As an offshoot to the News article about nursing education, an opinion was brought to the board that LPNs are not adequately prepared to care for patients, and that their education is not strenuous like an RN program is. Having been in the field for awhile, what is your opinion on the differences between LPNs and RNs, other than the legally different aspects (LPNs cannot do initial assessments or IVs in my state for instance)
I'm not looking to start trouble, but rather discuss the topic in an area other than an unrelated thread.
Differences in LPNs vs RNs (educationally, functionally, intellectually)
Best way to combat any possible negatives of the above
Advice for an LPN student (who is too far through her program to just throw it out and start over in an RN program - already applied for an LPN to RN program starting Jan 2010)
Should I really expect to run into attitudes in the workplace about my not being worthwhile as an employee and a care provider because I chose the path that I have? How do you handle it if you do?
There is a local small rural hospital that pays incredibly well for LPNs right out of school and who has been trying very hard to recruit us during clinicals... am I going to be inequipped to care for patients there because of my education? I would never want to get into a situation where patient care was compromised because my education was lacking somehow...
What an LPN can and cannot do appears to be a state to state issue. You would not be allowed IV push meds, assessments, caring for central lines, etc... in NYS. Nor would an LPN be allowed to do Charge in NYS in a hospital setting. They cannot take telephone or verbal orders. They can, however, do charge in some long term care facilities.
What an LPN can and cannot do appears to be a state to state issue. You would not be allowed IV push meds, assessments, caring for central lines, etc... in NYS. Nor would an LPN be allowed to do Charge in NYS in a hospital setting. They cannot take telephone or verbal orders. They can, however, do charge in some long term care facilities.
What is done in the state of New York is the business of I believe those of you who work in New York. Do not blanket all LPN's in one pot so to speak. My state is different as are others.
At this point I am one of the others in dropping out of responding to this thread. It is like knocking ones head against the wall. It not like the majority of RN's want to promote LPN's to working up to their full Scope of Practice, instead you want it to continue to be religated to the nether world or just keeping taking away. What a crock of you know what.
LPN's are primarily trained to do tasks. Which is why you can get your LPN from a trade school - where as RN's have to have a college education. That is a BIG difference between the two.
There are LPN programs with a college education, and there are trade school RN schools. You can go LPN to RN with a couple of weeks of clinicals and online classes.
I have met RN's who are not at a level with aids, and LPN's who are not at the level of aids. Its the person, not the title, its what they decided to learn in school, and after hours.
My thoughts are, for what they are worth; Two levels of nursing. Highly trained Aids, and RN's.
In my area LPN's are being scaled down and replaced with, Techs, Medical Assistants, and a host of other short term class titles. Mainly because, most anything an LPN can do, can be done by a combo of RN and Aid.
They make the RN work a little bit harder, and give the Aid a little more responsiblity, and the LPN falls out of the loop. For a while there seemed to be a trend of LPN's doing more, in my area at least, this seems to be reversing.
They save money this way. Personally the closer we get to universal healthcare, the more will be done, by less people, possibly with less training.
If they phase out the LPN, they would have to give a time frame for them to move be an RN, or become an Aid. It could be a proactive solution.
The LPNs where I work are some of the best nurses I have ever worked with. I would want them to take care of me. There are only a few differences in the nurse practice act to dictate what an LPN can do. Doing away with LPNs is similiar to doing away with the diploma programs, it will create even more shortages. When I am at the bedside no one knows that I am "just" a diploma RN.
They save money this way. Personally the closer we get to universal healthcare, the more will be done, by less people, possibly with less training.
If they phase out the LPN, they would have to give a time frame for them to move be an RN, or become an Aid. It could be a proactive solution.
I work in Canada and within it's "universal healthcare" setting. In a major hospital *shudder* on an acute care floor *gasp*.
It is so clear that you don't have a complete understanding of universal healthcare and what it entails. But that is another topic.
Our patient care ratios would bring smiles to California nurses. Three to four patients on a day shift. Five on an evening.
My unit is staffed 50/50 with PN/RN and one Nursing Assistant. I have worked shifts where it has been a 70/30 PN/RN split. I only report to the Charge Nurse as does every RN working the floor alongside me. My patient is my patient. Be they a fresh post-op or an ICU transfer. Does patient care suffer. No.
Universal healthcare means care is available to all, regardless of income or insurance level. Yes, we have "separate" hospital services for police, military and workers injured on the job. Does it mean you can buy your way to the head of the list, NO. But then we are a different people from Americans.
Are you seriously saying that a BScN who has failed the national exam twice, is working on a restricted permit until the pass is obtained is a better, more qualified nurse than the PN working alongside her. (Up here you get three attempts to pass the national exam as either an RN or PN, if you can't pass you are unemployed and have to go back to school for further education). In my province the PN is a two year college education. Yes, we think in our practice we are just not robots handing out meds and doing dressings (although I have worked with nurses of both grades who would meet this description)
Nah, Obama is black. According to every law and consideration EVER implemented in America. Ever. If I came home with your daughter you would see the black boyfriend. Not the half Irish boyfriend. LOL
PLease tell me how you came up with that? My son is half black, but he is also native american, irish, and german. Why does his black heritage outweigh his others?
What "law" says if you are half black you are black, or if you are half anything you have to claim that as your race? I want my son to have pride in himself and all of his backgrounds, not just one of them.
And if my daughter brings a guy home (same as if my son brings a girl home) Im going to be more concerned with WHO he is and what he does more than what race his parents might be...
I know thats what this topic was about and my apologies... it just rubs me wrong when people have to throw in the BLACK president thing... great he is our first african american president... but he is also a lot more than that.
The BACK,WHITE,YELLOW,RED,ORANGE or Green ones. Let's keep them all and see if we can have a conversation without involving race. Who takes the most smoke breaks on you job? The Nurses or the CNA 's. The Nurses are worst on mine.
I work in Canada and within it's "universal healthcare" setting. In a major hospital *shudder* on an acute care floor *gasp*.
It is so clear that you don't have a complete understanding of universal healthcare and what it entails. But that is another topic.
Our patient care ratios would bring smiles to California nurses. Three to four patients on a day shift. Five on an evening.
My unit is staffed 50/50 with PN/RN and one Nursing Assistant. I have worked shifts where it has been a 70/30 PN/RN split. I only report to the Charge Nurse as does every RN working the floor alongside me. My patient is my patient. Be they a fresh post-op or an ICU transfer. Does patient care suffer. No.
Universal healthcare means care is available to all, regardless of income or insurance level. Yes, we have "separate" hospital services for police, military and workers injured on the job. Does it mean you can buy your way to the head of the list, NO. But then we are a different people from Americans.
Are you seriously saying that a BScN who has failed the national exam twice, is working on a restricted permit until the pass is obtained is a better, more qualified nurse than the PN working alongside her. (Up here you get three attempts to pass the national exam as either an RN or PN, if you can't pass you are unemployed and have to go back to school for further education). In my province the PN is a two year college education. Yes, we think in our practice we are just not robots handing out meds and doing dressings (although I have worked with nurses of both grades who would meet this description)
I've never said anything of the sort. I have nothing against LPN's and I do not want to "do away with" LPN's - everyone in the health care setting, from the RN to housekeeping has their place, and none of them could do their jobs without the other.
I simply stated my experience in health care, I further stated what NYS allowed LPN's to do, and I also stated why their is a difference in the scope of practice between the RN and LPN - all of which are factual. The two are NOT created equal, but both are important in any health care setting.
Stop making me out to be the heavy. Now I've had enough with this thread.
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Babs0512
846 Posts
What an LPN can and cannot do appears to be a state to state issue. You would not be allowed IV push meds, assessments, caring for central lines, etc... in NYS. Nor would an LPN be allowed to do Charge in NYS in a hospital setting. They cannot take telephone or verbal orders. They can, however, do charge in some long term care facilities.