Why Does It Seem That RN's Hate Us and Hospitals Don't Believe In Us??

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Im a new PN grad and have been a STNA (state tested nurse assistant) for 7 years; but as a graduate it seems that RN's are threatened by PN's or feel that we don't know anything and hospitals dont want us, at least that's been my experience with my job search here in Ohio and Ga and I don't understand why. We as PN's have to learn @least 80% of the material that a student in a ADN program learns in 11 months vs. 2 yrs, so what makes us different besides the rate of pay, which really isn't any different at least in Oh where a UNEXPERIENCED LPN makes minimally TO START 16.75 w/o differential and more for being IV and CPR certified and a UNEXPERIENCEC RN makes IN OHIO makes 17.00/hr. I don't want to come across as confrontational because that's not why Im writing. I just want to get some other points of view from LPN'S AND RN'S to help me understand.:confused:

All I've got to say on this one is:

If we LPN's are so bizarre a breed, why do all the RN students after 2nd year apply for our positions to pay their way through school? They may be called Employed Nursing Students, Accredited Care Workers or some such title, but they are working as LPN's without licenses and insurance. They accept our limitations, our scope of practice and our wages, they join our union. But the day they graduate they forget that they were once one of us and that's when the aggro starts.

Sorry, just worked a shift with a really "special" RN student employed in the above capacity, who basically told me my pay scale was great, but once she gets into management and politically active in the RN association she is going to work her "ass off to eliminate LPN's".

Got to go call my union on this one, I think I've just spend a shift being harrassed...

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Sorry, just worked a shift with a really "special" RN student employed in the above capacity, who basically told me my pay scale was great, but once she gets into management and politically active in the RN association she is going to work her "ass off to eliminate LPN's".

Got to go call my union on this one, I think I've just spend a shift being harrassed...

This supposedly 'special' RN student really must have had a wild nerve up her a** in order to say such a demeaning thing about fellow nurses. Whether she likes it or not, LPNs/LVNs are her fellow nurses.
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Keep us posted on how that goes, Fiona, can't believe the nerve of some people! :angryfire

I can accept that an RN will make more money than me because it is reflective of the extra education and responsibility, but I still think that LPNs could get paid a little more. All nurses really should be paid more.

My best friend is a teacher, and we're pretty well convinced that the salaries for teachers and nurses should be swapped with the salaries of professional athletes.

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Specializes in Occ health, Med/surg, ER.

I have just graduated the PN program. My experience in clinical is the RN's were very rude and had little patience with us. There were a "few" that took time to explain things. I know nurses are busy and time is tight. It really is a shame because no amount of "booksmarts" is going to help us on the floor. We need the guidance of RN's to learn how to better care for the patient. I did not feel welcomed out on the floor. When I am an experienced nurse, I hope I can remember how I felt and be alittle bit more receptive of new nurses. :uhoh21: As far as pay goes, I hope that RN's would get paid more!!!

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You havn't been in an RN program, so how do you know you learned "80% as much as an ADN RN in 11 mos vs 2 yrs?"

I started as an LPN. My PN program was 2 yrs. My RN program was another 2 yrs. My prereqs were 2 years. That's a total of 6 years education.

I am tired of some LPNs thinking that they are the same as RNs except for the pay. I was an LPN for 7 yrs and have been an RN for 5. So, I know what I'm talking about. They are not the same!

More education generally equals more knowledge and more money.

I don't see why there's an argument about it.

I certainly don't think I have as much education as a BSN, nor should I expect to be paid the same.

I am new to this forum..Depending on where you live, is the amount of

education you receive! As a new pn grad, I can tell you in Va there are 2 things that seperate us from rn 1) hanging blood 2) pushing meds through an IV and to hang blood as a bsn you must have another RN check your work, and IV med push. A nurse is a nurse we have all chosen this field for a reason. Everyone will depend on someone someday no matter your title.

In Va you also have LPN that work as DON (director of nursing) and are teachers to the MA program, the pay is the lowest for all involved again no matter title. My training was 2 years.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
I don't think that LPN and RN education is differed by only a few assessment and leadership courses either.

But the more "advanced" A&P and patho is hardly better preparation for "complex" situations in the hospital.

RN students are still lost and clueless along with the LPN/LVN students, despite their more advanced science educations.

I'm only basing my feeling, and it's a feeling, not a fact, on what I see when I'm giving report to and interacting with the LPN students compared to the RN students, towards the end of their programs.

I realize that with time and experience things change. I also realize that RN students come out of nursing school clueless.

One can always come up with examples that contradict what I'm saying.

I'll leave it at that because there's no way to really say what I'm wanting to say without someone feeling I think one education is superior to the other and getting all insulted and a flame war started and the LPN RN debate gets started and the thread is closed. :rotfl:

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Keep us posted on how that goes, Fiona, can't believe the nerve of some people! :angryfire

I can accept that an RN will make more money than me because it is reflective of the extra education and responsibility, but I still think that LPNs could get paid a little more. All nurses really should be paid more.

My best friend is a teacher, and we're pretty well convinced that the salaries for teachers and nurses should be swapped with the salaries of professional athletes.

I agree with your last paragraph. Wouldn't that be nice.

I also agree that LPNs in hospitals are wildly underpaid, considering the reponsibility and job duties. When I was a charge nurse, I was privy to the salaries of those I evaluated and was appalled at some of the salaries the long-term LPNs there made.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Im a new PN grad and have been a STNA (state tested nurse assistant) for 7 years; but as a graduate it seems that RN's are threatened by PN's or feel that we don't know anything and hospitals dont want us, at least that's been my experience with my job search here in Ohio and Ga and I don't understand why. We as PN's have to learn @least 80% of the material that a student in a ADN program learns in 11 months vs. 2 yrs, so what makes us different besides the rate of pay, which really isn't any different at least in Oh where a UNEXPERIENCED LPN makes minimally TO START 16.75 w/o differential and more for being IV and CPR certified and a UNEXPERIENCEC RN makes IN OHIO makes 17.00/hr. I don't want to come across as confrontational because that's not why Im writing. I just want to get some other points of view from LPN'S AND RN'S to help me understand.:confused:

When you have the attitude and idea there's no difference except pay, that RNs are threatened by others, the education is 80% of the ADN education, you REALLY cannot be surprised that this goes over like a lead balloon!!

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I don't know that RNs dislike LPNs. I am an RN in Ohio and I am concerned about the LPNs in the LTC facilities that we service. We are looking at adding med techs in our state, so I am concerned about our LPNs (without their IV certification). They will find themselves squeezed out of jobs possibly. Since (until the last year) LPNs graduated without the IV cert and had to obtain it on their own. These classes are difficult to find anymore since the LPN programs have started including it in their curriculum for new grads. ( I am organizing IV cert classes at our facility to help all these nurses stay marketable)

As for the hospitals, so many people are so horribly sick if they are in the hospitals, and therefore require IVs (since insurance is so quick to send you home otherwise). Which make it tricky to have too many LPNs, because without the certification they cannot do IVs. Even with the certification, they can still do little to nothing with central lines (except dressing changes and site checks). They cannot touch a PCA or even stop an infusion into a central line, even when they have assessed a complication. So part of the problem in Ohio, is the restrictions of the LPN.

I don't believe it has anything to do with anything else. I know many an LPN that are excellent nurses.

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Not true at all IMO. Its like any job you have to prove to everyone you are capable and that takes time. No school in the world prepares you for your first days/weeks/months in a hospital setting. Yes we all get the basics but it takes time to learn this job and those critical thinking skills dont come to you over night. Every GN and GPN all have the same concerns when they first start out but time is the great equalizer here. Stay focused, watch and learn, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut and you will learn what to do and how its done. I know what Im talking about because I was where you were 1.5 years ago but now,finally, I have the respect of my peers and the DR's believe what I tell them. It will come.....................

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice, Home Health.

i don't know if it's rn's "hate" lpns; anyone that is ugly to another person is just ugly period! I know in middle ga, when I started at a piedmont facility, they didn't hire lpns to be nurses unless they had TONS of experience, they would only use as a nurse tech....NOW, we are hiring LPN's, and several of our nurse techs have justgraduated from LPN school...

linda

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Hi! I am new to this site. I am an LPN who is currently in an ADN program. I am due to graduate in May, and hopefully take my boards by the first part of June. I have worked with many RNs throughout my career as a nurse, all have been wonderful people to work with. I do at times admit that it is hard to work underneath someone with less clinical skills, fresh out of school, but I figure they have earned some respect for the fact they suffered through all that time in school. I have certainly learned to bite my tongue. I feel it is a shame that they feel they no longer need LPNs in the work force amoungst a nursing shortage. Even though I will soon be an RN, I don't think there will ever come a time that I would loose respect for my fellow nurse, the LPN, a valueable part of our team. A bit of advice for those near to graduating as an RN, remember you are just part of a team, value that CNA, and LPN, they might just save your butt some time. :nurse:

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