Lisa_Lynn

Hello. I'm a 16 yr Missouri Lpn. I currently work in St Louis Mo @ St Louis University Hospital. Here @ home (in Poplar Bluff) Lpns as I previously read in one of the posts...do just about everything the RN does...and the same at SLUH. The differences are that @ home...we can call the doc's take T/O's, V/O's, write the orders on the physician order, no IVP's with the exception of the flushing of saline locks, and we can't touch the piccs etc. In StL we can do nothing with the orders. No taking them from the docs, no verbals,telephone no anything. However, we can flush and draw blood from the centrals and piccs (go figure) but can't change the dressings on them. The RN has to hang the blood but we take care of it after that and we can remove it once it's done. Talk about some getting used to! I've worked most of my career here at home doing darn near everything, and then go upstate 3 hrs and have to try and remember to leave the docs alone or drag them to an RN. Incredible.! I love being an Lpn and have never tired of it, however...and I think that it's very unfair...most of what I want to do you have to be an RN for. I want to do Trauma/Flight Nursing and called the 2 or 3 chopper transports in our area and of course...you have to be an RN. So hopefully if all goes well I will be going back to RN school at StLU in the spring or summer.