LPNs and LPN students, be PROUD!

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

yesterday i was talking to a young lady at her clinical site. i asked where does she go to school and what program is she in. she told me she was in the lpn program and started to ramble off her reasoning of doing the lpn route first. she started to hold her head down and look away. i told her to hold her head up high and trust that she is doing the best thing for her at this time. she stated that she is so use to people's negativity about lpns so she constantly feels that she have to defend her decision. i told her that becoming a lpn is a great thing and that lpns are nurses and a valuable member of the health care team.

i'm personally sick and tired of hearing that my lpn schooling was a waste of time and money. this is not true. i worked hard to become a lpn and i love being a nurse. i would never tell someone that their hard earned education is a waste of time and money. number one its' rude and number two who in the heck am i to decide that? everyone knows that there are more opportunities for rns, however some people like me have to take baby steps to get there.

next week i complete my rn degree requirements and if god forbid i failed this program or did not pass my boards i'm so darn grateful that i have my lpn license to fall back on.

so i say this to lpns and lpn students: hold your head up high and be proud of your accomplishments. this goes for cnas too.

i say this to rns: please think before you speak or type about someones lpn certification being a waste of time. this is hurtful and disrespectful. how would you like it if someone said your adn or bsn was a waste.

this is my rant for the today. hope everyone has a blessed day. :)

[gatoraims RN]

I totally agree. I am a LPN and I find myself explaining to people, why I am an LPN, when they ask "what type of nurse are you?"

I however start my RN program in May! I have always wanted to be a nurse. I went the route of LPN-RN for many reasons. So far it has worked for me. I am a nurse, I will be an RN, and those who I love and love me are proud of me.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

One thing I like about the place where I work is they value both LPNs and RNs the same. They realize that LPNs run the floor and run it well.

They encourage us LPNs to become RNs but they don't force us to. They will work around our school schedules also which is great.

I don't ever regret becoming an LPN. I think its the best thing to do to get your foot in the door for nursing.

[MusicEMT]

Id rather work with an RN who was a LPN/EMT/Paramedic/Indian chief.. rather than someone who has no experience at all.. you guys know the Ins and Outs of whats going down and that can prove valuable.. and LPN is a great way to get patient time... Honestly i think alot more programs should require some sort of healthcare exp before getting in, as then people would have more of a clue of what they are getting themselves into!

[Cuddleswithpuddles]

Beautifully said.

I find that a lot of people get insecure or defensive because they had to take on a less than ideal job or educational route due to personal circumstances.

I say.... Bloom where you are planted.

If you are a LVN, be the best LVN you can be. Period.

If you want to become a CNA/LVN/RN/NP/MD etc. but cannot just yet, be the best you can be now. Squeeze life dry and scrape it to the bone. What you learn and do NOW will benefit you in your future goals. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will be a waste of time if you make a conscious effort to make it ALL worthwhile.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

There is never any shame in doing whats best for you and your family. Ever. Full Stop.

[Anne36, LPN]

Sounds all too familiar of a story. Im an LPN student and all I hear is that we must go on to get our RN. I encourage my younger classmates to roll with that, but I am not sure I can take another year off of work and the time away from my family again to do that.

[tcoady]

Very much agree!

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

I thought my LVN program was much more rigorous than my BSN transition program. I always remember people saying so you aren't a "real nurse" when I was LVN. I would always correct them and say I am a Licensed Vocational NURSE.

It is funny I took my NCLEX for my LVN and RN two years apart and I don't remember there being really anything different other than all these stupid questions about who do you notify if something goes wrong on the LVN NCLEX (it was usually notify the RN). Which I always found funny when I graduated, because we would always just contact the provider directly.

I couldn't do what I ultimately wanted to do with my LVN, but it has always given me a great background to build upon in my nursing career.

[tcoady]

Although it can be frustrating at times, the grass is always greener to some. I am a RN and have had countless questions/comments from friends and family like "you're so smart, why didn't you become a doctor?"...so I think we all should be proud of our role, no matter what the designation is.

My choice focused on having more flexibility in life/career and being in a role where I could impact my patients in some way...but then, I shouldn't have to explain myself.

Those "pickle-faces" as I call them, are in all industries and jobs. They take advantage of a perceived "pecking" order because they lack self-worth. Easier to pick on others than to look at themselves. It tends to be a vicious cycle in healthcare...even in that song Farmer and the Dell, the nurse is next to the dog! http://youtu.be/HxQGkPcAze4

We should be working together to improve public opinion:)

[LVN/RNBridge]

My hats off to all of the LVN's out there!

Be proud, be confident and provide the best patient care possible. If you choose to go the RN route, great, but you should not feel pressured to do so.

My story in a nutshell: I chose the LVN route as my school offered an evening/weekend course. I was a caregiver for my father, had a husband that was deployed for 2 years and a teenage son at home. For my situation, evenings and weekends worked out so that I could continue to be a mom and caregiver during the day and my son was able to help with my father in the evening and weekends. As a military family, we have always had to pull together.

As our circumstances have changed, I will be entering the LVN-RN step up program in May.

My points here is that you never know a persons circumstances and we should hold all medical staff in high regard! After all, we all need to work together as a team for the better of our patients as well as our own sanity :-)

[shamrokks, ADN, ASN, RN]

Great thread! I constantly feel like I have to defend my decision for becoming a LPN. Yes, I'm continuing my education for RN but I'm not discrediting my LPN. I had to work very hard to achieve it and seen numerous people fail while trying. It's not a joke, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I was a CNA before I was a LPN and wasn't ashamed of that either. Too many people in this world look down upon others instead of uplifting them. The rare occurrence where I'd have another nurse praise me for what I've accomplished and remind me to savor the moment of where I'm at in life instead of letting it pass by me without fully experiencing it.