Lpn's: Are we still in demand?

[bloomies]

I WANT TO KNOW FROM OTHER LPN'S OUT THERE , ARE THERE STILL ENDLESS JOB OPPORTUNITY FOR US.I LIVE IN PA AND I DON'T SEE ENOUGH AVAILABLE JOBS.I AM NEW TO NURSING AND EXCITED ABOUT MY DREAM OF ALSO WANTING TO BECOME A NURSE,I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW SHOULD I RECONSIDER THIS CAREER CHOICE OR STICK IT OUT.I AM 37 WITH A TWO YEAR OLD AND I CAN'T DO A FOUR YEAR RN DEGREE PROGRAM.:typing

[tikiluvrsk]

Hi there,

I am new to site, and not a nurse of any kind yet, but I say hang in there. There seems to be a demand in Los angeles County where I am which I know does not help you. I checked out lots of posts because I am doing the LVN/LPN first then later a bridge program........I got so much info some said oh only go this route or only go that route....there are jobs, there aren't jobs, etc., etc., etc. At least you are working towards your nursing goal and I believe if you stay positive and have a good attitude you will meet people along the way who will help you .

My sister is an RN and I want to work my way towards that BUT I just have gotten shut out time and time again of prereqs at all the jr. colleges , I feel like i have to do it this way.

BEST of LUCK to you .........P.S. Do you know if we can post names or is that against rules on site??? I notice I don't see many personal names.

:heartbeat:up:

[midcom]

The schools like to tell you that there is a very large shortage of nurses but they neglect to tell you that the shortage is for RNs, not LPNs. If you are set on nursing in a hospital, you'll have a hard time finding a job in most states. LTC are always hunting for good nurses & if you like working in that environmnet, you probably won't have any trouble finding a job, although you'll probably start on nights. I chose clinic nursing. We nurses do everything the RNs do, except work the triage phone lines. It's probably the lowest paying of all nursing jobs but what I enjoy & for me it's worth it. Unfortunately, many clinics are hiring medical assistants instead of LPNs to do much of the work the nurses do because they can pay them even less. They can get along with a few RNs to do the "real" nursing duties & let the MAs do the rest.

Dixie

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I think it depends on where you live and what places you are interested in working. Most times, LPNs predominate nursing homes and Assisted Living facilities. Many are successful in home care and corrections as well. Many here on these forums are saying that they have difficulty obtaining positions in hospitals. I didn't see that in my area, but I wonder if that will change due to the economic crisis...meaning that many RNs as well as LPNs may be laid off due to budget cuts. If that is the case, then, the area would be supersaturated with nurses.

[Jules A, MSN]

In the Balto/DC are LPNs are still needed and paid well in LTC. Some hospital jobs and Drs. offices but less than LTC. When I was a LPN I worked in Psych and my facility still uses them also. My thought when I was a LPN was that I accepted the easiest place to get a job was LTC and went forward with that in mind. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[kat7ap]

In my LPN/LVN career I've been able to work in LTC, Rehab, Hospital, and Hospice. I recently moved back to Texas and I was surprised that I could not get hired in a hospital with the experience I had. I was not willing to work in LTC, so needless to say I worked agency for about a month until I found a job I wanted in continuous care hospice. If I had been willing to work in LTC, I probably would have had a FT job lined up in a matter of days because of the great demand for LVNs and the high turn over rates. However this can all depend on your area. I feel that the market in my area might be becoming flooded with LVNs due to the number of schools and graduates. Just keep in mind that being an LPN/LVN these days you aren't guarenteed a hospital position, but there seems to be a great need the other settings including LTC, ALF, home health, hospice, and even many clinics/offices.

[pezpam]

I think the others are right - a *lot* depends on where you live and what you want to do. I am considering going for my RN later on and, in talking to the person who runs the LPN-to-RN program at a local hospital about working while in school, she said that most definitely, their hospital (and other local hospitals) are in need of LPNs and are hiring. Friends in other locations have said that they're having trouble finding work they want without the RN.....

[amjowens]

I just graduated from an LPN program in NW Ohio. With the "Brown Mackie" type of private schools popping up in this area (where tuition is outrageous for an LPN salary, and classes don't transfer to colleges of any kind), there are now too many LPN graduates here. I'm getting my license in Michigan for my first job, as only RNs are eligible for hospital jobs in my area. I'm starting my RN program (a regular ADN, 4 semesters) next week, before I even take my NCLEX-PN. A former classmate and myself (doing the RN like me, with no LPN job opportunities) were in orientation yesterday. The speaker said nurses will always have a job, and went on about the great opportunities for LPNs and RNs. We both looked at each other in kind of an awe, with rolling of the eyes. While LPN job opps are regional, the opportunities definitely aren't here in my region. RNs are in demand, though.

[JimJones]

I would like to echo what I have seen so much on many different nursing boards I have read across the internet. Are LPNs still in demand? The answer really depends on what the job market is like in your area and where you are trying to work. I am currently working as a CNA at a local hospital. My goal is eventually get my RN license. The advice I was given by my nurse manager on the unit I work is to avoid getting my LPN and just go for the two year, if not the BSN. This advice she was giving me was if I wanted a job at the hospital where I work.

I live in Delaware, which is quite often lumped into the Philadelphia or tri-state region. The trend in this region, according to my nurse manager, seems to be that hospitals are opting not to hire many LPNs anymore because they are looking for a more prestigious status (ie Magnet status), which administrators say is achieved by having a higher RN to patient ratio, which ultimately means better patient outcomes. LPNs can still be found in my hospital and no doubt others, but they are only in specific areas, such as the OR and the fast track section of the ER.

Also, if you live in a more rural or small-town area, local hospitals are more likely to still employ LPNs. However, with regional or big city hospitals, they are more likely to hire a more skilled and educated nursing staff. In Delaware, LPNs must still practice under the license of an RN, meaning they cannot practice independently. For example, at the hospital, the one LPN who works on my Med/Surg unit cannot push IV narcotics, so she must always get an RN to do this task for her.

So then, where can LPNs expect to find jobs? In my area, this would be long-term care, doctors offices to an extent (Medical Assistants are becoming more common), home care, and various state facilities (prisons, schools, health and social services). My fiancee's grandmother who works in Philadelphia has been an LPN for years in home health and makes good money. Other nurses I have spoken to started out as LPNs in nursing homes.

It has been said for years that LPNs are being "phased out," but this is probably not going to be happening any time soon. Just take the case of long-term care: These facilities probably cannot afford to hire a nursing staff of all RNs because the cost would be too high. Not to belittle what the roll of nursing encompasses, but let's break it down to its most basic tasks in LTC. Someone must be there to hand out the meds - the LPN, someone must be there to assist with activities of daily living, the CNA, and someone must be there to supervise the LPNs and CNAs - the RN. I honestly can't see this structure changing much for the time being, at least not in an LTC setting.

In fact, I have even heard it said around the hospital I work that in years to come, as healthcare costs continue to rise, RNs will actually have a more difficult time finding work in LTC, as the ratio of LPNs and CNAs to residents will undoubtedly increase.

As a final note, let me talk about the "nursing shortage." What this amounts to in my area, at least, is not really a shortage of people willing to go into nursing, but a shortage of the resources to TRAIN new nurses. Most of the local nursing programs in my area have some sort of waiting period for a clinical seat. So the problem is not that there aren't enough people who want to be nurses, but that there aren't enough nursing instructors, facilities aren't large enough to handle to bigger and bigger class sizes, and state or private funding is not there to expand nursing programs.