What's the difference between LPN, LVN, RN etc?

[Smurfie]

I'm a first year Nursing student in Australia, doing our 3 year uni degree to become an RN at the end. The other main nursing qualifications we have are an Enrolled Nurse (EN) which is a year of study split between TAFE and practical hospital based blocks (they don't do meds, complex dressings etc unless they do an extra course) and then we have Assistants in Nursing (AIN's) that assist with basic care, ADL's etc.

So I'm just wondering how the US compares with all your different terms, like LPN, LVN etc...?

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos102.htm

[caliotter3]

LPN and LVN are roughly equivalent to the EN. The LVN is found in TX and CA. They just call the job title Licensed Vocational Nurse rather than Licensed Practical Nurse. Our LPNs may do more tasks under their scope of practice than your Enrolled Nurses. For example, most LPNs are allowed to pass meds as far as I know.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Are there, in fact, LPNs that are not allowed to pass medications in the US? I am seeing that hinted in these forums, and if that is true, that totally shocks the pants off of me. If they are not allowed to, then, I wonder, what ARE they being trained to do?? How long would such a program be if medication administration is not a part of their duties?

[Fiona59]

In Canada, the BScN is a four year degree.

LPN is a two year diploma. We do complex dressing changes (including wound vacs), medications (excluding those via PICC and other Central lines), initiate ivs, physical assessments of all age groups (admission and discharge), pretty much everywhere in the health care system. Immunization, dialysis, orthopedics and OR techs are specialty tags obtained post graduation for LPNs. Unlike in many parts of the US we are found in all aspects of health care: from public health units, to acute care, to palliative. Our care crosses the life span of our patients.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

In the UK Enrolled nurses can do medication and a lot of other stuff. Admittedly there are not as many now as either converted to RN or retired. I was a EN who did many things including taking charge of a ward on night duty and was responsible for all aspects of care including dressings, medications(except controlled which needed 2 nurses of which 1 must be RN) I converted to RN in 1998