colettea

You bet cha! I have been a lpn since 1980 and have lived in the mid-west and the south where lpns are utilized in almost every arena. Not so the case here in the pacific northwest were I honestly think we are being phased out and replaced by MA's! It's sad but the bottom line for corporations is $$$ I also have a BS in biology (had to raise my child then finish my degree), and I can't see spending another (at the min) $7K to get my RN...I might out of despiration...I plan on attending grad school and maybe dental school, but damm, do I feel like an old dish rag!!! I love the area (pnw), but I think I will move back to Texas were the nurses are at least professional to each other!!!!

Don't take it too hard...sometimes a little dark humor keeps us from crying..we are far too busy to have our hands free to pull out our hair :roll:chuckle...life is what we make it...be good to our clients, to each other, and to ourselves:saint:

Try travel nursing or agency nursing. I attended an LPN/PVN program in Arkansas but left (went back to my hometown of Chicago and found just tons of work)...the experiance you will get from agency...give it a try...

G'Day Mate! An LPN/LVN in the states are licensed to give just about anything as far as meds are concerned no matter the route. I have worked in ICU/CCU/ER, tele floors in the southern US as well as the Midwest (these places from my experiance utilize practical nurses a little better than the Pacific Northwest, where I am now). I am ACLS and PALS certified. It all comes down to extra training and experiance in pushing iv meds. It is also from my experiance that Practical nurses are being "piegon-holed" into mostly long-term care (which is nothing more than a chronic med-surg floor versus an acute med-surg hospital floor)..and that's fine for those that have a desire to practice mostly geriatics. I have a BS in biology/premed and am returning to school in about 2 mos to recieve an associates degree as a Registered Nurse...I feel that I personally and professionally can offer more that what I am doing now. By the way, I trully love the culture "down under" (I was there visiting last year in Queensland and I'm serously thinking about doing duel citizenship in your lovely country).:cheers:

Has anyone out there had any problems with excelsior college? I am currently enrolled in the BS-biology degree program. I have been "enrolled" for a little over a year and never recieved an invoice for the annual fee. My big problem with them is that the 3 courses that I needed to finish (all I needed was 7 upper level hours so I had to take 9 stupid hours) all were from U of Indiana...they took forever to grade my courses...I still don't have the final grade for one of the courses and I have to take one of the courses over again!!! I just paid the annual fee + a re-enstatement fee and guess what? I got feedback (aka grades) from U. of Ind!!! I feel like a sucker but I have invested a lot of $$$ into this program....My plans were to finish up my BS in biology and then get my AS-RN but I don't know if I can trust Excelsior...been working as a lpn for 20+ years and really getting burned out in long-term care...worked most of the mid-west and texas where lpns are better utilized but don't really want to move from the seattle area...