MarcyLPN

I'm an LPN at a hospital in Florida where I administer Po,IM,sq,pr and most IV meds. I can hang any IV piggy back, push saline flushes, lasix/bumex, zofran, reglan, solumedrol/cortef, toradol, ect. through any IV acess, be it periph or central, i also draw blood form central lines and do IV starts, I'm the one all the nurses come to for their hard sticks. I hang blood after verifying it with an Rn. The only thing I cant do is push narcs, or cardiac meds ect. An RN is supposed to asses the pt every 24h or co-sign the LPNs assesment. In some hospitals in the area the LPNs push everything. I'm good at what I do, I cant wait until I graduate the RN program and get appreciated for what I do. Lets face it once I have RN behind my name my nursing skills are not going to raise to some superior level. I'm a good nurse because of my experience, my capacity to care for people and my love for what I do.

not valuable? A nurse is a nurse, just b/c an LPN has a more limited scope of practice doesn't mean anything. I've known some awesome LPN that could out perform any RNs. I have also worked with some great RNs and crappy RNs and LPNs. Like i said there's good nurses and bad nurses. Experience have shown me the best RNs where LPNs, or Cna or cna then lpn then RN. Experience is what's most valuable. I did my LPN in high school through dual enrollment and got a job on a Med Surg floor, I'm also doing the RN bridge. By the time I'm an RN I'll have at least 2 years med surg experience. I am a valuable part of my team, I'm the go to person for difficult IV starts for my floor as well as ortho, pcu and peds. I do well in a critcal/code situation. I've been told my assesment skills are far beyond my experience by my charge nurse (an RN) I am Valuable to my unit and my patients, it doesnt matter that I'm an LPN. I do respect the hard work RNs go through for school and their higher education, I mean thats what I'm going to school for but i'll always be grateful for my LPN roots. Felicia don't get discouraged, keep trying get you IV certs if you don't already have it. Maybe do an internship or volunteer work to beef up your "professional experience" part of the resume. Def go on for your RN if you have the chance

ok so here's my opening to vent, Im an LPN i took my LPN during high school. I was in the first class and it worked out wonderfully for me. I ws top of my class and when i graduated i wasted no time starting the RN bridge program. So here I am just turned 18, just went to my prom and graduated high school and i land a job on a medsurg at a local hospital. I love it, and i learn so much. I feel like i'm quickly accepted into this nursing "family" and looked on as a valuable member of the team. I have been told I have advanced asssesment skills for my experience and I handle codes really well. Until recently we followed a primary nursing model and when i came across something i couldnt do i would just grab an available RN. Recently they have switched us to relationship based care aka team nursing. I work with some great nurses LPN and RN. unfortunately I cant work with the same RN every night. Some of our RNs are incompetent, truly. We have one who refused to start a new IV for a pt getting blood and just watched as the blood poured out AROUND the IV and just cont'd to place 4x4s over it. One that changed a heparin drip rate that was supposed to be at 13.2 ml/hour to 132 ML/HR!!! Then recently I was in a rapid response situation where the RN just wanted nothing to do with it. I was getting vitals, paging the RTS and rapid response team, calling the DR and getting orders and watching this pt go down (not even my pt) while the RN just insisted she was having a panic attack and gave her iv ativan while we were working on the pt, the RT bout ripped her a new one and she did indeed end up depressing her resp even more. She went to icu, she was not having a panic attack thats for sure. I just feel like if they are gonna act like the Lpns need an Rn o be diretly over us shouldnt they be competent? All theyve done is manage to effectively take away our charge nurses and secretaries and make us do it all. all the while they talk about the rn gold and disregard the valuble LPNs they have. I cant wait until i get my RN b/c i know im a good nurse but i'm not treated like a R.ealN.urse

Does anyone know if an LPN is alloewed to become PICC certified, also while I'm asking questions how long did it take everybody to get their licenses after they graduated?