Remarks made to an LPN student

apnea · Aug 4, 2007

What can you do? You can accept the fact that sometimes people, in general, completely suck. Some nurses have that "eat their young" rep for a reason. That's not to say that some of the best people in the world aren't nurses, that's absolutely not true. But my experience with a few nurses nurses (and frankly quite a few people on this site lately :madface: ) may PROFESS to be in the business of caring, but have absolutely no consideration for other people's feelings.

But MOST nurses aren't like this. MOST nurses i've had the pleasure of working with have been absolute angels, and even though i'm just a volunteer right now, they know that someday i'll be one of them, and hopefully someday i'll be a doctor. So i'm sorry you had to sit through that verbal sewage, LPN stands for Licensed Practical Nurse. And anyone dim enough to debate that doesn't have an opinion worth its breath.

BetterMeRN · Aug 4, 2007

I'v heard so many comments on going to LPN school....things like...complete waste of time...LPN stands for...Least Paid Nurse, but I'm not letting that stop me from becoming what I want to be and that's a NURSE. I personally am going to go on to become an RN. Whether you do LPN first or go straight to RN it's a personal choice.

All those little tags are just people trying to bring LPN's down....which is.... A complete waste of time.

NICUrn2B · Aug 4, 2007

You dont know and you will never know the reason behind such rude remarks. Just ignore them and do what your heart desires. After all, whose satisfaction are you worried about? Yours? Or the "Real Nurses?" ;)

p.s. I dont know why selfish/rude people become nurses... weird....

deleern · Aug 4, 2007

Be a Duck... let it roll off your back like water LPN is a 1st step... in some situations it is the only way one can aford to become an RN. I couldnt afford the time... I need to get up to speed fast...

and in doing so I am able to Skip the BSN and go right on for my masters!!!! Good LUCK Keep your eye on the Ball.

kstec, LPN · Aug 4, 2007

Tell them to kiss your (you fill in the blanks). There is such a nasty hierarchy when it comes to nursing. Next time someone asks when you are going to get your RN, ask them when they are going to become a MD? In nursing, if you listen to everyone's crap, you will never be good enough. Why aren't all nurses nurse practictioners? Why don't all CNA's become RN's. So far I've been lucky and the RN's I work with have never made me feel less than a nurse. In clinicals I did have a negative experience but after I evaluated the RN who said it, I figure she couldn't be very happy with herself. All I do know is that I will probably never go back and get my RN and the reason would be because I still wouldn't be good enough until I went all the way up the ladder to a NP. I'll eventually find another job where there isn't so a heirarchy of bull. I think it would be funny if all LPN's just went into other career fields and left nursing high and dry. Maybe then society and RN's would quit treating us like we don't contribute to healthcare and that we really are nurses. Let society and RN's figure it out all by themselves. Of course I'm not referring to all RN's, just the one's who think they are better than everyone else.

LPNinWa · Aug 6, 2007

LPN= Little pretend nurse

RN = Real nurse

I've heard that before. Look RN can also be RN= Real Nasty!

Better get use to the pecking order now. An RN with an attitude towards LPNs is snotty but it happens. Just as there are plenty of LPNs who are snotty to MA's in return.

The bottom line is all three are praticing the skill of nursing to various

degrees and skill levels.

These comments are nothing but words. Let it go. You will have far superior challenges ahead.

I am going to school to become an LPN. I have heard the RNs at my clinicals say very horrible things. One of them asked me, "Why are you wasting your time to become an LPN?" "Why don't you just go to be an RN?" They have even told me that RN stands for real nurse. I found this very offensive, but what can I do? I don't understand why some nurses act this way. We are all in it to help people, so why all of the remarks from some of the nurses? I am planning on getting my RN, but I want to work my way up so that I will respect all positions equally. Has anybody else been in a similar situation?

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 6, 2007

I'm so sorry this has happened. So far everyone has given excellent advice. It might be the first time, but it definitely won't be the last time someone says something so rude. You'll get a thick skin eventually and it's too bad that you have to.

I had a similar thing happen....sort of. I decided to spend this summer working toward getting my LVN license even though I'm still in the ADN program. So many people, including some of my instructors, told me I was wasting my time. Well, maybe. But isn't that for me to decide? I have my reasons for doing so, and my reasons may not be their reasons, but they're mine and that's all that matters to me.

I have watched ADN students not graduate because they couldn't pass HESI and it scared the snot out of me. If for some reason that happens to me, I want to at least be able to work as an LVN while I take another stab at it.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 6, 2007

I have watched ADN students not graduate because they couldn't pass HESI and it scared the snot out of me. If for some reason that happens to me, I want to at least be able to work as an LVN while I take another stab at it.

Good point!!! Right now I have finished ONE semester of nursing school and according to my state's BON I am NOTHING!!! I can not sit for the CNA license! I have to actually take a CNA course! So, I am a tech at the hospital and as a tech (not even an extern) I am the lowest piece of whatever on the totem pole. What is worse is the fact that MOST people I work with continue to forget I am a nursing student (I work with techs, CNAs, nurses, docs, etc.) because all they see is a tech!

After this summer I have changed my mind about becoming a LPN first! Soon I will be an extern and I can continue to be one throughout next summer. However, I refuse to do so because I will have 6 months until I graduate at that point (I began with the Spring class rather then the Fall class). Plus it means another summer of working like a dog at the hospital as a TECH! Well as an extern but it is the same difference since externs are nothings too! They have no license so they have no patients of their own!

I know I will hear the same mess you are hearing and I can care less! I will have a license and patients!!!! I will also only work for 6 months as a LPN because I will not withdrawal from my current program. Therefore, if something happens (I do not pass fourth semester) I have a license as a nurse! Or if I do pass fourth semester and I am waiting to take the NCLEX, I have a license as a nurse (New graduates without a license are nothings too. They just like to fool themselves and everyone around them that they are something when the fact is that they too are unlicensed techs)!

By the way, people who think LPNs are not nurses need to become advocates for Student Nurses and push his/her state Board of Nursing to license Student Nurses as something while in school and as new graduates. Otherwise, they need to close his/her mouth! :madface:

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2007

I am going to school to become an LPN. I have heard the RNs at my clinicals say very horrible things. One of them asked me, "Why are you wasting your time to become an LPN?" "Why don't you just go to be an RN?" They have even told me that RN stands for real nurse. I found this very offensive, but what can I do? I don't understand why some nurses act this way. We are all in it to help people, so why all of the remarks from some of the nurses? I am planning on getting my RN, but I want to work my way up so that I will respect all positions equally. Has anybody else been in a similar situation?

Nursing has always tended to attract women with low self-esteems. We all know that persons who suffer from low self esteem need a colossal plenitude of validation and ego-boosting in order to feel better about themselves.

Some RNs who possess low self esteems receive momentary thrills by speaking in ways that belittle LPNs and CNAs. For some bizarre reason, their egos are temporarily boosted when they insult LPNs. You must always remember that a person does not feel the need to insult another human being unless their own self esteem is lacking.

sticknurse · Aug 9, 2007

I was a Cna before becoming an Lpn, and I still have some classes to take before I will be an Rn. We've all been subjected to these nasty words too. Remember, you will benefit as a leader if you lead "from the front." People respect a leader who's been where they are, and appreciates how hard it was. I can't stand hearing that stuff and when I do I try to avoid the idiots that believe that. We should all know better.

sandy123 · Aug 10, 2007

I also have had the RN neg attitude. If I get attitude, I kill em with kindness...most of time they are just trying to get a reaction as it makes them feel better about themselves somehow. When you don't give them the reaction they are expecting, they really don't know what to do!!! I just got my LPN license even though am going for RN with school starting in 2 weeks again. I am doing it for the experience. I am working LTC and already have done some hands on things at work that I only saw or did in lab portion during school (not to real human). It is also giving me opportunity to practice my skills especially assessment. Nursing at any level is about caring for your patient!

:lol2: