"Just an LPN"....does anyone else get discouraged?

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hello nurses!

I have been discouraged lately...I feel like I am constantly fighting off the stigma of being "just an LPN." When people ask what I do, I always say I am a nurse....they then want to know if that means "RN" and of course what hospital do I work at???!!!!! I work in a clinic and have been an LPN for several years. UGGGHHH!!! Anyone else have this challenge?

Denise

Okay just so this will be clear I will post the definition of a NURSE:

1. A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.

2. To serve as a nurse for: nursed the patient back to health.

As I said before, a nurse is a nurse period. A person who nurse a person is a nurse, period. No matter what the state says. Now the state controls the scope of a "NURSE", in a medical environment, yes. But can they decide who is and who is not a "NURSE", no. For instance the state says that NURSES, categorized as CNA do the grunt work of nursing. The state says that "NURSES", categorized as LPNS , can lets say start an IV, but can't maintain it. The state says that "NURSE" categorized, as RN's can what, take phone orders from a medical doctor. When I was a child my mother was a "NURSE", even though she has always worked in the white collar world, she "NURSED" me when I had the chicken pox, when I had a cold, ect, ect.

are you for real? what are you talking about? sounds like your confusing the "noun"' Nurse with the "adjective" nurse, as in "she's been nursing that drink for an hour" that would be the adjective use of the word. a noun usage would be.... The nurse(a person who attended an accredited school of nursing, and passed a state licensing examination) changed my dressing and put a foley cath in " you have got to be joking with your "my mother was a nurse nonsense, when what she was doing was being a MOTHER. or is it your just trying to aggravate people?:rotfl:

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I've been reading this post and I just have to put in my two cents.

I respect everyone in the nursing profession. I've worked as a CNA (and never did I refer to myself as a nurse) as some have stated in their posts. I worked my way through RN school working as a CNA. Just before graduating with my RN I challenged the LPN boards so that I could work as a nurse and gain experience.

I did not refer to myself as an RN student while I worked because I saw and heard the backlash from the other LPN's toward the RN's for no reason.

None of the nurses new that I was an RN student and that I challenged the LPN boards. I was a good nurse even though I was new.

I graduated from Jr. College and immediately went on for my BSN because I wanted go further. I graduated two years ago and I'm now going to graduate school for Adult NP.

Not ALL RN's are out to get LPN's. I don't work with any in the ICU but there was a time when we were side by side working together.

Most nurses are nervous and intimidated after graduating so to say that someone would rather have a seasoned LPN over a new RN grad is not a fair comparison.

I worked my butt off to get through RN school, it was not a one year program like the LPN schools but it was intense. I chose to challenge the LPN test to get my feet wet; my fellow colleagues thought I was a seasoned LPN when I was a scared RN student who knew her stuff.

There may be LPN that "run circles around RN's" but there are also RN's that "run circles around LPN's".

One person commented on making 65K as an LPN w/agency. As an RN working in the ICU w/ agency, I made 92K two years ago, and that was on the low side.

nothing else said,

DeniseRNBSN

not disgruntled, just keeping it real... :chuckle

yessssssssssssss well put:balloons:

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Totally have to agree with NICU RN. Lets not devalue what takes so much hard work to achieve.

are you for real? what are you talking about? sounds like your confusing the "noun"' Nurse with the "adjective" nurse, as in "she's been nursing that drink for an hour" that would be the adjective use of the word. a noun usage would be.... The nurse(a person who attended an accredited school of nursing, and passed a state licensing examination) changed my dressing and put a foley cath in " you have got to be joking with your "my mother was a nurse nonsense, when what she was doing was being a MOTHER. or is it your just trying to aggravate people?:rotfl:

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To some extent I guess we all have done some "nursing" in our time but that really does not make everyone who has "nursed" a nurse. Unfortunately there are rules and regs now. We are not in the time before nursing schools and devoid regulatory bodies. Nursing has evolved and in this day and age you are not a "nurse" unless you have completed certain educational requirements and passed the NCLEX-RN. You also must meet each state boards criteria in the state you wish to practice. Keep it real. I do think CNA's are wonderful but by no means are they a nurse...they carry out "nursing" duties under the direction of the licensed nurse. I was an LPN for awhile before I completed my degree-- I credit so much of my skill and knowledge to being an LPN. I was a CNA before I was an LPN--I credit so much of my experience as a CNA to being a great bedside nurse. I really liked all of the roles I was in prior to completing my ADN program. We are all needed like someone explained with the cake (what a great analysis of it).

Karen

are you for real? what are you talking about? sounds like your confusing the "noun"' Nurse with the "adjective" nurse, as in "she's been nursing that drink for an hour" that would be the adjective use of the word. a noun usage would be.... The nurse(a person who attended an accredited school of nursing, and passed a state licensing examination) changed my dressing and put a foley cath in " you have got to be joking with your "my mother was a nurse nonsense, when what she was doing was being a MOTHER. or is it your just trying to aggravate people?:rotfl:

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I never saw her say that CNA's an MA's were licensed nurses. She said that they were nurse. I am a CNA and I'm as much of a nurse as an LPN or RN. Maybe you didn't get the point. As someone else said a "Nurse" is a person who does just that nurses and cares for people. Period. Now there are different types of "nurses" yes, but we are still nurses never the less. And the last time I checked CNA's = Certified Nurse Assistants or Certified Nurse Aides, which are licensed by the stated. I take this just as I take people saying just an LPN. Another way to put other people down for their profession. I may not nurse in the same manner as an LPN, or an RN, but I nurse just as much, which makes me a nurse, no matter my title. That is what this whole thread is about; nurse being belittled because of the type of nursing that they practice.

if you are a CNA, then you ASSIST the nurse, you are not THE nurse.will you please stop allready? you are wrong on so many levels. you sound rediculous.

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I wish I had a dollar for every time I felt the need to defend my occupation. I no longer feel the need. Let people think what they will. My own mother refers to me as an "LPN" instead of a nurse. I think of people like books, we can't all be best sellers but it doesn't mean we're not worth the read.

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.

Interesting reading, but try to be nice to each other. These discussions tend to degrade somewhere along the way, and some shots have been thrown here already. :cool: However, I especially liked hearing from a LPN that has been a nurse for 37 years! Nice! :)

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.
To some extent I guess we all have done some "nursing" in our time but that really does not make everyone who has "nursed" a nurse. Unfortunately there are rules and regs now. We are not in the time before nursing schools and devoid regulatory bodies. Nursing has evolved and in this day and age you are not a "nurse" unless you have completed certain educational requirements and passed the NCLEX-RN. You also must meet each state boards criteria in the state you wish to practice. Keep it real. I do think CNA's are wonderful but by no means are they a nurse...they carry out "nursing" duties under the direction of the licensed nurse. I was an LPN for awhile before I completed my degree-- I credit so much of my skill and knowledge to being an LPN. I was a CNA before I was an LPN--I credit so much of my experience as a CNA to being a great bedside nurse. I really liked all of the roles I was in prior to completing my ADN program. We are all needed like someone explained with the cake (what a great analysis of it).

Karen

I agree!

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I guess if your comfortanble in your own skin thats all that should matter, after twenty years as an LPN I guess I am just that. :p

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Actually it is hard to take seriously anyone who claims to have "book knowledge" and can't even spell properly. Everyone has a role to play. RN's, especially the ones coming out of university settings, have much to learn from LPN's who know what it is like to actually take care of patients. In fact things have gotten so bad in RN training that healthcare has been dumbed down to the point where no initials can be used when writing or transcribing. It is hard to believe that people with so much "book knowledge" apparently don't even know what KCl is; it has to be written out specifically as potassium chloride. I knew what KCl was when I graduated high school.

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I ran into a guy I've known for 30+ years when we were both in the food business. He worked for a brokerage making less money than me working in the stores. Needless to say I am making more money now than then and he asked what I was doing now. Told him I was an LPN and he said, "Oh, a butt wiper." Seems he has a daughter that is an RN who does paperwork for an insurance company. I was floored, but just chalked it up to his stupidity.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, Rehab, ACU-Telemetry.

I don't know why some people are so thick-headed. A NURSE IS A NURSE, regardless of the initials behind her/his name. It is still a stigma, even in the hospital that I work in. One particular floor let's their "disdain" for LPN's known. I floated to that floor a few times (I am a RN), and a couple of LPN's were telling me about how the nurses felt about LPN's. I have met some LPN's who were better at nursing than many RN's. I don't think this stigma will ever go away. I know that there are some places that try not to even hire LPN's. It's crazy. Just try to IGNORE simple-minded people, and remember, you EARNED the right to be called and considered a nurse. :rolleyes:

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