LPNS in the ER?

[BShelleyLPN]

do you guys have any LPNs that work in your ER? i went to nursing school to work in the ER and i know that most LPNs can't work critical care but i plan on going to RN school very soon....

[xNursePinkx2b]

we don't have LPN's in our ER. it's a level 2 trauma unit.. we are hoping to become a level 3 in the near future.

You mean a level 1?

[UNCgirl]

It seems to me that unless the LPN has been at the hospital working there for decades in the ER or ICU their are no new LPNs. What I should say is that a department at one time might have had say 5 LPNs now has 1 or 2 LPNs who have been their for at least 20 years or so

We are a busy Level 2 (the only one within a 2-hour drive). We have one LPN in our ED but she has been there a long time..."grandfathered" in so to speak.

[gt4everpn, BSN, RN]

here in ny lpn's can work in er,but not the icu:crying2:

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

we have 2 lpns in our ed .we are level 2 but they can only work in fastrack with an rn.

[JulieRN07]

wow! It is amazing how different states allow LPN's to take on such diverse roles! Cincinnati wouldnt dare put an LPN in ER, OR, or ICU! I would have loved to have been given that kind of opportunity when I was an LPN!

[twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN]

We are just now going from no LPN's (per manager) to 3 LPN's next month, so we are not sure how this will be good or bad. Hoping for good. It will be interresting to see how things change.

[DebanamRN, MSN, RN]

I work in a small community ER which has several LPN's with all levels of experience. Some have 30+ years and one just took boards yesterday.

We are expected to do everything for the pt except assess and push meds, hang blood, etc. There is no such thing as "you're just an LPN" in this ER. We are treated as nurses. However, this ER is the exception to the rule. The docs and nurse managers don't cut us any slack, either. The focus is on the nurse aspect of the license.

That being said, I'm going for my RN bacause I don't like doing 99% of the job for 1/3 the pay of an RN. Also, it annoys me to have to hunt up an RN to push meds and do assessments when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself but can't. That just wastes time for everyone involved.

[stayseerrn]

No LPNs in the ED in at my home base hospital. This is due to limitations passed in the nurse practice act for RNs and LPNs. Since LPNs cannot do initial assessments, give IVP meds, access central lines or implanted access devices (which I think was a facility preference there), or give blood, this severely limited the roles in which an LPN could function in an ED. So, our management offered to pay for the LPNs to go back to school to get their RN or they had to leave the unit. This was no indication of the capability or lack of experience by the LPNs on the unit, the decision came as a result of the way the nurse practice act had defined the roles of an RN and an LPN. Because we had such valuable and knowledgeable LPNs on our unit (one which had worked in the hospital for ten years, 5 of which in the ED) the manager got the hospital to pay for them to go back to school.

[labrador4122, RN]

In my hospital there are LPN's in ER and they still hire there for $13/hr

[RedSox33RN]

There aren't any in our ED, and since I'm fairly new there, I don't know about ICU or other areas. Where I came from though, there were 2 LPN's, both with a lot of experience, and both were going for their RN. The only problem was as was said before - the assessment. Both of them could push IV meds, but I'm not sure if that was because the state permitted them after a class or the facility did because of the level of LPN they were. That was the first ED I worked in, and I learned a lot from both of them. One was a preceptor for new ED employees.

[TraumaNurseRN]

We have 2 lpns in our ED and I love them. They have more experience than so many of the RNs and I would want them as my nurse. They're great!

[dustblown]

I'm an LPN and work in a small E.R. with a RN, but I do all the same things. Of course I have 32 years of solid psych and med surg experience to fall back on. Hang in there, if you want it, it will happen!!!