Why do LPN's get so disrespected?

Nurses LPN/LVN

Updated:   Published

I was working today on my unit and I overheard a Doctor talking to a Tech's and a Charge Nurse the conversation was about our facility never hiring LPN's. They were saying they can hire Tech's and expect them to move up the clinical ladder to become RN's hopefully BSN's where LPN's are just tech's who were stupid enough to pay money to make $3 more an hour and get to call themselves Nurses, the charge nurse laughs and says," yea, LPN mean little pretend nurse,they're just Nurse Assistants they have to have a RN over them. They look at LPN's as just tech's who were stupid for paying for the first semester of nursing school because that's all they learn he says it's like they got into Nursing school and dropped out after the first year. I was so shocked to hear this, I looked over at the patient and she said wow, maybe I should tell my daughter to drop out of her LPN program. I apologized for the stupid comments but the thing is I hear this ALL THE TIME about LPN's even the Nurse Manager said they do not hire LPN's in hospitals cause it's a waste of money and they're under educated. I am so sick of this I'm better than you mentality and the funniest thing of all is I bet the Doctor talks about the Nurses with his fellow Doctors. Why are LPN's so disrespected? I have even been told jokingly after I made a silly mistake charting that if I keep making mistakes they're gonna have to stick me over at the LTC with the LPN's and everyone laughed. I thought they're just being silly but I hear comments like this all the time, especially from RN's they roll their eyes and say ugh, I hate LPNs. What exactly does a LPN do, and aren't they Nurses or Nurse assistants

Where I work there is a brand new RN (less than 4 months) who talks down about the LPN's he has to work with. It's very disheartening to hear his lies (yes I said lies... he stood in front of my face once and lied to our boss, saying he did something that he did not.)

He also tells the LPN's that "When he's in charge, it'll be done his way..."

Basically, he's a "I'm a RN and I'm gonna shove my degree in your face" type person....

Folks don't care for that, and the more he does it, the more his co workers aren't wanting to help....

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I know it's funny I see so many Nurses doing all the hard work next in line are the Nurse Practitioner and then theres the Doctors who seem to be either sitting on their ass or simply holding up the wall.

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm a Tech in Nursing school to become a FNP. I chose this after being accepted to medical school but it's too expensive, and your not truly in Patient care, all the years I looked up to Doctors comes to find out that what I loved about medicine is all taken care of by Nurses.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

Having been an LPN for a couple of years before finishing up my RN, this kind of thinking really ticks me off. I work in a hospital where it would be me and an RN only on the floor. I did the exact same job as what I'm doing now, only now I get more money for it. I really got mad when they said they were going to give all the nurses in the hospital a dollar an hour raise, and lo and behold, no raise on my LPN check. They were shocked that the LPN's were mad about not getting the raise (there were only 3 of us) The thinking is that LPN's aren't real nurses and it makes me mad. I'm just as good of a nurse now as I was as an LPN

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well I know why they get disrespected in my area. If a patient makes a doctors appointment, and an LPN comes in instead of a doctor, that makes patients feel like they are pretending to be doctors. There is a vast difference in training and knowledge between LPN's and doctors. Since literally every place where I am does that, patients have come to a point where they have no respect for LPN's, RN's, or doctors for that matter. When you get disrespect all day long because LPN's pretend to be doctors, stuff rolls down hill. Stop pretending to have more medical knowledge than you do, and you won't get disrespected. 

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

It sounds like these are people that have zero experience being around LPNs or actually taking a minute to talk to them.

LPN is quite far from being just the first semester of RN school. 

LPN and RN while both are in the nursing field are completely separate jobs. Sure we can work in the same facilities and even do some of the same duties and tasks the jobs aren't the same and LPN school isn't the same as RN school. 

There are a myriad of reasons why someone would choose to go to LPN school vs RN school and it rarely intelligence.  It's life situation more often. There are reasons why people don't go decide to return to school right away to become an RN as well and same thing applies here.

 

To make those kinds of statements is completely uninformed and actually shows more about their unintelligence than it does anything else.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in long trm care.
ThatOneChick said:

Well I know why they get disrespected in my area. If a patient makes a doctors appointment, and an LPN comes in instead of a doctor, that makes patients feel like they are pretending to be doctors. There is a vast difference in training and knowledge between LPN's and doctors. Since literally every place where I am does that, patients have come to a point where they have no respect for LPN's, RN's, or doctors for that matter. When you get disrespect all day long because LPN's pretend to be doctors, stuff rolls down hill. Stop pretending to have more medical knowledge than you do, and you won't get disrespected. 

 

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in long trm care.

How can LTC nurses (almost always LPNs) who have to do everything themselves indure such bad treatment from hateful bosses to irritate family members. These woman are saints!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
iluvdetroit said:

I don't know why, but as an RN, I have worked with some wonderful LPNs who leave a lot of RNs in the dust in terms of knowledge, skill, and patient care. Not all of them, but a lot of them, because a lot of them are older nurses with tons of experience. I hate to see them disrespected too!:angryfire

LPN/RPNs get disrespected because low level humans see them as an outlet to take their personal insecurities out on.

I agree with iluvdetroit... also, I was quite disturbed by the comments made by the RN/MD on your unit...those comments are so repulsive and disrespectful and disgusting... and NOT rooted in reality!

I started off my career as an RPN and when I completed my BScN you now what I noticed.... NOT A DAMN THING! Except pay....my scope of practice/workload was identical but my pay went up but only slightly. Practical nurses have more 'practical skills'... the BScN route just adds more "theoretical" reading (which I didn't need b/c I already had a degree before becoming an RPN)... for the record, I only got my BScN because the pay disparity and lack of access to leadership roles was pissing me off too much and no one would give me access to other opportunities without it.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment