"I do the same thing as an RN"

[WheresMyPen]

Although this statement may be somewhat true depending on what state you live and where you work. I see that it doesn't go lightly with RNs sometimes and I see why. They did more schooling, and those differences in scope of practice can create challenges for them. I do my own admissions and RNs co-sign. I have never written inaccurate info but I imagine if I had, it would put a lot of stress on my RN colleague. I do 95% of the same skills in LTC but when I need to do IV push I need to pull the RN from her own patients to help with mine. I am a team player so when this happens I usually go stock her cart and check her blood sugars. We work well together. We respect each other, but we don't have the same license and I can't do 100% of her job. That doesn't make me any less of a nurse but it doesn't make me an RN either.

We are colleagues, we are nurses. We help each other. But I am in school for bsn and realize it's not the same.

Saying that that you could do everything an RN does is not only inaccurate but it perpetuates the divide. Why not just say,you are a great nurse. You do your job well and you are needed and valued. My RNs need me and I need them.

[Nienna Celebrindal]

I was an LVN for 12 years and in general it is not a slight difference, it's a huge difference and in few cases is it really all that similar. This all comes from people thinking they understand other people's roles when they don't. Same goes for lvn or RN vs cnas. Nurses seem to believe most are crap and don't do their work. They just forget how long things can really take. It's very sad.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

I do not do the same thing as an RN. Sometimes in the SNF I do a SIMILAR job but we don't have the same scope, so it's not the same. It's like the MAs at my office job saying they do the same job as me, yes, in that setting our jobs are similar, but they are far from the same.

[WheresMyPen]

I was an LVN for 12 years and in general it is not a slight difference, it's a huge difference and in few cases is it really all that similar. This all comes from people thinking they understand other people's roles when they don't. Same goes for lvn or RN vs cnas. Nurses seem to believe most are crap and don't do their work. They just forget how long things can really take. It's very sad.

Good post!

the way I try to look at it: jobs and scopes are different. Value and importance is equal.

I love talking to RNs who were LPNs. Soon that will be me.

[WheresMyPen]

I do not do the same thing as an RN. Sometimes in the SNF I do a SIMILAR job but we don't have the same scope, so it's not the same. It's like the MAs at my office job saying they do the same job as me, yes, in that setting our jobs are similar, but they are far from the same.

Yes I work in SNF and I do a very similar job but it's not the same. And I know that I won't really know how big of a difference until I am an RN

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I worked alongside LPN's for years. I was required to co-sign their charting and administer their IV medications.

It was never a problem, but somehow a little embarrassing. Most of them could run rings around me.

LPN's do pretty much the same thing, but they are not paid the same. It's disgraceful how facility's do not pay them a fair wage.

[WheresMyPen]

I worked alongside LPN's for years. I was required to co-sign their charting and administer their IV medications.

It was never a problem, but somehow a little embarrassing. Most of them could run rings around me.

LPN's do pretty much the same thing, but they are not paid the same. It's disgraceful how facility's do not pay them a fair wage.

in SNF our jobs are very similar, pretty much what you said. And I do get paid significantly less, but enough to live on. But I would never tell an RN I could do everything he/she does. I didn't conplete school for RN. I Don't truly known all the differences until I start working as a RN

[WheresMyPen]

My reason for writing this is also because I feel we should be proud to be LPNs and not compare. I feel it comes from insecurity or lack of knowledge and it further separates us.

[thebeccalc, BSN, RN]

In Texas, the line is extremely thin so this conversation has become a hot topic down here. Just for example...

I've seen posts regarding an LPN's inability to push IV meds or even start IVs, both things LVNs do in Texas except for very specific drugs (and truth be told, those very specific drugs also tend to be facility-dependent and based on previous negative incidents).

We can't spike a blood bag or do the first 15 minutes of monitoring, but everything else wrt blood transfusions is within our scope. We (well, any facility employee) can receive blood from the lab, monitor vitals, and complete the documentation.

We can't do an initial admission or post-op assessment, but we can do the interview and history.

We can't pull blood from a PICC line/midline or access/de-access a port-a-cath, but we can administer meds and fluids through both.

Hospitals around here have started phasing out hiring LVNs altogether and actually hiring RNs at a lower pay rate, which is pretty awful IMHO. I was one of the last LVNs to come up, and that was mainly because I was already an aide at my facility.

The major issue with LVNs now is that the state has started placing a higher level of liability on having them in specialty areas so a 20-year LVN can no longer work in the nursery she essentially helped to create. A coworker of mine was an ICU nurse for years before LVNs were removed from critical care. The pediatricians aren't comfortable with LVNs caring for their kiddos even though we're all PALS certified. It's all become a matter of liability, which I understand in this highly litigious society we live in.

I would never say I do the same job as an RN, but here at least, it's a very thin line between the two.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Yep, this has been talked about a million times before

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I have heard it said more than once that it's not about what RNs do, it's about what RNs know. But I know some LPNs who definitely both "do" and "know," but just don't have the formal education piece.

I worked as an ER tech for a few years when I was a paramedic, before I was a nurse. I remember another ER tech/paramedic scoffing and saying, "I could do an RN's job." Yeah, you think that ... until you're the RN! It's about respecting each other and the team.

[WheresMyPen]

It's a fine line here too. I think it's awful they are phasing out LPNs in some areas too. I am proud to be an LPN and when I finish school and pass my boards to be an RN im never gonna forget that I am an LPN. I already am a nurse and if it weren't for more money and job opportunities in my city I don't know if I would have continued school. But unfortunately the phasing out is starting in my area too.