I graduated top of my class with 4.0, and was recommended to "Top Boss", who turns out knew me from the past experience and really wanted me to work in his ER. My training was only for 2 weeks (6 shifts) plus general orientation and ACLS. Love ER, but of course no matter how good my critical thinking and nursing skills are, I turn out to be much slower than other RN due to learning the robes, documentation systems, phone orders from different DR's ...and so on. Pts love me, and personal from other departments always compliment me on great bed side nursing and pt communication skills. However, my biggest challenge is to win ER staff over, especially LPNs that work with me on different shifts. It seems beside the unclear division of responsibilities, I got couple of people (including charge nurse) again me surviving this 3 month trial period, and now other staff members are taking her side and tensions rising and some LPNS completely ignoring me. I don't get VS or any information on placed IV sites, help to clean beds, or changing pts...whigh takes more time to do it on my own. HELP ME! ( sorry for the long post, just wanted you to know the whole situation). I really don't want to change jobs.
You did an amazing job in school! Good for you, but remember, there are RN's beside you who graduated with a 3.0 and are still successful nurses in practice.
That everyone loves you is great, but remember there's 2 sides to that, especially in the ER, one day a patient who "loves you" will "hate you" if you are not giving them what they want. So take the compliment and move on, don't let it define you.
There are very, very few ER's who employ LPNs any longer in a nursing role. This is coming from an LPN who worked the ER as a nurse for many years. So you need to be very clear on what their scope is, and what your role is. If the LPN is allowed to start an IV for example, or to be directed to do so, you need to be sure YOU go in, assess the patient, make note of the IV and the like. It could be that the LPN is only to do the clinical skills, and you need to follow up on same. In other words, you are the primary nurse, and the LPN is in a secondary, supportive role.
With that being said, it has been a difficult adjustment for many an LPN who have been nurses longer than some RN's have been alive, to take on a secondary role. And to be directed by an RN who is very new. I am not suggesting this is right, I am just providing insight into why the attitude.
The goal is good work and patient safety and function. Ya'll have a role in that. Be clear on what role you are to play (and initial assessment with checking IV placement is perhaps your role) and what role the LPN plays (and in many, many ER's it is more of a patient care tech role as opposed to a nursing role).
You are responsible for your own practice. You could really just take a patient from start to finish on your own, directing the LPN in other ways, and start your own lines and such. There are many RN's where this is preferable practice for them. But you need to be really clear on what the roles are--backed by policy--so that it is not a matter of "it has always been done this way"
jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B
9 Articles; 4,800 Posts
You did an amazing job in school! Good for you, but remember, there are RN's beside you who graduated with a 3.0 and are still successful nurses in practice.
That everyone loves you is great, but remember there's 2 sides to that, especially in the ER, one day a patient who "loves you" will "hate you" if you are not giving them what they want. So take the compliment and move on, don't let it define you.
There are very, very few ER's who employ LPNs any longer in a nursing role. This is coming from an LPN who worked the ER as a nurse for many years. So you need to be very clear on what their scope is, and what your role is. If the LPN is allowed to start an IV for example, or to be directed to do so, you need to be sure YOU go in, assess the patient, make note of the IV and the like. It could be that the LPN is only to do the clinical skills, and you need to follow up on same. In other words, you are the primary nurse, and the LPN is in a secondary, supportive role.
With that being said, it has been a difficult adjustment for many an LPN who have been nurses longer than some RN's have been alive, to take on a secondary role. And to be directed by an RN who is very new. I am not suggesting this is right, I am just providing insight into why the attitude.
The goal is good work and patient safety and function. Ya'll have a role in that. Be clear on what role you are to play (and initial assessment with checking IV placement is perhaps your role) and what role the LPN plays (and in many, many ER's it is more of a patient care tech role as opposed to a nursing role).
You are responsible for your own practice. You could really just take a patient from start to finish on your own, directing the LPN in other ways, and start your own lines and such. There are many RN's where this is preferable practice for them. But you need to be really clear on what the roles are--backed by policy--so that it is not a matter of "it has always been done this way"
Best wishes