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Discussion

LVN Advice

Hello all. A little background on me, I worked as a medical asistant for 7yrs prior to going to LVN school. Graduated in 2011 and was hired by Kaiser before I took my NCLEX. They hired me as a medical assistant in hopes I would transition to an LVN position. As most of you probably know, LVN jobs as well as RN jobs are few and far between in California. Knowing this, I still took the position. I mean, I couldn't turn it down! It's now 7 months later, and my job title is MA/LVN. I work in multiple departments, and am able to utilize some skills. I do some injections, wound care, HH Nebs and so on. No IV, no assessing and no phlebotomy. The RNs perform those here.

MY QUESTION IS: What would some of you do in this situation? I mean, I get paid as an LVN, but most of my job descriptions falls under MA. RNs do the majority of invasive procedures. Would you get another position like at a SNF or LTC to gain more experience such as med pass and time management? Im currently working towards my RN bridge, but I don't want to attempt to transition without adequate experience. Any advise? Im looking at pushing through and hoping for the best , leaving Kaiser and getting a position at a SNF, or working 2 jobs and going to school. Sorry for therambling. But I thought it'd be best to ask some of the experts out there :)

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    • Featured Replies

    • Experts

    I've worked at SNFs and nursing homes on and off for 6 years.

    Do you really want to deal with 30+ residents during the day shift or, even worse, 60+ residents during the night shift? If you are being paid as an LVN, I really think you should stay put. You do not realize how good of a situation you're in. Many people would die or kill to get into the Kaiser health system. Stay put.

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    • Author

    Thank you for your reply. I'm aware that many want to work with Kaiser, I'm just afraid I'm not getting the experience I should. I feel like the nurses at the SNFs get much more hands on experience. I guess I worry too much! I just want to make extra sure I'm doing the right thing by staying

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    Stay in Kaiser and get your RN, don't go for SNF, you already have plenty of experiences, SNF won't do anything to you but add more unnecessary stress. Good luck!

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    • Guides

    Having worked outpatient for many years, I do take a little issue with your stating that most of your duties are "MA" duties. There may be overlap, but those things fall well within nurse duties, and in fact because you are a nurse you will approach them differently than an MA would, hence the pay difference.

    You haven't mentioned what your ultimate career goal would be, but I honestly don't see a whole lot of advantages to an SNF job if your only reason for the switch is to use your skills more. When you get your RN they probably won't count any of your LVN experience as RN experience although it may give you an edge over a complete newbie who has no idea how a hospital functions.

    If it were me in the current job climate I would definitely stay at Kaiser, at least while in school. LTC/SNF jobs are just crazy stressful.

    Best wishes whatever you decide! :)

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    • Author

    Thank you!! I hear a lot from my classmates about the fast paced environment of a SNF. I'm just making sure Im not missing out on useful experience. I am working on my LVN-BSN, then wil hopefully get my MSN. So I guess you're right about staying here while Im in school. Thank you again. I honestly took all of your responses to heart :)

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    • Experts

    Stay in Kaiser while you're working on your BSN. This will make you an internal candidate when you graduate and look for RN jobs...and while being internal is no longer a guaranteed lock of getting a RN job, it does boost your chances much higher than those of an external candidate.

    If you feel truly miserable at this position, you can try transferring to other positions in the Kaiser system.

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