Pros & Cons on becoming LPN

[carinac89]

Hey there fellow LPNs

Im actually thinking of going to school for LPN

I was wondering if i can get some feedbacks.

Im debating if i should start with LPN

Or Straight into RN

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Pros:

1. Decent income for someone with a 1-year diploma or certificate. Many LPNs earn more money than people with BA degrees who pursued humanities majors.

2. LPN schooling allows you to become a nurse fairly quickly without many years of education or training.

3. A variety of specialties hire LPNs, depending on the city and state in which you live. You can work in nursing homes, clinics, hospice, home health, private duty, psychiatric facilities, rehab centers, developmental disabilities, assisted living, group homes, and a whole host of other types of healthcare settings.

4. You can easily further your education by enrolling in an LPN-to-RN program.

Cons:

1. You'll be performing most of the same skills, tasks, interventions and patient care as your RN counterparts, all for less money.

2. If working in the acute care hospital is your dream, be cognizant that many hospitals have stopped hiring LPNs.

3. A few misguided members of the public will not give you the respect you deserve or even recognize you as a real nurse. To them, 'RN' represents 'Real Nurse' and 'LPN' stands for 'Little Pretend Nurse.' You will need a thick skin and some self-confidence to defend your title when these people start picking at you.

4. Once you start working as an LPN and grow accustomed to the paychecks, it is hard to make the transition from full-time worker to student if you ever wanted to return to school to attend an LPN-to-RN completion program. Working full-time and attending school full time is hard as hell, although many of us did it.

[nowim clean]

Also if you go this route make sure there are lpn=rn programs. I have seen many of those shut down. We had 2 lpns in our RN classes and they had to start at day 1 like they were straight off the street.

[carinac89]

Thank you very much

This is greatly appreciated.

Have a wonderful rest of the year.

I will do my best =)

[DoGoodThenGo]

Just be sure to *thoroughly* investigate the local employment market before making a decision between LPN or RN.

It can go either way depending upon conditions on the ground. Sometimes even an ADN new grad will have more employment choices than LPN, or vice versa; it can go either way.