New RN told to go back to LPN or else!

[ougreene]

Hi

I am a fairly new RN. In my current job (for the last 3 years), I have held a LPN lic for WA state. My job discribition says qualification are that of an LPN, CMA or Respiratory Degree.

Now that I am a RN, I did not renew my LPN lic last month, my employer just told me "you need to inactivate your RN and activiate your LPN, and do this by the end of next week or you will be on administartive leave - non paid"

I cried yesterday, when Administration told me this, since I told them when I got my RN, back in Sept., that I was not going to renew my LPN lic.

HAS ANYONE had a similar situation?:angryfire

gail

[caliotter3]

Well, if this doesn't mean that it is time for a new employer, I don't know what does.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Obviously, they do not want an RN in the role you are currently fulfilling nor do they want to pay RN wages.

Are there any other open positions requiring RN degree? If not, time to start looking.

You could call your state to see if you can renew LPN license until can find RN position in the meantime. Some states do not permit one to carry dual license...PA did not when I transitioned in 1982.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Sounds like you need a new job.

[groovy jeff, RN]

Sounds to me like they want to pay you as an LPN and practice like an RN.

Not sure, but in most states your employer couldn't dictate your license status. It has nothing to do with the State Board, etc; however it may be a violation of employment law. You might want to contact a lawyer. If it were me, I would let them know that you are contacting attorney that handles employment law; perhaps they will back down.

[itsmejuli]

Wow, I'd be hunting for a new job.

Sounds like they don't want to pay you RN wages.

I don't see how you could hold both licenses. If you reverted back to LPN license, but hold RN license...what are the chances that you'd be operating out of the LPN scope of practice for your state? Pretty high I'd guess.

Contact your BON about holding dual license, then find a new RN job.

[ougreene]

WA state says I can have dual lic., I confirmed with them on Friday. My employer says the opposite. Considering the fact that I notified my employer (HR) back in Sept. when I got my RN that I was not going to renew the LPN, and the extreme short notice of "inactivate your RN, by Friday and active your LPN", really is disappointing from all angles. If go through the grievance pathwath I would be filing a grievance with HR against HR.....puts me in a very weird position, however we shall see...

gail

[L8RRN]

I am "both", too. I would not "inactivate" my RN license after I worked so hard to get it. Good luck on whatever you decide, but don't mess yourself up for the future over this place of employment!

[Jarnaes]

Do not inactivate your RN license, find a new job ASAP.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Some years back, I temped at a small facility with my RN license. I liked the work and the place and inquired about working there. Apparently, it was okay for me to be an RN when I was there with a temp agency; but when I asked about applying for one of the open positions doing exactly what I'd been doing, I was told I wasn't qualified for the job. The job description was for an LPN so they had to hire someone with an LPN license. I didn't feel comfortable applying for an RN role as there was only one RN charge per shift and I was nowhere near prepared to be the last line of defense when problems came up. So the open LPN positions remained unfilled and temp nurses (including RNs) called in daily to do those jobs.

My point is that it may not be just an issue of pay. Your immediate higher ups might have assumed there'd be no problem with your change in license. Now that the change has happened, they may have unexpectedly discovered that it, in fact, was a problem.

Being an RN and working an LPN position seems to leave open too many legal questions regarding scope, professional responsibility, etc. Most people (both nurses and employers) would prefer to completely avoid the issue. Which is probably why many employers don't allow RNs in LPN positions even if it's legal in the state to hold two active licenses and why so many nurses discourage RNs from LPN positions even if the job is awesome and an employer is willing to hire them.

Still, some RNs do work LPN positions. Perhaps the facility was able to rework the job description to work for an RN. Perhaps the nurse used their LPN license in the interview and the fact that they have a RN license "never came up." Perhaps the facility didn't think it was a problem and hasn't come across any trouble so far. Still, most people would advise against it.