LPN's Are they really being phased out?

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

Some of the advisors at the college i'm attendin are saying that LPN's are being completely phased out. I was advised against the LPN program at ECPI by 2 different advisors even though my heart was set on being a nurse not a MA. Have any of you noticed that LPN's are actually being phased out? I know if I were to switch to the LPN program that I would eventually bridge over to RN. I guess what i'm asking is do you see the phasing out happening in the next couple of years? Thanks.

Amber

Specializes in Geriatric Nurse.

In NC, at least where I work, I do IV's, I draw blood for lab tests,I can give most IV meds, like piggybacks. I can also do IV push meds such as Lasix, Dextrose, etc. I don't do Central lines.

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Yea, if a LPN cannot do IVs on any patient or do the first assesment on a new admit, the LPN is quite useless in a RN's point of view..That is reality in California..

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Specializes in MICU/SICU and PACU.
Yea, if a LPN cannot do IVs on any patient or do the first assesment on a new admit, the LPN is quite useless in a RN's point of view..That is reality in California..

Although I haven't worked in an area that employs LPN/LVN's in a long time, I have to say that for someone to speak for all RN's and to say that we feel that LPN/LVN's are "useless" from our "point of view" is a little harsh and somewhat distorted.

From speaking to the med/surg floor nurses that I often bring patients to, I can tell you exactly what the "reality" is:

The concern in CA is not about how useful the LVN role is, the concern is in the language written in the CA BNE Nurse Practice Act and how RN's end up being responsible for an LVN's patients, from a legal standpoint. An RN can end up being legally responsible for 10 instead of 5 patients, for example, when assigned responsibility for an LVN's patients.

There is a lot more to patient care than IV's and initial assessments and the fact that CA doesn't want LVN's completing these tasks hardly makes them useless.

Rather, it's time for CA to begin to re-examine the LVN role in patient care and how some modernization and updating in old school thinking can help to alleviate CA's nursing problems.

Many other states allow LPN/LVN's to start IV's, hang and even push many IV drugs, central lines, etc. and patients are not dying in numbers simply because these tasks aren't being performed by RN's.

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Specializes in Geriatric Nurse.

Bruce RN. I agree with your commentary. I do all these things, but I have gone to IV certification classes at our local Community College. If more training and certification were available for your LPN/LVN then everyone would feel more at ease with these duties being done by us.:caduceus:

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The hospital I work at has stopped hiring LVN's but has retained the one's already on staff. However, there are other hospitals in this area still hiring LVN's.

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For my area (Dallas/Ft.Worth) the answer is yes. Despite the shortage of nurses, more new hospitals are RN only and others are going that route by not hiring any new LVNs. There are still jobs, but the flexibility is less.

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Specializes in Home Health Care.

The hospital that I'm doing clinicals at stopped hiring LPN's this year and are giving the option to LPN's to get their RN or find another place of employment. :(

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wow! what a shame, i really hope they don't do away with LPN/LVN's it would be a sorry mistake:madface: . If anything you guys in the US should learn from our mistakes, the UK stopped training SEN's (state enrolled nurses) in the late 80's early 90's and there have been so many problems since i.e. untrained unregistered staff doing things way above their abilities and major staff shortages! LONG LIVE THE LPN/LVN P.S BRING BACK THE SEN!!!!!!

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Amber, if you do a search of the allnurses site, this question has come up several times. There has ALWAYS been talk of "phasing out LPN's", and as a former LPN, that is plain fiction.

If you want to go the LPN route, do so. Don't let others change your mind if this is the path you want to follow.

Suebird :p

:paw: :paw:

:paw: :paw:

I agree with you on this. I've been hearing this for years and LPN are still in demand. Also it depends on your location.

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If the school is so insistent that LPN's will be phased out, then why do they even still have the program? I would ask them that.

LOL AMEN

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I've wondered this for quite some time. Hospitals say they suffering so bad from the nursing shortage and yet make things worse for themselves by not utilizing LPNs the way they could and should.

A lot of RN's in the hospitals push their work loads on CNA's...

The cheap way is not always the best way.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC/Geriatric.

I'm in Canada (BC interior) and not an LPN yet, but am hoping to take the course this September.

From what I've seen in my area, LPN's are more in demand than ever!! I don't know what the demand was 5 or 10 years ago. I know that LPN's are definately being used on many wards of the hospital whereas 10 years ago, (from my understanding) LPN's were mostly working in nursing homes and LTC facilities. A lot of those positions have now been filled with Care Aids and LPN's doing a lot of what RN's used to do in those facilities.

Care Aids=cheaper to hire than LPN's

LPN's=cheaper to hire than RN's.

On my hospitals employment website, there are way more openings for RN's, but they are ALWAYS looking to hire LPN's for a number of positions and in my city, there are LPN listings in the newspaper and hosptial, EVERY DAY.

The college I plan on attending for LPN graduates 60-70 per year and the advisor told me there is a 100% employment rate for grads. So I'm not worried. Plus, I plan on being the top student in my class ;).

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