New LPN saying Hi!

[little nurse]

I am a new LPN and am finding the job absolutly frightening and exciting all at once. I work in a Psychiatric facility, and am wondering what my role is there as LPNs are fairly new. I am treated as both an RN and a personal care aid, and am finding it quite confusing at times!! Any helpout there?

[jude11142]

I am a new LPN and am finding the job absolutly frightening and exciting all at once. I work in a Psychiatric facility, and am wondering what my role is there as LPNs are fairly new. I am treated as both an RN and a personal care aid, and am finding it quite confusing at times!! Any helpout there?

Hello and welcome to the nursing field. When you were hired were you given a job description? What are their expectations? One thing, always remember to stay within the scope of practice for an LPN. If unsure, you can look it up and see what your particular state allows an lpn to do.

Also, if your facility is new at hiring lpn's I would hope that they are aware of what you can legally do and cannot do. When I first became an lpn, there were several situations where I was expected to perform certain duties that were not within the scope of practice for an lpn. Being new, I was nervous, very nervous and since it was an RN who happened to be supervising in this particular situation, I assumed it was ok to do. You know what they say about assuming things right? The result: nobody was injured in any way and I did do the procedure right. BUT........Number one, I was not legally allowed to do it. I could of lost my license(one that I worked very hard for). It was my you know what on the line. So, always cover it. Never feel pressured to do something just because you are told to. Know what your allowed to do, know the nurse practice act for lpn and the difference between the lpn and rn.

I hope that I am not coming across as negative. It's not my intention. I just don't want somebody else to make the mistake I did. As time goes by, you will gain more confidence. Being a new graduate, you are nervous, that's expected. Remember that you worked way so hard to become a nurse, so never take it lightly or jeopardize your license. Never be afraid to ask questions as there is no such thing as a stupid question(only stupid answers, lol). Especially, in the medical field, we are always learning, it never stops.

Good Luck and enjoy being a nurse . A difficult job, but very rewarding.

JUDE

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Welcome!

Nursing is a little confusing at first. The job description varies with what facility you work for. Keep that in mind. Still, the scope of practice is the same...state law is state law. However, we do all of nursing within our scope..and that includes the tasks that can be done by those that work as aides. Good luck! Hope to see you around here more! :)