Well, if you want MY advice you should get your RN

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2006

We as LPN's need to be proud of our accomplishments. I'm presently an LPN and I don't think I want to become an RN because I don't think I want to take a chance of developing a big head. I know I'm not better than anyone else and I want to keep it that way

I want to earn my RN license, mainly for the increase in pay. I am doing a job that is very similar to my RN coworkers; therefore, I'd like to obtain their license and earn their money.

tatgirl · Nov 25, 2006

I am very happy being a LPN, and right now I have no desire to go back and get my RN. I love being a LPN, and I am extremely proud to be one! I worked hard to be where I am today. Be proud of your accomplishments and let the negative comments roll off your back.

Wendy

LPN and proud to be one!!!!

luv4nursing · Nov 25, 2006

People kill me with their opinions. Most people dont even know what an LPN does and that we actually make a decent living. Maybe not as much as an RN but I know LPNs who work in certain settings who make more than an entry level RN would in the hospital. My sister (a lawyer) discouraged me from getting my LPN bc it was supposably a waste of time and she didnt think I would be able to make any money or work anywhere other than a nursing home bc she claimed her friend only made $10/hr as a new grad RN her first year. I told her that her friend was dumb for taking a job at that rate. I dont know any LPNs who make under $15/hr, so an RN making $10/hr makes no sense. Well when I graduated I was doing just fine working in peds home health and I especially find it ironic that I made almost as much money as my sister the law school grad this year, and Im not over 100k in student loan debt like she is. I will be starting the LPN to RN bridge in January, but Im doing it for ME and not for anyone else or their opinions. People should just mind their own business. I am proud to be a nurse with any title.

Trauma Columnist · Nov 25, 2006

Hi Ben - glad to see you are getting good advice from others. I totally agree. I was an LPN before I was an RN. My reason was that with my husband in the military, I had no clue how long we would be stationed somewhere so the step by step program worked for me.

I have always enjoyed your posts...good luck.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Nov 25, 2006

My parents, God Bless em', for 26 years they always referred to me as an LPN. Ok cool. At age 46 I got my RN (which they paid for BTW) and now they refer to me as a nurse. "I can't believe I'm the mother of a nurse". They are 80'ish and no reason to upset them but I find it sort of amusing.

No matter what, unfortunately this problem will always exsist. I only went back to school because of a personal goal to get a college degree, a degree of any kind. I started out with business and accounting and found out it wasn't for me. I really didn't care if I was an LPN or RN. In retrospect I'm glad that I did. I have found alot more career opportuities available to me as an RN. The increase in pay is significant. Do a good job and be proud of whoever you are. In the end that's all that really matters isn't it?

linzz · Nov 25, 2006

I just want you to know that your post was very inspiring. I am an LPN and plan to do my RN if I get in and I am in my late thirties. Thanks for the great post.

nursesaideBen · Nov 26, 2006

Hi Ben - glad to see you are getting good advice from others. I totally agree. I was an LPN before I was an RN. My reason was that with my husband in the military, I had no clue how long we would be stationed somewhere so the step by step program worked for me.
I have always enjoyed your posts...good luck.

Thank you so much!! It's always so inspiring to hear about RN's and even APRN's who were once LPN's as well! :icon_hug:

nursesaideBen · Nov 26, 2006

I am proud to be a nurse with any title.

I hear ya, I just want to be a NURSE!!!!!! The quicker I can get out there and start making a difference for my patients and serve my patients to the best of my ability the happier I'll be! I love being a CNA don't get me wrong but I just hate not being able to do more for my patient, I want to do more than just check their blood sugar or give them a bath, I want to know what to do when I check their blood sugar and it's abnormal, I want to know what kind of dressing to put on their skin tear I discover while giving them a bath. Maybe that's silly but that's just me lol :trout:

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Nov 26, 2006

I want to know what to do when I check their blood sugar and it's abnormal, I want to know what kind of dressing to put on their skin tear I discover while giving them a bath.

The majority of the med-surg nurses i work as an aide with were great, and liked to teach. So i would ask questions: "Mr. 503's BS is 209, what will he get?" "Mrs. 548 cut her arm with her fingernail, what will you put on it? Why that dressing as opposed to another?" They never took it like i was questioning their actions, then knew i was asking to educate myself.

smk1, LPN · Nov 26, 2006

*Vent* So tell me, how come whenever someone asks me what I'm going to school for and I say "I'm in school to become a practical nurse." they say something like "OH okay well if you want my advice you need to go to school and become an RN." and they act as though the classes I'm taking now are just a cake walk because I'm not going to school to become a "real nurse". I am SO sick of this! Yes I do plan on pursuing my associate's or bachelor's degree in nursing, but I'm 18 and don't have the money to go to school for 3-4yrs while working as a CNA. I just want to be a nurse and I always thought that LPNs are nurses but evidently I'm just flat out wrong. I've had some people even tell me I was silly or stupid or just "wasting my time" for going to LPN school! Even my family has this attitude, when I graduate from LPN school this may" I'm planning on moving out and my dad and my grandparents keep saying things like "well you need to go to school before you do that" or "you need to become an RN before you move out" etc etc well I hate to break it to em but when I get up at 4 in the morning to go to my 10 hour clinical rotations I'm not just eating bon bons in the break room lol I'm sorry for the long post but the snobbery that SOME people have is just absolutely downright disrespectful and rude. It just saddens me because graduation is getting closer and closer everyday and I'm SO excited but everyone around me just keeps saying RN this and RN this. Luckily the nurses I work with at the hospital have been SO supportive and have celebrated everything with me from my first foley cath insertion to my first IV start. I guess what really bothers me is the lack of support and enthusiasm from my family, they don't see what I'm doing as "real nursing" and I don't know how to get them to understand lol thanks for reading I just had to get this off my chest. :smilecoffeecup:[/quote}
THis is another case where people need to stay out of other folks business.

sunflowerLPVN · Nov 27, 2006

The same day I found out I passed NCLEX, I'm already having a pile of informations about LPN to BSN program. Though I was planning to get my ADN degree at first, I decided to pursue my BSN degree while working as nurse...yes, LPN is a nurse! I love school...and I love nursing, and I need to work for a living,reduced my debts, having a career..so I'm happy of where I am! and you should too!

Brita01 · Dec 3, 2006

*Vent* So tell me, how come whenever someone asks me what I'm going to school for and I say "I'm in school to become a practical nurse." they say something like "OH okay well if you want my advice you need to go to school and become an RN." and they act as though the classes I'm taking now are just a cake walk because I'm not going to school to become a "real nurse". I am SO sick of this! Yes I do plan on pursuing my associate's or bachelor's degree in nursing, but I'm 18 and don't have the money to go to school for 3-4yrs while working as a CNA. I just want to be a nurse and I always thought that LPNs are nurses but evidently I'm just flat out wrong. I've had some people even tell me I was silly or stupid or just "wasting my time" for going to LPN school! Even my family has this attitude, when I graduate from LPN school this may" I'm planning on moving out and my dad and my grandparents keep saying things like "well you need to go to school before you do that" or "you need to become an RN before you move out" etc etc well I hate to break it to em but when I get up at 4 in the morning to go to my 10 hour clinical rotations I'm not just eating bon bons in the break room lol I'm sorry for the long post but the snobbery that SOME people have is just absolutely downright disrespectful and rude. It just saddens me because graduation is getting closer and closer everyday and I'm SO excited but everyone around me just keeps saying RN this and RN this. Luckily the nurses I work with at the hospital have been SO supportive and have celebrated everything with me from my first foley cath insertion to my first IV start. I guess what really bothers me is the lack of support and enthusiasm from my family, they don't see what I'm doing as "real nursing" and I don't know how to get them to understand lol thanks for reading I just had to get this off my chest. :smilecoffeecup:

Who are these people that are telling you this and what are they doing with their own lives? Whenever someone asks me if I'm ever going to get my RN, I ask them if they're ever going to progress in whatever field they are working in. That usually brings the conversation to a halt. I guess it's easier for some people to focus on what somebody else is doing rather than paying attention to themselves.