Wanna know what an LPN license can get you?

[nekozuki]

People used to ask me why I "settled" and went to a vocational school to become an LPN, instead of going to a traditional college and becoming a "real nurse." I always had a list of potential answers running through my mind when that happened:

✔️ I do the exact same thing an RN does at my job with absolutely no variation.

✔️ I train both new grad RN's and BSN's, and have discovered that in my field, experience and competence are more valuable than the initials at the end of my name.

✔️ I work with babies, which is pretty damn cool (turns out I like them better than many adults).

✔️ I have an incredibly flexible schedule that allows me to continue my education.

✔️ The pay is much, much better than when I was the drive-thru girl at Taco Bell.

✔️ I took on 11 months of school and no debt to make sure nursing was what I wanted, rather than 2-3 years and a boatload of loans.

✔️ This Microbiology test isn't hard. My six-month old vent-dependent patient went into respiratory distress last night, and I guided them through it. That was tough. I eat micro exams for breakfast!

✔️ Vocational school helped me develop study/homework skills, so that when I entered traditional college, I got easy A's.

✔️ In Honors classes revolving around theory, I could speak about practical application in real life situations.

✔️ When scholarship time rolled around, I wasn't simply a student who wished to change the world. I was already actively changing the world.

So many students apply to awards because of who they want to be, whereas I could apply because of who I already am. When I had to write numerous essays, personal statements, and narratives about myself and my future dreams, I had so many compelling stories to tell about my job as an LPN. When asked about community service, volunteer work, or past experience performing good deeds for others, I got the opportunity to explain how such things weren't simply extracurriculars to me, but rather an integral part of my day to day life as an LPN.

Those people who used to ask me why I "settled" and went to a vocational school to become an LPN, instead of going to a traditional college and becoming a "real nurse?" These days, I don't need to tell them anything. Because I was awarded $124,500 dollars to complete my bachelor's degree, and $200,000 dollars for any graduate school I choose. Not because I was a traditional student (I came from one of those schools, a vocational school for people who weren't "good enough" for regular college). Not because I did well in high school (I dropped out at 15). Not because I was cookie cutter (I've got a dirty mouth, a sarcastic streak a mile wide, and I wear jeans and red converse to business casual events). Not because I had special advantages (as an older student, I had to fight for every opportunity, knock on many doors, and annoy professors into letting me take on special projects). I received all of this because of my work as an LPN and the way it made me stand out among other students when I transitioned back into traditional college.

So don't let anyone tell you this is a road for people who "settle" or don't have what it takes to hack it at a "real" college. You have no idea where an LPN license will lead you, or the impact you will have on the world because of it.

[kmhlpn30]

I think it is awesome that you are going back to school to further your education. I have been an LPN for over 15 years. I was an MDS Coordinator and relief supervisor for the DON where I used to work. My job now, has both RN's and LPN's and we all are doing the exact same work. Only difference is they are paid at a higher rate. I'm not complaining just stating a fact. We also are not doing direct patient care, just in case anyone wonders. I also train new hires at this job, RN's and LPN's, as I have been there the longest and have the most experience in doing this job. I would like some tips on how to get some scholarships so that I can go back and get my RN.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

®Nurse said:

All's an LPN ever got me was a smaller paycheck and a requirement to change my task-scope based upon where I was employed at the time.

One place I could do A, and B, but not C.

Another place, I could only do B, and neither A nor C.

Yet another place, I would have to tag after the RN to get the RN to do A before I was allowed to do B or C.

It was a rigmarole that I happily left behind when I bridged to RN.

^^^THIS^^^

I'm currently in a bridge program but started off working in hospitals doing acute care and would go crazy with the little changes from hospital to hospital (all the same large organization with varying protocol at different locations).

One I had to have an RN write a verbal order, only one facility thankfully. That was always a fun phone call, "yes I'm the nurse assigned to patient xyz... Hold on, I need to have an RN take a telephone order"...and it was for colace.

An ironic one was for a patient that needed pain medication. The IV reseal had gone bad, so I started a new site (I am IV certified, but the facility can further restrict me. This one allowed me to start the IV, flush saline per protocol, and hang maintence fluids/piggyback meds. I was not allowed to do IVP. The facility 2 miles down the road, no such limitations). I had to tell the patient that an RN would be in shortly to give the pain med..."but you inserted the IV". "It'll just be a few minutes. It's policy to have the RN give the medication"...now time to do some serious begging, "I'll do a,b,&c if you'll medicate my patient please". It drove me crazy. I repeatedly felt like I was asking for an act of God to get 1mg of morphine pushed on my post-ops. I know the facility was to blame, but I always offered an above equal trade off.

[cyc0sys]

I picked the LPN route because it's the fastest and has the most hands on clinical time (I'm only 1/2 thru the program with 400 clinical hours) which I believe really makes all the difference in the long run. My clinicals have also taken me through dialysis, interventional radiology, wound care, cath lab, phlebotomy, oncology, physical and respiratory therapy, so I have a general understanding of nursing functions within those departments. There is something to be said about working directly with patients and getting your hands dirty in the trenches. No amount of classroom time can substitute for real world experience. It's never how you start the race but how you finish it.

[luv4nurses]

What astounds me is that once again, an LPN is lambasted for her choice. I have been in nursing for almost 26 years in January and the way nurses, LPN vs RN, compete and talk down to one another is deplorable! What if the doctors started a smear campaign against RNs saying they weren't smart enough to become doctors so they settled at being an RN? Why can't we just agree that there are different skill sets that provide a positive outcome for the patient because, after all, that's who we are there for. Most of the rants on this post is nothing but folks trying to one up one another and piss on another's pride at what they do. I have no clue who the OP is but it really made me smile reading that someone is happy with where they started and love what they do.

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

njlpn421 said:

You become a nurse without going to college but you can do a bridge RN program. Being an nurse is something you have inside. Don't get into the field if you're worry about money. It's not about the money. It's a calling

Um, no. Just no. It is NOT a calling for everyone. Some do get into it for the job security and money. Some of the better nurses I work with are in it for the money. If it's a calling for you, then more power to you.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

CelticGoddess said:

Um, no. Just no. It is NOT a calling for everyone. Some do get into it for the job security and money. Some of the better nurses I work with are in it for the money. If it's a calling for you, then more power to you.

I agree. And being a nurse isn't just about "what's inside." There are those tricky little things called knowledge base, formal education, and licenses that actually matter quite a bit.

[RNthenDoc]

Hard working BSN and proud. Your scope of practice is not the same, according to the BON, but what you choose to do behind closed doors is your business as well as your license. Of course an experienced LPN would have more knowledge than a new novice RN, but by 6 months that RN will be outcompeting you hands down in both clinical knowledge as well as nursing theory.

[nynursey_]

luv4nurses said:

What astounds me is that once again, an LPN is lambasted for her choice. I have been in nursing for almost 26 years in January and the way nurses, LPN vs RN, compete and talk down to one another is deplorable! What if the doctors started a smear campaign against RNs saying they weren't smart enough to become doctors so they settled at being an RN? Why can't we just agree that there are different skill sets that provide a positive outcome for the patient because, after all, that's who we are there for. Most of the rants on this post is nothing but folks trying to one up one another and piss on another's pride at what they do. I have no clue who the OP is but it really made me smile reading that someone is happy with where they started and love what they do.

I strongly think you missed the point of prior posters and the tone of their sentiment. There hasn't been a single poster who has "lambasted" the OP for being an LPN, but rather corrected her in her message that LPNs and RNs are analogous. They are not. And it's been stated here by many different posters from many different states citing their own NPA's. How is that lambasting? It's basic facts. It isn't open to interpretation.

Furthermore, a physician "starting a smear campaign against RNs" for not being "smart enough to become doctors" is not even parallel to what you're describing, as being a physician and an RN are two separate portions of the healthcare profession, neither of which practice under the same philosophy. I think you're reaching here and it's become a gross overstatement and over exaggeration of the original post which you have taken way out of context.

[alodocios]

I am an LPN who transitioned to RN. RN school was a breeze thanks to all my LPN training. I had no patient contact experience when I entered LPN school and I was able to learn and find myself as a nurse. I too became an RN debt free. I gained my confidence and graduated salutatorian with a baby and a toddler in tow. I think had I gone for my RN first, I may have quit, but doing it this way, I had smaller classes, and caring teachers instead of a lecture hall of people. The struggles that i went through as a mom and older student were made much easier by being in that environment.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

Great reply

[lewis3006]

I don't understand this response (liked by 34 others.) Are you incredulous? What is it you folks don't understand?

[nursel56]

lewis3006 said:

I don't understand this response (liked by 34 others.) Are you incredulous? What is it you folks don't understand?

What response? I think if you could be more specific, you'll get more specific replies to your situation.