bebbjo

From day one of becoming a nurse I always said that I wasn't in it for the money and that the pay doesn't matter. But over the years I have learned that for all the hard work you put into nursing a decent wage is needed. If you love your job maybe try and stick it out and make sure you are doing everything by the books. You are getting great experience which will help you if you decide to change jobs. If you feel like you are being underpaid and want to move jobs for something higher just keep looking around. I know where I live our hospital does not higher LPN's at all. If you are working there as a CNA and get your LPN they will allow you to work but they don't directly higher LPN's. As long as you do things by the book you won't shouldn't have problems. If other nurses aren't then they are putting their license on the line.

Every state varies. In the state of Wyo a LPN is not allowed to do IV's of any sort unless IV certified. If you are basic iv certified you are allowed to place an INT and allowed to hang fluids on it and also allowed to pull the INT. You need advanced IV certification to administer meds via central line or PICC and are allowed to do central line dressing changes and administer fluods, antibiotics and so on. However a LPN here even advanced IV certified is not allowed to DC a PICC or Central or midline, can not administer blood, blood products, chemo drugs, and a few others. Not allowed do any iv on someone under 5, not allowed to DC an INT on someone under 12. After reading some other posts that they are allowed to do IVS wit out training so it certainly depends on your state.

I work at a LTC facility on the rehab wing. It is not required to have IV certification however it is extremely helpful seeing as there are some days we have 1 RN working and typically have 2-5 PICC lines with antibiotics. I can see the point where since it isn't required it shouldn't earn a raise due to needing it to apply. But at the same time it is an advanced skill set so I guess I assumed with higher skill and responsibility a slight pay raise would follow. I suppose I assumed it would be like any job where you have more education or specialty it would be recognized and compensated.

I work the rehab wing of a LTC facility in Wyo. When I was hired it was $19.50 with full benefits and vacation time. After 2.5 yrs I am now at $23.50 and just got advanced IV certified and waiting to see if that's a pay increase.

I currently completed a basic/advanced IV course and am just waiting for it to post to the state board. I was curious to see if anyone who got advanced IV certified as a LPN received a raise after doing so? I only ask due to it being an entirely new skill set at a higher level. Thanks :)

I agree. I had no problem helping out a few times but now that it is every week for 2/3 to all of my shifts it is pretty crappy. There are about 4 or 5 of us that have been being scheduled constantly. We had a nursing meeting last week where our DON expressed her gratitude and thanks for us helping in the time of need. We all (those of us being scheduled as CNAs) informed her that we were getting frustrated with the lack of nursing shifts we were getting. We don't have the CNAs we need, they hire new ones and they make it through orientation and quit, or they call in to often or no call no show. They say it is because other places are offering them more money or the current CNAs we have are not nice/rude/no teamwork. We all agreed perhaps they could offer an incentive as well as do a meeting with all CNA's and Nurses to discuss teamwork and the importance of helping our new staff feel comfortable and happy so they stay. Hopefully they can come up with something soon.

The LPN to RN bridge program I am enrolled in has no clinical hours at all. After completing all online courses I will do a 2 day clinical evaluation/test. Therefore how will doing CNA duties (walking residents, feeding residents, changing, clothing, and so on) assist me with medications, treatments, IVs and so on? Passing meds helps understand the medications and what they do. If I am doing the CNA duties I am not doing the hands on nursing part and not learning about those things. I am fully aware that I do NOT need to pass meds to succeed however doing the nursing duties I was hired to do and that I learned in my first year are quite helpful in retaining and further learning. As far as not having a lot of nursing experience, Some of the nurses that are getting to work as a nurse graduated this May with their LPN and were CNAs at the place of employment prior to May. They REFUSE to do the CNA or they will quit. I am not that person who will threaten to leave. However, I do not see the logic there. In that circumstance I have more experience. 3 others are PRN nurses (only work if they get called to help) and were hired after me with less experience yet are working as nurses. I have seniority over several nurses and have have more experience than others. I have a lot to learn still and I am fully aware of that. I do NOT expect preferential treatment I do however expect to be treated fairly and equally. As I stated prior, " I am thankful to at least have a job and i know I shouldn't complain." " I value the fact that I have a job and am making money and I don't want to sound like a brat or ungrateful."

Depends on the day but on average between 12,00 and 21,000 steps (6-11 miles). Usually my fitbit reads about 14,000 on a 12 hour shift.

I was hired to take a med cart, distribute medications, take orders, do treatments, catheters, IV's and so on. I understand that all the duties a CNA does are nursing duties delegated to a person who is certified to do them (CNA) so in all technicality I am doing my own job. However, when I am scheduled as a CNA I am not doing medications, treatments, orders, catheters and so on. I am not on a cart. I have spoken with the state board of nursing and it is completely allowed for me to do this however they can not call us CNA's as we do not hold a current CNA license but a RN or LPN. The tricky situation is that for example I am scheduled for a CNA shift. I am with a patient and they are not acting normal and have had a change of condition. If I, a LPN working as a CNA, notify my nurse and she does not act upon the situation and something were to happen I am held liable as I have my LPN and an held accountable to the higher license.

I am still receiving my nursing salary. There are about 4 or 5 of us that are being scheduled as CNAs. The problem is that they aren't asking. I was asked in early May and had agreed to 3 shifts. However I have been continuously scheduled for them despite asking for it to stop or limit to 1 shift a week. They keep hiring more nurses and letting those nurses take the carts and call PRN nurses to take carts then bumping the few of us and putting us as CNAs. I value the fact that I have a job and am making money and I don't want to sound like a brat or ungrateful. I also don't want to sound like a baby. It all comes down to I was hired as a nurse and believe I should be able to work as one. There are a few nurses who said they wouldn't do it well or that they would quit if they were scheduled as a CNA.

I am curious to know, are there any other LPNs or RNs out there that were hired as a nurse but are being forced to work as a CNA? Brief insight on the question: I am a new nurse who passed my NCLEX Sept of 2014 and started working promptly after. Roughly 5 months ago my employer/scheduler asked me to do a couple CNA shifts since they were very short on them. I told her I could help with 2 or 3 the next week. However, since that time they have taken advantage and on a monthly basis I am working as a nurse/LPN 1 -2 shifts and as a CNA for 10-11. It is getting frustrating and I have brought it to their attention numerous times that I would like to do the job I was hired for and work as a nurse. I have been told just hold off 2 more weeks when our new hires are on the floor, I am working on it, Shouldn't be long now, Please we need all the help we can get, I will bonus you and so on. I have explained that I start a LPN to RN bridge program the end of this month and need the nursing experience to succeed. I have been a nurse for 1 year and over that year only worked as a nurse for 6 months. At this point I am not sure what to tell them or say in regards to not being able to work as a nurse. I am thankful to at least have a job and i know I shouldn't complain. However, I believe that I should be allowed to work as a nurse since I have went to school for it and was hired for that position. Thanks for any advice/feedback :)

Hello all I am in a bit of a predicament. I worked as a CNA for 4 years before I fell pregnant and at 8 months my Doctor limited me to 10 pound lifting and my employer wouldn't let me work until after I was released to full lifting. After I had my son I decided to be a stay at home mom and go back to school to become a nurse. I went on and completed my first year of nursing school and decided to stay home with the kids for the time being. Last year I went on to achieve my LPN and took the class and took my NCLEX and passed. I was hired at a long term care facility to work as a LPN last September. About 5 months ago my scheduler asked me if I could help out and work 3 CNA shifts as we were extremely short on aids. I said I would do those 3 shifts. However, over the last 5 months she has taken advantage and on average I work 10 out of 12 shifts a month as a CNA. I had made the decision to do an online LPN to RN bridge program I am starting this month. At this point I need all the nursing experience I can get to help me be successful. Over the last 3 weeks I have asked my scheduler to please not schedule me as a CNA anymore yet it continued. I decided to speak with my DON who stated she was very appreciative of me helping out. I explained to her what I explained to my scheduler and she said she was working on it. The next week, 3 CNA shifts in a row. I have no asked 4 times to please allow me to do the job I was hired for with no luck. There are about 4 of us nurses who are being used as CNA's on a regular basis. There are some nurses who told them if they were scheduled as a CNA they would quit. There are nurses who are newer than I am and were hired after me who don't have to work as a CNA. They are letting PRN nurses work the carts and forcing me to be a CNA. I don't mind helping, don't get me wrong. But 5 months of only getting to do my job 1-2 times a month is getting old. At this point I do not know what to say to my scheduler, DON, or administration about this. I have spoken with the state board and it is legal for me to work do the job but I am not a CNA just a nurse doing the duties (seeing as all CNA duties are nursing duties delegated to them). Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback in regards to helping me with what I should say. I don't want to quit as I do love the facility. However, It is getting rather frustrating. Seeing as I am a new nurse. In all reality, I became a nurse 11 months ago and out of that time have only been able to work as one for 6 months. Thanks :)