pat19090

Our hospital does much like Tweetys. Agency and PRN get cancelled first, then if someone requests it they get off 2nd and sometimes people will volunteer for it, then it goes to the books and it goes to the next persons turn, but it always comes around to you. We get 4-8 or 12's off whatever they need to cancel for. If the next person on the book takes a mandatory low census then someone extra on another unit fills their place or they bump everyone up to accomodate. Isn't it interesting that there is a nursing shortage but yet we get low census days? A day without pay or using a vacation day is a lot of incentive to work there isn't it? I wonder if this is a trend across the country.

I can feel your frustrations while reading your post. I am a LPN and 57 yrs old. This is not just you, a lot of us are in the same position or soon will be. We have a lot of things going against us that we can not control. Number 1 is our age; employers are looking for younger people who will be with them longer, feel they will be more productive and can pay them less especially if they are new and inexperienced. Number 2 is the fact that we are LPNs. Have you read the post about LPNs being fired all over the country? Those LPNs are now looking to other healthcare sections for employment so job openings for them are fewer. Number 3 is what LPNs have trained, been licensed and worked at for years is now being done by Pt Care Techs and Med Techs; they are unlicensed, certification is not always needed, have minimal training so they are cheaper. Number 4 the health care industry is always crying about the shortage and this opens the door to hire people from foreign countries who will work for less and longer hours. Many will work more than one job and they will tell you how they need to send money to support their families back home. As for advice. I know LPNs that have gone on to agency nursing and if you do not like the traveling and inconsistancy of agency at least you can get a look at who has needs and what the places are like then go apply at one you like or maybe if they know your good and interested they will appoach you. Just watch the fine print on your agency contract to see if you can accept a job or if they have a time limit as to how long you have to wait. You can also volunteer to get your foot in the door. I volunteer with a hospice and go out to nursing homes to see patients; at the same time I can look around and see what the place is like and how overwhelmed the staff is. Then there is also hospice care and home care to look into. Can you use your school credits from IT to bridge into RN faster? I know that it is hard to get into a lot of RN programs and it can take years and sounds like you need a solution faster. Good Luck