No one's hiring LVN's these days

[sweetface]

I spoke to the teacher at the local community college today in Orange County and she said no one is hiring LVN's these days, especially not in hospitals. She said the LVN's we see at hospitals are students, not employee's. Are any LVN's working in hospitals?

Also, for the LVN's in southern CA, especially Orange County, what did you make your first year?

If the shifts are 12 hour shifts, then we are paid 8 straight hours and 4 hours of OT. 3 days on equals 36 hours. Do they allow overtime on the 4th day? If we want OT can you get it easily to make more money?

Also, is the shift differential standard everywhere you go?

Sorry for all the questions.... Just trying to figure out how I will pay for my vocational college loan...

[GOODMED]

Hi,

How about LVN job demand in Souther CA(LA, Orange) for the next few years? How much they get paid?

My wife is trying to get into LVN and then RN. Well in fact, she was in RN program but didn't make it due to this (rude and insensitive) instructor who failed her. She already has experience working as OR tech for a few years. Will it worth to go in LVN now? WE are looking at either private school or CC but time is a factor as well as she is in her early 40s.

[cheerfu60]

Hi,

How about LVN job demand in Souther CA(LA, Orange) for the next few years? How much they get paid?

My wife is trying to get into LVN and then RN. Well in fact, she was in RN program but didn't make it due to this (rude and insensitive) instructor who failed her. She already has experience working as OR tech for a few years. Will it worth to go in LVN now? WE are looking at either private school or CC but time is a factor as well as she is in her early 40s.

I go to everest college whcih use to be called Bryman. It is a private school we have a good rate of students who pass and most of all of them are working hap;ily with good pay. snf's out here hire about $22-25/hr. At the hospitals in Med/Surg they are paying pretty good about $20 and up the lowest I have heard was $18. I am not for sure about orange county for sure though I stay in Long beach. I would check online if I were you as far as median pay I checked salary.com for the one in Houston where I want to live and median prices were $36,000-45,000 annual. I understand about time. she can bridge if she has had classes behind her and hold that lvn license. (i'm sure you know that already)...God Bless

[freestylepnoi]

Hi, I've been an LVN for about 2 1/2 years and work in Houston, there are jobs for LVNs, it is limited in the hospital setting but there are LVNs working in my medsurg floor. The ones that are there have been with the company for a long time. The ones like me, however, either got the job because I knew someone from within. I recently got hired as a new grad RN and the district and met many LVN's who were hired for clinics, medsurg floor etc.

I guess its who you know, and if your applications sticks out in the crowd, HR recieves many applications for both LVN's and RN's and you have to make your resume stick out somehow, just my two cents.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

i am a LPN and there a 3 LPN's on my med/ surg/ tele floor. i just graduated from Rn school the other LPN is in RN school and the other LPN is not in school at all and have no intention on going back to school. i have worked at my hospital for 3 years and have been a acute care LPN for 21 years. i have found little or no malice from any RN's toward LPN's that i work with.

[queenjean]

Unfortunately, all the praise I heaped upon my hospital in my earlier post is now inaccurate.

While the RNs that I work with continue to have complete respect for the RNs, the management has decided to rewrite our job description. We are no longer to take our own patients. We are to work on a team with an RN, but now we are to be "task oriented". Basically we are supposed to pass meds on all the patients and perform as much as the other tasks as possible, to allow the RN time to "assess and manage the pt care".

Meaning that we are now aides who can pass meds. The RNs that I work with are also unhappy with this turn of events. All but two of our LPNs have been nurses in acute care for longer than most of the RNs. On my shift, there is only one RN who has more acute care nursing experience than I do. All the nurses--LPNs and RNs--feel that LPNs have been demoted. I personally wish they would have simply told us "You aren't needed anymore, here is your severence pay, come back when you are an RN." No, this way they get rid of us without having to actually pay us any type of severence.

I'm looking for other jobs within the hospital at this point (IV therapy, ER, morther/baby). The writing is on the wall for LPNs at our hospital. I wouldn't even stay there if I didn't NEED the benefits--I carry the insurance for my family, I need to tuition reimbursement as well as my health savings account since dd#1 got braces this spring. If I weren't in school for RN completion right now anyway, I'd sure get my butt enrolled.

Two weeks ago I would have continued to encourage anyone to go for their LPN before their RN--great experience, etc. Now, I've changed my tune. Unless the goal is to work in LTC or an office, I would definitely tell them to NOT bother with the LPN certification, it is just too restrictive.

I'm so sad. I loved loved loved my job up until this point. Now I hate going to work. I am not a cry-er (I'm more of an in-your-face type of b***cher), and I cry in the car every time I go to work now. I dread going to work. I just hate not having my own patients, not feeling like I have ANY management support or respect. I HATE my job at this point.

[Thedreamer]

Wow deborah, that site and your transfomation are amazing.

[chosenchocolate]

I'm in East Texas. I have found not hiring LVN's to be an accurate statement around these parts. While there is unlimited employment opportunities in LTC, not much available anywhere else. Depending on location, I think it would be fair to say further your education unless you desire to work in geriatrics the rest of your career!

[dschueler]

Funny this was the topic on my email when I just got home from my 1st day of nursing school, LVN, in Orange County.

The RN, BSN, CNOR, said today that hardly any LVNs are being hired in hospitals anymore, and to just use this to go for our RN, and they are actually going to teach us beyond what the textbooks/state require, they are going to teach us BSN level care plans, because the majority of people go for their RNs anyway. She made the hiring options sound so dismal. I just want to finish. One girl in my class had all her pre-reqs for over a year, and was told the wait list for her BSN would be another year or two easy....so go get your LVN, then transfer over for your BSN so she could get right into the program, as LVNs can bypass regular students. Anyway, I am praying I can just get right into my RN program when I am done with my LVN.

At least my old nursing school experience paid off today, I knew all the answers and thank God, it was all review for me.

Thanks for this thread. If nurses are soooo understaffed, and needed so badly, why won't they use us? They will hire MAs and treat them better it seems than LVNs, which is a Nurse, right? A Medical Asst is not a nurse, so why are they looked at better than LVNs in some instances? I am confused...anyone else? Can anyone shed light on this predicament?

Thanks, and have a great day!

Deb

[Lexxie, LPN]

I'm in East Texas. I have found not hiring LVN's to be an accurate statement around these parts. While there is unlimited employment opportunities in LTC, not much available anywhere else. Depending on location, I think it would be fair to say further your education unless you desire to work in geriatrics the rest of your career!

It's the same here in South Central PA.. TONS of jobs for LPNs in LTC, but limited positions in the hospitals. I know one of our local hospitals occasionally hires LPNs, but the big, "Magnet" hospital, will only hire RNs for their OB/GYN facility.. and it seems as if their jobs for LPNs are limited to physician offices

[LucasRN]

oooooh!that is so awful! i have been an lpn for 12 years and loved it but i will confess that when an rn would give me that load of malarky i had to bite my tongue for fear of cursing. the truth is there is a stigma and it has no merit, i recently graduated from rn school and am waiting for my att letter to sit for my boards , but the truth is i did it out of spite! over the years i have been blessed to know lpns that could run circles around some rns, and i have met some rns with absolutely NO COMMON SENSE, ofcourse that is not always the case but my point is be the best nurse you can be, know that you are there to help the patient, and bless you for what you do! good luck

chris

[jjjoy, LPN]

In regard to why LVNs aren't allowed to do everything that RNs are, why can't nurses do everything MDs are allowed to? Because their training and licenses are different. We all know nurses sometimes know better or more than doctors.

Nurses learn a lot on the job and a LVN may learn all that the RN does but that doesn't make the LVN qualified to work as a RN. Just like a nurse may know exactly what a doctor will be ordering but still can't order the med themselves.

If LVN training DOES prepare nurses for a more extended role, then we are either wasting precious time with the longer RN programs, or LVNs are being short-changed, studying just as much as the RN but not getting the credit. Either of these may be the case.

Personally, I have many doubts about the quality and effectiveness of much nursing education out there, at all levels (LVN, ADN, BSN) and given that, I see some validity in questioning the different qualifications of RNs and LVNs.

[PrincessAnnie]

There are tons of jobs in the Minneapolis area for LPN's. If you want to work nursing while becoming an RN the AS degree for LPN is good and the program is very good.