Questions

purple_rose_3 · Mar 7, 2007

Could someone explain to me the different responsibilities between LPNs and RNs.What type of manager role does an Lpn have?How stressful would it be for an Lpn working in a nursing home verses working in a hospital setting ?Also what is the difference between an LVN and LPN,sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to figure out a few things .

There are several differences b/w LPN and RN, but for someone that doesn't know much about this stuff, the main difference is RN's can do IV stuff.

The difference b/w LVN and LPN = nothing. It just depends on what part of the country you live in.

WingsEarned21, LPN, RN · Mar 7, 2007

I have been an LPN for 21 years.Sometimes the difference between lpn and rn are obvious and other times they are not.I find the big difference to be that they can do I.V. stuff and help with codes.If you are trying to choose between the 2 for school I suggest you go for your R.N.It gives you more avenues when you graduate.As far as stress well that depends on you and what you might consider stress.An associate R.N. I have found has more clinical experience and a BSN right out of the gate is usually more book smart.

BJLynn · Mar 7, 2007

In the facility I work at, (we don't do IV's) the major difference is pay. We do the same work, assesments, treatments, medications, that the RN's do. I insert catheters, administer O2, do respiratory care, do J and G tube care and feeding, do wound care, patient teaching, medication administration, injections, and have even ran a code or two until the paramedics took over. Just like the RN's at my facility.

At the previous place I worked (LTC-geriatric), the RN's did the IV stuff (although I could change primary bags, troubleshoot, and dc lines) and they oversaw the Medicare wing. It was kind of weird actually. It was not unusual to have a LPN be charge nurse when there were RNs on duty. Nobody really cared anyway, we all had a job to do.

In my limited experience in the state of Illinois, there isn't much difference in a LTC setting between RN's and LPN's. Having said that, I am working on getting my ADN. I went for the LPN first because of time constraints. My husband's job had just been shipped out to Mexico (quite literally), I had a two year old who had just been diagnosed with epilepsy, and I needed a good job something like the day before I passed the entrance exam. I plowed through the course (How I earned honors with all the crap going on outside of school is beyond me....), and got a job right out of school. Had I not had so much pressure to get a well paying job, I would have gone the RN route to begin with. More opportunities. I LOVE my job I have now, but I can't see me staying there forever.

There is more of a difference in the hospital setting. Most hospitals around here only employ a handfull of LPN's, prefering RN's because of the broader skill set.

Sorry for the rambling.