Standardizing the Scope of Practice for RPN/LPNs - Will I ever see it in my lifetime?

I've experienced it. Got over it.

In my hospital only RNs in ER, ICU, Recovery, CCU are permitted to do IV push. No floor nurses. Logic is if they are that sick the patient should be in an Obs or ICU bed. Lately, the docs have been writing orders for specific drugs IV and then when the staff read the info before mixing the meds, it's an IV push drug. So, we page them and tell the to come and give the med. They're ticked but nobody is risking their practice permit for them.

CLPNA has worked with the government to constantly expand our scope of practice. Fine, but the minute we mention we want to be paid for our added scope they don't want to know us and tell us wage issue belong to the union. Somehow they manage to expand the scope after the contract is signed so we are stuck for four years. I know LPNs that refuse to start IVs because "we aren't being paid enough and the RNs are making more so let them".

The scope on some of the units I work on is so close it come down to piercing blood or travisol bags. Patient assignments are fluid. LPN, RN, LPN we all care for the same patients. Acuity isn't factored into it. The actual nurses experience is often the deciding factor. I've heard charges say they'd rather have xxLPN look after the patient than yyRN because the LPN has five years on the floor and the RN has two.

With the education of PNs know being the old diploma for RNs (and I've had RN educators tell me this more than once) the pay and skill gap needs to be fixed soon.

In my hospital only RNs in ER, ICU, Recovery, CCU are permitted to do IV push. No floor nurses. Logic is if they are that sick the patient should be in an Obs or ICU bed. Lately, the docs have been writing orders for specific drugs IV and then when the staff read the info before mixing the meds, it's an IV push drug. So, we page them and tell the to come and give the med. They're ticked but nobody is risking their practice permit for them.

I'm surprised by this. IVP is a basic skill for RNs here so any RNs in any and all units can (and do) push. Many of our IV meds come up from pharm in a syringe (for example Ancef 1 g diluted in NS) so attach a needle and you're ready to go. RPNs have to mix into a mini-bag and hang above the drip chamber, which is a pain in the a$$ if the patient only has a saline lock with no established IV running but policy dictates....

As for special competency certifications, there are many such pathways for RNs to pick up added skills but there is nothing taught in their basic training that they're unable to practice on the units (unlike the RPNs.) We do have PICC nurses, VAC nurses, ET nurses who have advanced training, and as such, are considered experts in their field.

My frustration stems with being disallowed to utilize skills learned in my core training simply because administration feels the need to stranglehold our profession presumably because of the stigma that we're not "real" nurses.