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:

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Unfortunately,this is often the case....not long ago we had one of the doc telling our LPN student that she isnt a real nurse,then he proceed to ask her with an sarcastic voice...do you guys even pass meds,and she said "yeah" and then he replied "Since when?":(

Which tells me everything I personally need to know about that doctor!

[stinger530]

You go girl! When I decided to become a nurse I was older and already had a BA so I went for a bridge program to get my MSN. Believe it or not, in my community it was the fastest way for me to become a nurse. BUT I had the same problem you do all the way through and even to this day there are nurses who want to rag on me for not having my BSN before getting my MSN, but it's funny that none of them have done the work to get their MSN. Some of the best nurses I have ever seen are LPNs. One of the best NPs I know came as a CNT to LPN to BSN to MSN. She has adepth of experience anda feel for patient care that no BSN right out of school would have. We have to do this thing the best we can given our our particular circumstances. There's too much negativity in Nursing. Too much criticism of our fellow nurses. You just keep eating that elephant one bite at a time and you WILL get there.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

I guess I've been guilty of encouraging one of the LPNs I work with to pursue her RN, although I'm sure I was never nasty about it. It's not an option she can manage, now, but I hope she'll have the opportunity someday--assuming she stays in nursing. What I tell her is that there were several LPNs in my ASN program, and they were miles ahead of most of us who didn't have that LPN experience, because nothing prepares you for being a nurse like being a nurse. I'm also not above telling some aides what good nurses they'd make. Again, I try not to harp or be obnoxious about it. Particularly, now that I've been a nurse for a couple of years, I've come to realize that it's not exactly paradise on earth. On the other hand, it does pay a lot better, and they're already doing a lot of the hard parts.

I continue to believe that the variety of routes of entry into nursing is one of its strengths. It's good for prospective nurses that they can choose to become LPNs, associate degree RNs, diploma RNs, or BSNs. An ASN program met my needs. But I think that diversity also serves nursing's needs. I have coworkers from each of those backgrounds, and even an MSN who chooses to remain a bedside nurse, and I think our patients benefit from the different perspectives. I work on a neuro floor, so our patient population can often be like a cross between LTC and psych. With patients who need total care, I often seek the advice of LPNs, diploma nurses, and aides, because they seem especially strong in the practical, nuts-and-bolts aspects. I think back to a four-hour lab period I had in school where we spent 3.5 hours on therapeutic communication and watched a 30 minute video on skin assessment (I exaggerate, but only a little.)

Other times, I find it helpful to mooch off the knowledge base of my BSN and MSN colleagues. And my ASN/ADN colleagues are a mix of energetic young nurses, very experienced nurses, and second-career nurses (like me) who may not have a lot of nursing experience for our age, but bring a good deal of life-experience to the mix.

I've heard some strong nurses from other floors say they dread getting neuro/neuro surg patients. I probably dread patients from their services just as much, but some of ours can be pretty challenging. Keeping a confused/combative patient safe, clean and dry, and watching for subtle changes in mental status, lab values, etc., takes a lot of collaboration. I think we benefit a lot from being able to see them from different angles.

I have never, and will never, used the phrase "let's play nurse." But I did once see a posting at our facility for an entry-level position as a painter that paid a few cents an hour more than base starting pay (at the time) for LPNs. I spent enough years painting to know that doing it well is a skill, but still, most of the life-or-death decisions I made when I was painting were "should I fall off this ladder, or not?" In my area, LPNs can make okay money in LTC (and earn every penny), but in acute care, I'm afraid "low paid nurse," really does fit. So I'm glad I spent that extra year learning to ask, "How does that make you feel?"

[Fiona59]

I know it's easy to say but just ignore the comments. I've heard them all over the last decade.

In my province there is NO fast track for LPNs to become RNs. Gain over 1000 hours of employed time, then apply to year two of the four year BScN. At my age it isn't going to happen. I planned it all out, I'd be 55 when I graduate, with over $20K in student loans, I'd have lost the pension benefits of my job, be in the hole ovedr $120K in lost wages and be at the bottom of the RN seniority list. I would also have to work at least five years full time to pay back the student loans and start to build pension credits in the RN plan. Not exactly what I'd planned on doing at age 60+

In the time it takes to do the "bridge", I'll be half way through a Masters in a totally unrelated area. Something I've always wanted

The public have to read the name tags on nurses to figure out who is who. I'm glad I will never have to be Charge and deal with all the complaints. You couldn't pay me enough to do that job. I work with a few RNs my age who refuse to take Charge.

I work within a system that utilizes PNs to full scope. Our doctors don't know what letters we have behind our names. They just know who is competent. I've heard them tell their residents "listen to the older nurses they KNOW what they are talking about". It took five years for one of my fav. surgeons to find out I was a LPN and that only happened because I'd looked after his mother.

Just be proud of your skills, your education and in the knowledge you are living your life the way you choose. Are you hurting anyone? Committing a criminal act? Can you sleep at night? Well, then just grin and keep slogging away.

I heard one PN the other week, ask her patient if they knew the educational requirements these days for a PN and the patient was amazed. The profession of practical nursing needs to work on boosting it's image as a "quickie" way into healthcare and a vocational training. Hell, it's two years at college up here.

[Jules A, MSN]

i'm guilty of encouraging lpns to get their rn but i truly only mean it as a compliment. if i thought you were a dolt i'd wonder how you got through lpn school and surely woudn't suggest going further. i'm also guilty of encouraging my super sharp techs to consider the lpn program. hopefully i never make people feel like i'm insulting their degree as i am proud to have been a lpn and most of the lpns i work with now are far more skilled and experienced than i am. my bottom line just in general is that i want to work smarter not harder. as a rn i make $15 more than i made as a lpn doing the exact same job with the exception of being able to sign off on restraint orders and initial assessments. i guess i'm just greedy because truly its all about the money and job opportunities and has nothing to do with my desire to want the extra responsibility and challenge.

i have to admit that i also think the op over reacted, especially as a student and guest on that unit. was the nurse being rude? sure sounds like it to me but as i've aged i've found that if you want to get your point across there is a higher likelihood of doing that if you remain friendly. i wasn't there but in this instance i think she could have discussed the benefits of being a lpn and the stringent education requirements if she felt like it. reaming someone out on the job is just unprofessional imo provoked or not. just my two cents but all of us need to remember that nursing is a very incestuous bunch and the person you have words with today may just be the person who has input over whether or not you are hired tomorrow.

[flygirl43]

Here, here! I went straight into it after a bad divorce. Dont recommend it. Had to work 3 jobs and go to school full time. I thinkk I slept 1-2 hrs a day. In the end, I should have done it like you. (LPNs are nurses too!)

[firstyearstudent]

Initially thats what I did, but she kept dragging on it. Maybe she'll think twice before she looks down on another LPN student, now that she know some of us need our LPNs to get by for now.

She also kept bragging about her daughters 3.59, I was thinking since your daughter isn't working and totally dependant shouldn't she have a 4.0 ??? She also told me that my 3.0 isn't good enough ???? She was just so crazy, I don't know why she acted like that. I had to put her in her place,and I did it in a very nice, way.

I can't speak for the nurse who spoke to you, but why do you think she was "looking down" on you. It seems to me that she thought you were sharp and shouldn't take an unnecessary detour getting your RN. Unfortunately, she made some assumptions about it being unnecessary. It's unfortunately that you don't have the money to go straight for RN or BSN and it's also unfortunate that your the nurse you spoke to is insensitive to others who may be in a financial situation that she doesn't understand, but it sounds like you've got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder. Good luck. I knew gals in nursing school who working full-time. It was hard but they did it!

[lovehospital]

Which tells me everything I personally need to know about that doctor!

Yeah he was a piece of work for sure.He had a tendency to loose his temper,once I remember he run out of patient room screaming " If he wants to act like an ******* (patients that is ),I will show him to what it like to be even a bigger *******,fun for sure:)