several family members have surgery and they have called a nurse to ask a question when I have been right there. ahhhhhhh talk about making me feel useless.I am a very loving and helpful person and would do anything for anyone but people are making me doubt myself to where I am afraid to say a thing unless I run home and look it up. Those inside mind jobs do the most damage. By the way I am half way through classes for RN have been dragging my feet because I love my current job but keep plugging away to keep the family off my back. have a great day

I've been in nursing for 30 years and when a family member asks me a question, I usually don't know what the blazes they are talking about! They go to the doctor and then come home with half the information and the half they give me doesn't make any sense! When I do know what they're asking and provide answers and advice they go off and do something totally different! Tedious either way. I usually tell them to go to Web MD and figure it out!

Don't give up on school! You deserve to finish ... and make more money!

The stigma will never go away. Like a poster on another thread pointed out, if we were all BSN's and didn't have anyone to belittle and be better than, we would then start fighting over who went to the best/most prestigious nursing school and who had to work the hardest to become a nurse.

Example: "Oh, your school didn't require this subject or that subject? Man you had it easy, I don't know how you could call yourself a nurse unless you had the same cirriculum that I had."

Maybe you're really being just sarcastic and don't mean it to be offensive, but your opinion in this statement does come off as offensive to me.

I am an LPN x 31 years now, and I've worked my butt off those years.

I have given med rounds that were way too heavy for one person and had RNs on duty with me who wouldn't lift a finger to help me, because THEY were too scared to give meds.

Just because someone has a BSN does not give them the right to belittle another person just because they don't have the degree that they do.

I am a Christian and I happen to believe that the Golden Rule should apply in every part of our lives, even work.

That rule is do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

I don't care who you are, or what degree you have, you are not better than me.

God, himself, is over us all.....but guess what.... HE doesn't belittle ANYone.

I think we would all get along much better if we took a cue from God, Jesus, the Bible, and at LEAST tried to get along with each other in our work lives.

wonderfully put. If you are happy and doing what you know in your heart is right it should not matter what others think. Keep you great attitude the world of patients have been blessed by you I am sure.

Actually it is hard to take seriously anyone who claims to have "book knowledge" and can't even spell properly. Everyone has a role to play. RN's, especially the ones coming out of university settings, have much to learn from LPN's who know what it is like to actually take care of patients. In fact things have gotten so bad in RN training that healthcare has been dumbed down to the point where no initials can be used when writing or transcribing. It is hard to believe that people with so much "book knowledge" apparently don't even know what KCl is; it has to be written out specifically as potassium chloride. I knew what KCl was when I graduated high school.

Actually, the theory behind the new "dumbing down and writing out abbreviations" thing is not due to people not being able to spell, but due to handwriting discrepancies. And by the way, I graduated from a diploma RN program before getting my BSN, and diploma programs mean CLINICAL FROM YOUR VERY FIRST DAY IN THE BUILDING, IN ADDITION TO CLASSES. So, I didnt have ANYTHING to learn from an lpn when I got my first nsg job. The only thing I learned from them is how to give a nasty look when a RN student is giving an IV push that she cant do with 20 plus yrs of being an 'LPN"

My normal responce when I have a RN call me "Low Paid Nurse", yea real low paid, "I made 65K last year, how about yourself." I am agency, and work my butt off. That usally shuts the staff RN up real quick. At one hospital I go to a lot, I am usally on of the only "nurses" wh can read a Tele Strip while the other "Real Nurses" stand around picking thier noses. I am ACLS also, and I usally get the patients with a lot of drips. Not bad for a "Little Pretend Nurse"

Take pride in what you are doing and excel in it...

Tony/PHX :rolleyes:

"Some where in Texas, a village is missing its idiot"

Wow, they picked their noses while you read tele strips? All of them? Or just one? Thats great to hear you made 65k. Lets all post our salaries. I made 74 k, and I am not agency, I go to the same unit every shift, no LPN's allowed, I am sorry to report. Oh, and the other day, me and another RN ran a full code while the fellow, resident, and attending sat in the break room playing video games. Can you believe it???:rotfl:

For people who have dedicated their professional lives to performing a role of compassion there seems to be an awful lot of petty snipping in this thread. Instead of bragging about how much money has been made, how about bragging about how many lived have been saved or how many have been made comfortable while dying? Maybe this is an overly altruistic look on things, but a little humility mixed with genuine concern can go a long way.

Ok, my turn to be attacked I guess

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
So, I didnt have ANYTHING to learn from an lpn when I got my first nsg job. The only thing I learned from them is how to give a nasty look when a RN student is giving an IV push that she cant do with 20 plus yrs of being an 'LPN"

Keep in mind, please, that there are some LPN prgrams that are diploma-based, and that their clinicals might have started from WEEK ONE as well. Just because someone didn't learn from one, doesn't mean someone COULDN'T have.

On another thread, the topic is focused on the lack of respect MD's have for nurses and how having a BSN may or may not provide this.

While not condoning people's bragging about their salary and dissing RN's, having been there I can appreciate the frustration.

In terms of learning from others ... each encounter is a learning experience. I may learn a new way to do something or if I'm astute something about myself.

Actually, the theory behind the new "dumbing down and writing out abbreviations" thing is not due to people not being able to spell, but due to handwriting discrepancies. And by the way, I graduated from a diploma RN program before getting my BSN, and diploma programs mean CLINICAL FROM YOUR VERY FIRST DAY IN THE BUILDING, IN ADDITION TO CLASSES. So, I didnt have ANYTHING to learn from an lpn when I got my first nsg job. The only thing I learned from them is how to give a nasty look when a RN student is giving an IV push that she cant do with 20 plus yrs of being an 'LPN"...AND Wow, they picked their noses while you read tele strips? All of them? Or just one? Thats great to hear you made 65k. Lets all post our salaries. I made 74 k, and I am not agency, I go to the same unit every shift, no LPN's allowed, I am sorry to report. Oh, and the other day, me and another RN ran a full code while the fellow, resident, and attending sat in the break room playing video games. Can you believe it???

Your posts convey an arrogance that has no place in any field. Regardless of our educations, we ARE all nurses; and there is a need for us at every level. It's a shame that a fellow nurse could be so disrespecting of any other member of the healthcare team.

By the way, your grammar and punctuation skills leave a lot to be desired for someone so educated. Were you playing video games during your English classes? :rotfl: See, disrespect, when turned around isn't so funny is it?

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