LPN's vs. RN's

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Hi.. I was doing some searching on the internet today and found that it seemed like LPN's do more than RN's... It just doesn't make sense to me... Rn's seem to sort of sit back and supervise more than actually doing things... When I was looking up LPN's, the list of things that they had to do was amazing..but when I was reading about RN's, there really wasn't much that they physically did except assist doctors and supervise LPN's. I guess my question is, for those of you that are RN's or can offer me some help; what the heck to RN's do???? I just think that if LPN's are doing much more than RN's, then maybe LPN's are the ones that need to be paid more..because RN's are paid a much larger amount... Anyone agree???? Can anyone help???

Whew.. I had no idea it was such a big deal.. I am sorry for my post and wish I would have reworded it different.. When I had put "what the heck to Rn's do?" I didn't mean it the way it sounded... I was frustrated at not finding the info I was looking for...

anyways, I went to google and typed in LPN vs RN and then I tried LPN duties vs. RN duties but it kept giving me a bunch of forums and everything... I just want a side by side comparison on everything that each of them have to do....

Again, I apologize for the way my post came across... I will have to watch myself more closely and try not to let my frustrations come out in my posts.lol

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Specializes in OB.
I hope i didn't make anyone mad with my original post. It wasn't intended that way... I've just been having difficulty in finding the duties of an RN... all I keep finding is LPN duties and its just frustrating. I'm not trying to upset anyone, and if I did, I am very sorry... Please don't take the post in the wrong way.. I just want to get myself settled on a decision by the time Spring of next year comes around so that i know what to apply for...

scoley- It was probably the way your OP sounded which made some of us not want to respond. LPN/LVNs are given a limited scope of practice based on their education. LPN/LVNs, can practice under their own license, however, they are required to be overseen by the RN. LPN/LVNs can do similar duties as that of an RN, but because of more schooling, RNs can do more than an LPN/LVN. And as Marie_LPN stated, pay and responsibilities vary from state to state. I suggest you start with looking into what kind of schooling you're ready to commit to yourself to. You can start off, like some of us, as an LPN/LVN and if you choose, you can go back for your RN.

Baby&mommynurse, I just wanted to say that I love that picture. It goes well with your nick

Thanks Jessica.

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Yeah, I was thinking about doing the LPN for now because its only a 1 yr program.. However, the RN job appeals to me..my husband even wants me to go for it... I could go for the RN, and have some type of part time job on the side... I'm just so mixed up with what I should do...

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One more thing... once you've graduated, can you pick the area in a hospital that you want to work in?? I really really want to work with in maternity or neonatal.. however it is called... I want this badly and in fact, it is what made me decide to go into the nursing program.

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Call your school in your area and ask for a meeting with a councillor who can go over all your choices and explain in detail the requirements AND tell you exactly what you will be taught so you can get an idea of your duties as a future RN or LPN.

To list everything an RN does would take all night.

We could actually go through the alphabet game and list a few duties for each letter. :chuckle

Good luck.

Yes you can choose where you want to work.

Z

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One more thing... once you've graduated, can you pick the area in a hospital that you want to work in?? I really really want to work with in maternity or neonatal.. however it is called... I want this badly and in fact, it is what made me decide to go into the nursing program.

If you want to work in these area's you'll need to be an RN. There are SOME places that hire LVN's but it's becoming increasingly rare. Or the LVN's that work there are limited to what they can do, or were grandfathered in.

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Call your school in your area and ask for a meeting with a councillor who can go over all your choices and explain in detail the requirements AND tell you exactly what you will be taught so you can get an idea of your duties as a future RN or LPN.

To list everything an RN does would take all night.

We could actually go through the alphabet game and list a few duties for each letter. :chuckle

Good luck.

Yes you can choose where you want to work.

Z

LOL Thanks... I'll definitely do that... and if studying for an RN and taking 2 yrs to do it would get me into the maternity area, then thats what I'll do.. :) but thank you guys...

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
Jessica, hi and thanks.. That site did help quite a bit... I don't know why I've been having so many problems finding out RN information online... I really hope I didn't upset anyone by my posts, but I think I did... I just need to get all my information before I make a decision, and I was having a heck of a time..but, I've got a few months before Spring rolls around again... Thank you for the link... :)

I'm glad it helped. I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you make :p

Jessica

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The difference in LPN's and RN's :chair:

1. Different levels of education

2. Different scope of practice (this will vary from state to state and facility to facility)

3. Difference in pay scale. RN's make a considerable amout more than LPN's. Usually. Although I do know some LPN's who make as much or more than RN's. Again this depend on the area you live and the facility that you work in, which type of speciality you go into and of coure the amout of experience you have. Also depends on what shift you work. Night shift will pay more than day shift etc. Usually agencies pay more than hospitals. LPN's with 20 yrs of expierence can make more than some RN's who have less experience. New grad RN's make more than new grad RN's etc.

4, Rn's have a lot more riding on their butts then LPNs do. Insurance etc... the more LPNs, and CNA's that a Rn has under them is more of a chance that they will get sued. LPN's are less likely to get sued. But it DOES happen.

5. RN's can work in pretty much any unit, LPN's are limited at many hospitals as to which areas they can work. RN's have a harder time getting jobs in LTC, unless it is management. Usually Dr's offices look for LPN's not RN's.

Those are just some of the facts that I have been told, not really job descriptions. Here is another web site that you will find helpful. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm

I'm just starting school so any nurses out there that feel what I wrote should be corrected please feel free to do so (I know you will LOL) as I am still learning myself :coollook:

Thats all I will say, NO WAY am I getting into the LPN vs RN debate. I think ALL nurse are important and LPN's and RN's compliment each other.

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Specializes in OB.
One more thing... once you've graduated, can you pick the area in a hospital that you want to work in?? I really really want to work with in maternity or neonatal.. however it is called... I want this badly and in fact, it is what made me decide to go into the nursing program.

If you want to work in these area's you'll need to be an RN. There are SOME places that hire LVN's but it's becoming increasingly rare. Or the LVN's that work there are limited to what they can do, or were grandfathered in.

There are places that will hire LPN/LVNs in the field that you want to work in, you just have to look for them. I am an LVN who works in maternal/infant care. My hospital hires LVNs in this area as well as labor and delivery and NICU. A lot of LVNs here started as new grads, including me.

Good luck, scoley. :)

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Specializes in LTC/Peds/ICU/PACU/CDI.
"...yes you can choose where you want to work..."
but is unfortunately...lpns have limitation/restrictions on where they can practice...despite the *nsg shortage*....many lpns aren't being utilized enough in hospital & have basically been forced to go into home health long term care, assistant living, & ambulatory/doctors' offices. and when they are utilized in hospitals...it's generally in the sub-acute or med/surg capacity. i've only seen a few hospitals utilizing lpns in the emergency rooms...specifically...their fast track units. there are a few lpns left in specialty units like the operating room, labor & delivery, & critical care units. those generally are lpns who have been with their respective facilities with at least 15 or more years of experience...& when they retire, hospitals are phasing their positions out & replacing them with techs. thus again...limiting the areas in which lpns can practice. [/i']
one more thing... once you've graduated, can you pick the area in a hospital that you want to work in?? i really really want to work with in maternity or neonatal.. however it is called... i want this badly and in fact, it is what made me decide to go into the nursing program.
my advice to you scoley is go straight for your rn if you want to specialized in neonatal or maternity area. marie's right about it depending on your state board of nursing & the respective facilities there...put you'll definitely have more opportunity to achieve your goal & dream of becoming a neonatal nsg as a rn.

best of luck to you ~ cheers!

moe

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Specializes in ER.

Just a thought about picking your area - depending on the hospital, they may not have space on a unit that all new grads seem to want. At the hospital I work at, they have soooo many people wanting L&D/nursery. And since that unit has a very low rate of turnover, it's very very very difficult to get in there - as well as for our CCU and ED. Go talk to the nurse manager of the L&D department at the hospital you would like to work at and see what kind of job satisfaction/turnover they have. If it looks like it'll be hard to get on that unit, ask if you can work as a clinical assistant/patient care tech on the floor while you're in school, that can help you get your foot in the door and they will see what kind of a worker you are and be more likely to find you a position when you graduate. That's what I'm doing with our ED, because I definitely want ED when I'm done, and it's SO hard to get on there because NO ONE EVER LEAVES!

Another thought about LPN vs. RN, our hospital is phasing out LPNs in most areas except for our geriatric/oncology floor. In our area, it seems as though LPNs can barely find jobs in facilities other than LTC/nursing homes/rehab facilities. For the extra year, getting the RN is worth it in my opinion. At my school, 50% of the places in the RN program are reserved for LPN to RN candidates because there is just very little space for new LPNs, and the ones who are already LPNs are trying to get their RN in hopes of staying employed. I feel that this trend is going to only continue and spread throughout the nation, therefore I'm going to make sure I have my RN to begin with and not have my job in jeopardy!

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