Nursing Shortage or not???

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

I was reading several articles about the nursing shortages in hospitals. Basically the nursing schools are turning away applicants because of not having enough staff to teach. What the hospitals are complaining about is the shortage of "RN's". Well if they hired LVN's wouldn't that help with the shorage of nurses? They complain that they're aren't enough nurses, but yet they wont hire LVN's to fill in the slots? LVN's are nurses too why do they discredit LVN's for? They act like LVN's aren't nurses. Hellooooooooooooooo Licensed Vocational Nurse means NURSE! I know that most hospitals have done away with LVN's but there are still some that have few LVN's. I wonder why hospitals just don't bite the bullet and hire LVN's to fill in the slots. There are many qualified LVN's who can work in the hospital so in my opinion, there isn't a shortage. Look at all avenues before saying there is a shortage. Anybody know more about the subject and care to respond?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I don't think that we are discredited so much as viewed as problematical. We can not, technically, work without the direction of an RN. We are somewhat limited in our scope of practice. I will guess that many RN's don't want the responsibility of putting their licenses on the line overseeing LPN's.

I'm in a rural area and LPN/LVN's are still very much alive. However, you are also more likely to get a PA or NP than a doctor in the ED, and shipped to a more advanced facility if presenting with anything complex.

[Woodenpug, BSN]

The delegation responsibility for an RN is the same whether or not the person being delegated to is an LVN. Hospitals seem to be using techs in positions formerly held by LVN's. In effect, as an LVN you're overqualified.

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

In some hospitals where LVN's are still used, they're treated as a CNA, they have the same duties EXCEPT they can administer medications if the RN is busy, and they can hang IV fluids....I'm not sure if they can start IV's (I know unless they're IV Certified).....but can the Techs (don't know their title) pass medications???? ....IMO I still feel that there is no shortage unless they bring LVN's back to the hospitals and if they're still short, then yes there is a shortage.....I'm sorry I just don't feel sorry for hospitals who complain about the shortage of nurses when there are very qualified LVN's who can work in the hospital but wont be hired.....Some of the most knowledgable nurses I've worked with have been LVN's...

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

The delegation responsibility for an RN is the same whether or not the person being delegated to is an LVN. Hospitals seem to be using techs in positions formerly held by LVN's. In effect, as an LVN you're overqualified.

Yup. Cheaper, and the same exposure.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Here I go again, like a broken record!!!

There is no true nursing shortage. This is evidenced by the 500,000 RNs and numerous LPNs/LVNs who possess active licensure in the U.S., but refuse to participate in the nursing workforce any longer.

There's a shortage of nurses who will repeatedly deal the with overall disrespect and despicable bedside conditions for crappy pay rates.

[llg, PhD, RN]

The delegation responsibility for an RN is the same whether or not the person being delegated to is an LVN. Hospitals seem to be using techs in positions formerly held by LVN's. In effect, as an LVN you're overqualified.

I work for a hospital that only has a few LPN's working with the inpatient population for some of the same reasons you name.

Part of the reason for the selection of CNA's over LPN's relates to the physical design of the units. Our hospital units are collections of small "pods," each holding anywhere from 4-8 patients. That design has become popular in recent years -- though it has both its advantages and disadvantages. As a tertiary care center, many patients have a pretty high acuity level and require a lot of RN involvement.

So the question became, what's the best staffing mix for these pods? Do we staff with 1 RN per pod and an LPN? 2 RN's? 1 RN, 1 LPN and 1 CNA? etc. etc. etc. After a lot of discussion, it was decided that having 3 levels of care providers in these small pods would be too confusing. Roles would overlap too much and it would be hard for the staff to decide who would do what. So, we decided that we would only have 2 levels of care providers -- and the LPN's are overqualified to (and too expensive) to be used as assistive care givers. Thus, the decision was made to go with RN's and CNA's in most units.

We have a few units where we use LPN's instead of CNA's because the patient population includes enough less acute patients that appropriate assignments can be made for the LPN staff. The LPN's can meet most of the patients' needs and only need ocassional assistance from the RN. But on most of our units, the LPN's would need so much assistance from the RN's, it makes more sense to assign an RN to the case with the assistance of a CNA.