LPN's phasing out

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I have heard within the last couple days alot about everyone (at least here in indiana) is going to phase out lpn's over the next couple of years and bring in only QMA's. I got told that there is to many titles in nursing..CNA QMA LPN/LVN RN and so on

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Specializes in PCU, Critical Care, Observation.

We're phasing them out at our hospital. In fact, they won't hire any more & are only keeping the ones that are currently there. I'm not sure if they have to go back & get further education or not. I don't think they will be phased out completely, I know nursing homes & long term care facilities hire quite a few around here while only having 1 RN per shift to oversee the LPN's & CNA's.

I would encourage those that can...to go for your RN degree. You are doing pretty much the same skills, only as an LPN, you get paid far less.

Jen

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Can't say for certain but the rumor of doing away with LPNs has been around for at least 20 years that I know of. With the current and soon to be even larger nursing shortage my money is on seeing an increase in the number of schools to graduate more LPNs.

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I just graduated in the LPN program in May of this year...The clinical sites I was in during school were not even hiring LPNs anymore..LPNs are not being hired in the hospitals..They were hiring LPNs before in hospitals but not anymore...

But, I dont think they will phase out LPNs since the majoirty of them work in long term facilities rather than hospitals..In long term facilities the bulk of the workforce are LPNs..

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I too have heard the rumor for years about them trying to phase out LPN's. I graduated from my LPN program in 1980. I remember our instructor's telling us "Go back to school and get your RN, b/c they are phasing out the LPN jobs, and if you want to keep working, you will have to get your RN immediately" Now, that was in 1980, and I worked as an LPN all the way until I got my RN a little over a year ago!

I know at one point a lot of hospitals tried to get rid of the LPN's, but that did not last long! Where are they going to get all the RN's to replace all the LPN's? Nurses are nurses, these hospitals should get smart and realize, a good nurse is hard to find, whether they are RN's or LPN's!:nurse:

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Specializes in critical care and LTC.

A couple hospitals have combined in Ohio and when they did they only kept the LPN's they had and aren't hiring any more. 2 other Hosp. that combined are putting the LPN's through school for there RN is what I have heard.

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Specializes in Neuro-ICU stepdown, LTC.
A couple hospitals have combined in Ohio and when they did they only kept the LPN's they had and aren't hiring any more. 2 other Hosp. that combined are putting the LPN's through school for there RN is what I have heard.

I have a friend that recently graduated from a LPN program in the Cleveland area, and she had a very hard time finding a job. A large number of the major hospitals in the Greater Cleveland area don't hire LPNs as floor nurses too much any more, so she ended up in a skilled nursing facility. This was exactly were she didn't want to be!

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In eastern Ohio-there is atleast one major hosp that has phased out their LPNs in clinical areas outside of their geriatric rehab or adjacent nursing home. Outside of LTC-jobs are getting harder to find.

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Specializes in Med/Surg; Psych; Tele.

On the med-surg floor where I work, they often use LPNs as techs. The LPN I was paired with yesterday just recently transferred over to this hospital from our sister hospital, where she said she usually takes a team herself. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I think she was taking her own team the other day when I saw her at work. So I guess where I work, they are using LPNs whereever they have a need.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I'd hate to have gone through 2 years of nursing school, to work as a tech. I was able to do that with a CNA certification.

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If you think about the fact that the baby boomers are entering the "need for care ages" and factor in that the younger generation is more technology driven, I cant see where they can phase out LPN's totally. There will be a tremendous nursing shortage in the next 10-20 years. It will be up to the employers to choose who they want to hire. RN vs LPN is a cost factor, but also consider the number of people who sue medical facilities each day. I would think the acute care centers might prefer RNs but as insurance companies cut expenses, I can only wonder if LPNs will re-enter that field. Only time will tell.

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Specializes in Assisted Living Nurse Manager.

Where I live the hospital has quite a number of LPN's working for them in just about every unit. I hope it stays that way. In my opinion it would only hurt the medical community as a whole if they were not to use LPN's anymore. Actually I have heard rumor that the scope of practice for the LPN in this part of the country may be expanded to meet the needs of the nursing shortage.

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