sputnik261

Thanks loriangel14, that's more info about being an RPN than I've been able to find on my own so far, even on this forum. I've got a lot more confidence now. Sounds like I've made a great decision. No more drama queen nonsense, no more inferiority complex. Time to work hard and be the best nurse I can be!

Yeah, the "only male on campus" line was a joke just because it's a small campus in a small town where the attitude towards male nurses is still "oh, I never would have guessed you were like that. Nothing wrong with it, of course! Nothing you can do about it!" among the older (mostly guys) generation. I'm glad that perception is gradually going the way of disco. I know male students tend to be 6-10% of most nursing classes. I looked up the scopes of practice on the CNA's website and I'm aware that technically RPNs are only limited in certain areas (can't hang IV bags or work in ICU, etc) but I'm worried about horror stories where their hours and responsibilities are cut to almost nothing simply because management considers them liabilities, RN wannabes. "You have 2 years of college, he/she has 4 of university. Sorry pal, they can do your job and whatever else we need them to do." I'm glad the posts so far have all been positive and that you're able to make a very good salary working only part time. The job boards have me worried that I'll be clocking 15hr weeks at 18.50/hr in LTC forever unless I get really, really lucky. I didn't mean to come off as considering myself above cleaning up feces, blood, or other fluids. This isn't a job for the squeamish. Nurses do whatever needs doing and I want to be directly involved with patient care. I know I'll be dealing with those scenarios several times a day for the rest of my career. It was just that I assumd the attitude in most hospitals was becoming "RNs do the monitoring, IV and drug admin, and all other aspects of actual patient care, you just make sure they haven't soiled themselves, update the charts, and buzz in the REAL nurses if anything goes slightly wrong. Also, you're fired if we need to shore up our bottom line". I'm worried the trend is going to be that because most new grads are going the RN route, RPNs are slowly being written off as the new Nurse's Aide or orderly with few exceptions despite having almost identical responsibilities on paper. Barely educated holdovers from the bygone days of 2005 when a 2 or 3 year diploma was the entry to practice. That we're to dumb to hack a Bachelor's, basically, even though i know our training is just as challenging and bridging later on is an even heavier workload than going for a BScN out of the gate. I'm not worried about doing the job itself. I'm worried that I won't be able to find a job at all because it looks like RPNs are being phased out of all settings but the occasional LTC assignment in favor of 4 year grads, even if we're fully capable of doing the same jobs just as competently and take our responsibilities to the patient just as seriously.

Hey there, present and future nurses! I've been accepted to the fall RPN semester at St Lawrence College. I'm a bit older than most of the college crowd now, just turned 27 this August, fully expect to be the only male nurse on this campus. Immunizations, record checks, books and financing are all taken care of, but even though I want to make a career in nursing, I'm worried. I didn't have all the necessary prereqs for a BScN this fall and decided to go the RPN route instead. My reasons for this are mainly that I'm living with my parents while going to school and a year of pre-health combined with the BScN would take me half a decade to finish. My long term goals are to become certified, find a job in one of the major cities, move out and bridge to RN after two or three years because I do NOT want to live with my parents for that long, but I still feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot. I'm definitely going to give it everything I've got. I'm not trying to put down RPNs in any way, I know any level of nursing requires massive dedication and hard work. It's just that the large majority of job ads I see are for RN positions only, with the few positions for RPNs being casual postings in LTC or occasionally visiting care. I have nothing against taking care of the elderly, but is that ALL RPNs are qualified to do? Is it true I'd just be changing linens, dressings and bedpans if I managed to find work in a hospital? Little to no chance of full time hours/overtime/benefits? I just look at the limited scope of practice and keep thinking "why would anyone hire me for this over a new RN grad looking for their 1st year of hospital experience? Bridging programs in Canada are all but nonexistent right now, what if they're phased out completely in a few years? Can I support myself on RPN wages? What if I get laid off and nobody's hiring? Would I be in a position to finish my prereqs and do ANOTHER 4 years?" I can't stop myself from thinking like this. Some of my relatives are retired nurses and they try to reassure me that RPNs and RNs basically have the same duties and share the work, that RPNs are more bedside oriented while RNs have more have more to do with the supervisory/administration side of things, but they mainly worked in small town hospitals in a different time. I know I should be looking forward to the opportunity, but I'm terrified of the industry leaving me in the dust no matter how hard I'm willing to work or how well I can do my job just because I don't have my Bachelor's. I'm locked in now, but the brightest part of my future looks like "GOPHER FOR LIFE" in big neon lights. Have I been grossly misinformed and actually have a shot as a respected hospital nurse if I put in my best effort? Would I just be let go if life throws me a curveball and I don't upgrade later on? Some perspective would be really great on this...