NO MORE LPNs

jackson145 · Jan 27, 2009

In my area, you only see LPN's in LTC or Doc's offices. The 3 major hospitals only have LPN's that were "grandfathered in" & they have a time limit for completing their RN if they want to keep their job.

The local Ivy Tech has had meetings about discontinuing it's LPN program because graduates are having a hard time finding a job.

It may be a cyclical thing, but if all the current LPN's obtain their RN in the near future and the local schools d/c their LPN programs, there won't really be a choice of swinging back to LPN's later.

It makes you wonder how well thought out some of these decisions are.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jan 27, 2009

This is not true ! I'm so sick of tired of hearing about this rumor. Yes, LPNs aren't used as much in hospitals. If LPNs go, who will be in LTC ? Stop believing every thing you hear !

truern · Jan 27, 2009

It's the same old story propagated by the same "they" in favor of BSN as the entry level of RNs. Not gonnna happen!

RNperdiem, RN · Jan 28, 2009

When I started nursing school at a community college, the school had just discontinued the LPN program. We were told that there was not enough of a market for LPN's in the area to justify training them.

DebanamRN, MSN, RN · Jan 28, 2009

We have two LPN schools in the area and about a zillion nursing homes. The second LPN school was opened by the owners of a group of nursing homes in order to have LPNs to staff their facilities. The LPN school I attended has a 100% job placement rate. It depends on the area you work in. In areas with very high senior populations, and where those senior live into their 90s and older, you will still need LPNs. The demand for nurses cannot keep up with the supply of RNs being produced by the colleges in the state (NJ).

shelly304 · Jan 28, 2009

i understand that they are going eliminate the lpn position altogether. do you think they can or will?

month after month this same thread circulates with different op.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2009

It's the same old same old. I've also heard that the 2yr rn is no good. It's all a bunch of horse hockey!

kayleeray · Jan 28, 2009

I don't think it's going to happen any time soon..

I'll probably end up going the LVN route and I've found that Houston has a big need for LVNs. While browsing job ads online, I've seen more ads looking for LVNs than RNs.

Melinurse · Jan 28, 2009

LPN's will not be phased out. it's true the LPN's are not being used in my hospital anymore , but we need the diversity of the LPN practice. I never see LPN's being phased out.

I was a LPN working med-surg and I remember them saying at a meeting that they were no longer going to hire LPNs and they let 75% of the LPNs go. I was one who was " grandfathered " in to continue working as a nurse but some others were made to work only as a CNA. Now the hospital is in finacial trouble and is thinking about hiring LPNs so the RNs can take heavier patient assignments. I think it is just a cycle.

Seishiro · Jan 28, 2009

Who else thinks this is a way for encouraging those with a LPN license to go on and pursue their RN? Personally I'm just going for my LPN to get my feet wet and make my transition into RN school more smooth. I'm not knocking LPNs, I think they are as valuable as any other part of a health care team and it makes me sad as a future LPN that I wont have an opportunity to work in a hospital setting.

flightnurse2b, LPN · Jan 28, 2009

Who else thinks this is a way for encouraging those with a LPN license to go on and pursue their RN? Personally I'm just going for my LPN to get my feet wet and make my transition into RN school more smooth. I'm not knocking LPNs, I think they are as valuable as any other part of a health care team and it makes me sad as a future LPN that I wont have an opportunity to work in a hospital setting.

don't count hospitals out so soon, seishiro. check out all the hospitals in your area and market yourself well. i am a LPN and i work in a hospital in an acute care setting. there are only 2 of us on my floor but positions do exist. don't be sad yet :)

travel50 · Jan 28, 2009

When I got my ADN in '83, "they" were going to do away with LPNs and ADNs both. It has never happened. Now I have a BSN and am working on a MSN b/c I want to teach. I am the director of nursing in a nursing home. We staff primarily with LPNs. In one of my classes in my MSN program, the instructor and my classmates were discussing their view that the BSN should be the entry level for practice. I made the "mistake" of asking them, if we get rid of all the LPNs and ADNs, then who is going to do the actual work. I thought they were going to throw me out of class. But they could not answer the question. Now I know that many, many bachelor's prepared nurses work the floor, and are exceptional. But as a nursing home, we can't afford all RNs. And my LPNs are very good. I'd match them against alot of RNs that I know.