Nurses STOP telling me to be a RN ! PLEASE

[NurseLoveJoy88]

so yesterday i was at clinicals and i was sent to nicu to observe. so one of the nurses comes over and was suppose to tell me things about nicu, whats going on with her babies and so on and so fourth. instead, she lectured me for 20 minutes on while i should become a rn first instead of being a lpn first.:banghead:

when i initially told her i was a lpn student she looked at me as if i had comitted a major crime !

after she finished lecturing me about how silly it was for me to get my lpn first rather than rn, i let her have it ! and after i was don,she had the dummest look on her face and couldn't say anything.

i was thinking first of all this lady doesn't know me or know my circumstances so what gives her the right to lecture me on my decision. don't get me wrong i don't have nurses giving me their two cents on why going straight for the rn is best. thats their opinion and i respect that. but this nurse was down right nasty !

she then tells me " i have a 20 year old daughter who is in nursing school and i told her don't even bother with being a lpn." after that i had to let her have just a little peice of my mind !

i told her the following: " i really appreciate your advice and all but until you can find me someone to pay my bills for the next couple of years while i'm in rn school then i just may consider it, until then i need to get my lpn to help me remain financially secure !

i then told her: " unlike your 20 year old daugter, i must work in order to make ends meat and everyday is like a struggle. you or your daughter will never know whats is like to work full time while in nursing school and not because its a choice but its not even an option. her or her daughter will never know what its like to be homeless and not even having a decent place to study at night but still standing and going to work and school just to have a chance in life. her daughter who is 20 years old just like me will never know what its like to pay her own rent, phone, bills, insurance, while in nursing school. i've been on my own since 18 years old and i'm so damn sorry that i didn't have a fairytale life where i can go straight for my rn, while my parents paid my way through school and paid for all my bills and allowed me to just eat, sleep, and study.

i have responsiblilities and instead of complaining about them i've decided to work and take each step at a time until i reach my utimate goal which is to become a rn. right now i'm tired of struggling and working most days of the week while in school. getting my lpn soon will mean that i'll have more money in my pocket and i'll be able to find a job where i don't have to go to work 5 days a week just to get by.

i have set myself on a career ladder that will take me from a cna to a lpn to a rn to a rn with a bsn. no i may not of taken the way you rns have tooken to become a rn but i'm going to become a rn someday, and just because i choose to work as a lpn while doing so certainly does not make me a bad person ! :zzzzz

please trust and believe that i will get my rn i'm just taking another route.

whew. it felt so good to get that off my chest.

i love you nurses that don't judge me for the path that i'm taking and still recognize that even if i work as a lpn while finishing up school that i'm still going to be a nurse and provide the best nursing care i can with in my scope. :nurse:

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

And, even if you decided to remain an LPN for longer or the rest of your life, there is nothing wrong with that, either.

[chickapea]

Nursing student 19, I hear ya. I have had many people tell me not to bother with the LVN program as well. However, I have been applying to any and everything in my area for 5 semesters. If I get into LVN school... you can bet that's where I'll be going! Of course it would have been wonderful to have gotten into an RN program 2.5 years ago and been done by now, but that did not happen so you make the best of it. Sometimes people are only looking at something from one point of view so don't take it personally and just do the best you can with where your at... you'll get there. :heartbeat

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

And, even if you decided to remain an LPN for longer or the rest of your life, there is nothing wrong with that, either.

Thats so true ! I know CNAs who have no desire to be a nurse and is content and thats fine. I know LPNs that have the desire to become RNs and thats fine as well. I think everyone is important in the health care team.

As for me I'll have the advantage of being all three !

I even come across some student nurses who don't like techs or look down on them, and I find that disgusting ! It should not matter whats behind your name, what matters is the care you provide thats with your scope.

Some people are just meant to be a CNA, LPN. or RN, and thats ok. If their were only RNs in the world what would we do ?

What would we do with out doctors, cnas, pcts, LPNs, and etc. ?

[emnicams]

Sorry you had that experience. It sounded more like that nurse wanted to feel superior and brag about her daughter than actually give you advice.

I must say that I need to move to wherever you are. Hospitals in my area pay $10-14/hr for LPN's and and $21-23 for RN's!

[ladybug26]

People will always give there advice or comments on subject, it's how we proceeded it. I look up to people who

can have goals in there life in go after them, Your goal is to become a nurse in timely manner and that's fine.

I do have to agree with taking ( cna, lpn, to bsn) is the way many Adult with responsibility are taken.:)

So stay faithful and may God bless you on journey:nurse:

[mariposabella]

Well you certainly told her and Im glad you did!!! How rude of her!

[moblondielpn]

When I went to college to get my LPN I was proud as a single mother of two. I had the goal and reached it. I didn't have the Money to continue. and I have multi health issues. I hate it when someone ask Why don't you go back to school"

I have my career I support my family I am not a high school drop out I am a LPN. So I agree with you 100% .

I heard that RN stands for Running nut and LPN is Low Paid Nurse so we are all nurses LOL:nurse:

[lovehospital]

I have a couple of LPN's in my class who regretted not going directly into an RN road,probably she just wanted to let you know that RN's has sooo many more career wise choices,you shouldnt take sometimes advices so personally,they might come from good intentions just not eloquently said.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Well where I live and where I plan to work a new LPN will start off with 22-24 an hour and its more than what I make now so I'll be grateful:yeah:

My mother has been a LPN for four years and made from 19-30/hr in LTC. Now she's a RN making 35/hr in LTC.

In my area people don't like to work in LTC, thus LTC have very competitive pay. So I may have to work LTC for a year or so but at least I'll be secure.:zzzzz

I wasn't knocking your choice. For someone with limited resources and time getting the LPN is a great option, and even career choice. Not everyone has the time and money to take pre-reqs, get on a waiting list, and then take 1.5 years of nursing school. So go for it and be proud of your accomplishment.

I was just saying that it's understandable that people would say "why aren't you getting your RN" and I know it must get tedious to answer it all the time, but no need to get so bent out of shape. In my opinion of course. Of course, there's no need for people to be rude about it either.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I sympathize with the OP. Sometimes we've just had enough of people and unload on them out of proportion to the crime because they represent every person who has made that same dumb comment that you've heard again and again.

I got really PO'd on a walk yesterday. I was walking my dogs on a back road behind my house. These people came along running four dogs behind their SUV, big pet peeve of mine, people who walk their dogs by driving their cars. I mean, how stereotypically over consuming American is that to be too lazy to walk your dog? So I was walking my two dogs in the opposite direction through this unsupervised pack of four dogs and this one rotweiller mix starts doing some major threatening body language, then picks a fight with my lab.

So I blew my top and yelled at these idiots who were just running their pack of dogs behind their car and told them off, that they were irresponsible and need to get out of their stupid car and supervise their pack instead of letting their dog attack my dog.

Sometimes blowing off a little steam makes your point and feels darn good!

[LilyBlue]

Out of curiosity, how do you know what her daughter has to do or what the mom-daughter duo has been through in order to get to this point? Don't always assume that everyone else has life so rosy. It's rarely the case.

[mochabean]

I think you made your position clear. You probably could have said your peace in a shorter response that might not be prone to upsetting the other person. "While I respect your viewpoint, I am doing what is best for me in my circumstances. Thank you for your interest. Can we please discuss the issues with this patient?" would have brought the other nurse back on track just as easily.

I agree. A succinct answer would've been more to the point and powerful. I work with LPNs and they are CONSTANTLY asked "When are you going to get your RN?" But I think you're doing a great job taking care of yourself while going to school. Most people your age wouldn't be able to handle it. Your hard work will pay off. Good luck!