Questions on LPN

MsLady06 · Jul 18, 2007

I think LPN's are being phased back in. This rumor was started back when I was in high school. In fact I thought LPN was not a good choice at that time after reading this one article. Many hospitals dont hire them or have very few of them on staff. I think might be a little easier to get into but RN's get the same training during the first couple of yrs in school. None of nursing school is a cake walk. Med-surg is the hardest part. Good Luck with your choice. :)

clarissairene · Jul 18, 2007

Hi there,

Yes, you the schools are telling you right about making 31-36,000 a year. my school told me close to 40,000 a year so i started calling around and that was not true! I found here in Central Florida, hospitals like Shands are paying about 13 for new grads and maybe 14 for ones with exp. Then the local nursing homes that I have called the rate is about 16.00 an hour. 16 is the average except for doc offices and hospitals. those are lower. So if you figure 16x40hrs a week time 52 weeks a year= 33,000 a year. So what my school was telling me was wrong but what you have heard is right :)

I am enrolled to start LPN school in august but was offered an office/Tech job starting at 43,000 a year! I have 2 weeks to make up my mind. It has been so hard. I really just want a part time eventually to work around my kids schedule. i thought nursing was the calling.... still not sure. I cant see myself working my butt off for only $13.00 an hour!

pagandeva2000, LPN · Jul 18, 2007

I am located in FL if that helps.
I have been thinking of pursuing an LPN licensure. I feel like I'd enjoy being in the medical field, but I'm not sure I want to be an RN for a few reasons.
1) I am told by friends that are nurses/CNA's/etc that RN's no longer get very much patient time because of the mountains of paperwork they must do.
2) I am TERRIBLE at math or science, and there's a big long list of math and science pre-req's to get into nursing school here.
3) The program to become a nurse is extremely competitive in this area and is apparently almost impossible to get into.
4) There seems to be a lot of liability for RN's (there have been a lot of lawsuits and such around here.)
The LPN program seems much simpler. Less pre-req's, and more clinical learning. It takes twelve months, would still be something I enjoyed, and provide more than enough for me to live on.
My questions: Do LPN's make what the college is telling me (31-36k a year)? Do LPN's get more one-on-one time with their patients than an RN? Also, someone told me LPN's are being phased out. Is this true? Thanks in advance for your help!

I think it depends on the facility; but from what I have seen, the RNs do have much more paperwork than we do, thus, shutting off some of the time spent with the patients, or what they will do is lessen what the RN would actually do for the patients, or other variations. On the other hand, many hospitals are not using LPNs, so, the RNs may have a more stressful load. If you are entering into a vocational school to become an LPN, the sciences may not be as intense; but that depends on how your aptitude is on science in general. I am not sure if the liability for RNs is higher than LPNs, per se; because while we cannot work independent of an RN or a physician, we do hold a license of our own. What it boils down to is that the RN may be liable for the delegation, but the LPN is still responsible for what she does herself. We are taught medication administration the same as they are, therefore, there are basic things that any nurse should be aware of about the administration of the drugs.

What I found overwhelming is that while the work itself in school was not that hard, it was that they gave a great deal of it in a short period of time. Time management is extremely important for the nursing student. LPN programs can be just as competitive as RN programs, especially since getting accepted into the RN program is so hard for some people, there are those that 'settle' for being an LPN.

My current job does not pay well, but I have to remain there for about three years because they paid my way to become an LPN; so, part of the contract is to remain for a specified amount of time. But, I have made the salary that they speak of in other places (mostly every nurse has side jobs, even if it is temporary). In fact, I can work three days a week doing homecare for my other agency and make more than I make in two weeks at my main job. To me, the money is there. I have not been disappointed thus far. Good luck with your decision!

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2007

My questions: Do LPN's make what the college is telling me (31-36k a year)? Do LPN's get more one-on-one time with their patients than an RN? Also, someone told me LPN's are being phased out. Is this true?

All true here in NYS. LPN's are pretty much employed in LTC and doctor's offices unless they've been in a hospital forever.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2007

I am located in FL if that helps.
I have been thinking of pursuing an LPN licensure. I feel like I'd enjoy being in the medical field, but I'm not sure I want to be an RN for a few reasons.
1) I am told by friends that are nurses/CNA's/etc that RN's no longer get very much patient time because of the mountains of paperwork they must do.
2) I am TERRIBLE at math or science, and there's a big long list of math and science pre-req's to get into nursing school here.
3) The program to become a nurse is extremely competitive in this area and is apparently almost impossible to get into.
4) There seems to be a lot of liability for RN's (there have been a lot of lawsuits and such around here.)
The LPN program seems much simpler. Less pre-req's, and more clinical learning. It takes twelve months, would still be something I enjoyed, and provide more than enough for me to live on.
My questions: Do LPN's make what the college is telling me (31-36k a year)? Do LPN's get more one-on-one time with their patients than an RN? Also, someone told me LPN's are being phased out. Is this true? Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm an LVN, and I do not receive much patient time as the result of paperwork and charting. I work in the post-acute rehab section of a nursing home, and have patients who are post CVAs (strokes), post heart surgery, post amputees, post knee replacements, post hip replacements, post hysterectomies, post bowel resections, post gastric tube placements, and so forth. In other words, most of my patients are post-surgical cases. I must chart on all 15 of my patients, deal with abusive family members, pass medications to all of my demanding patients, make rounds with the sarcastic physician, complete assessments, and fill out a bunch of paperwork.

I am in North Central Texas, and earn $19.00 hourly with 1 year of experience. I earned $47,000 last year, which is decent when you take into account the lower cost of living here.

Additionally, do not make the mistake of thinking that LPN school is significantly easier than RN school. I know RNs who have started their careers as LPNs, and many state that LPN school had a level of difficulty that was similar to RN school. I am aware that the two types of nurses have different licensure with different scopes of practice, but please don't be fooled into thinking that LPN school will be much simpler than RN school.

Last (but not least), good luck! :)

pagandeva2000, LPN · Jul 18, 2007

I'm an LVN, and I do not receive much patient time as the result of paperwork and charting. I work in the post-acute rehab section of a nursing home, and have patients who are post CVAs (strokes), post heart surgery, post amputees, post knee replacements, post hip replacements, post hysterectomies, post bowel resections, post gastric tube placements, and so forth. In other words, most of my patients are post-surgical cases. I must chart on all 15 of my patients, deal with abusive family members, pass medications to all of my demanding patients, make rounds with the sarcastic physician, complete assessments, and fill out a bunch of paperwork.
I am in North Central Texas, and earn $19.00 hourly with 1 year of experience. I earned $47,000 last year, which is decent when you take into account the lower cost of living here.
Additionally, do not make the mistake of thinking that LPN school is significantly easier than RN school. I know RNs who have started their careers as LPNs, and many state that LPN school had a level of difficulty that was similar to RN school. I am aware that the two types of nurses have different licensure with different scopes of practice, but please don't be fooled into thinking that LPN school will be much simpler than RN school.
Last (but not least), good luck! :)

TheCommuter is correct, the intensity of both nursing programs are essentially the same. In fact, some RNs have said that they found the LPN program more intense, because they cram in what needs to be learned from two years to between 9 and 12 months. What I found when reading the material for anatomy and physiology between vocational schools and colleges is that the anatomy was a bit more simplified than the RN courses...at least from what I saw. I was in an LPN program that has a bridge to their RN program, so, we had to take the same exact pre-requisites (minus chemistry, Eng102, sociology and microbiology) as the RN students. Anatomy there was INTENSE!! I would have been better off if I had what the LPNs had in the vocational schools...it was more to the main points.

Either way, it will be hard work to earn that license. It is worth it in the end, I think, but you will work your buns off. Good luck.