RN jobs up LPN jobs down?

Fiona59 · Feb 28, 2011

Nope.

Traditionally, AHS (or the various old regional boards) posted roughly 1 PN line for about every 8 RN.

You need to look at the R/L mix on floors. Some surgical floors run at a 50/50 split. ICU, ER, NICU, CCU have traditionally been all RN lines or have a few LPN lines that tend to have the same nurse in it for years.

Over the last few years, the numbers of LPN/ORT, and LPN/Ortho Tech have actually increased.

It just depends on who is leaving their job. At my hospital, I can think of four full time LPNs who will be retiring in the next 5-9 months. Their lines won't be posted until after the fact.

Also, AHS is quite sneaky in their postings. Often when you read them they will post multiple vacancies under one posting.

MissMcCoy · Feb 28, 2011

Very helpful!

Thanks for the info!

itsmejuli · Feb 28, 2011

Fiona59, when I get up to Calgary and have my Alberta LPN license in hand, I will be contacting you for job search advice

joanna73, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2011

I'm also with AHS and I check the postings frequently. More often, I notice just as many (sometimes more) positions for LPNs than RNs.

Fiona59 · Feb 28, 2011

Yup, it just depends on your region and what the needs are.

I remember one infamous posting at RAH, "casual LPN-surgery" when you read the actual posting it stated as number of vacancies 20. Looked like there were only three jobs available but the actual number they were recruiting was 24 LPNs.

Go figure.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2011

Sometimes I wonder why I bothered to go for the degree. I could have been finished sooner, with a lot less debt. I'm not sorry I got my degree; however, had I known that the economy was tanking as it has, I probably would have gone the LPN route.