Why are LPN's so limited in job choices.

[LUVyourCNA]

I am currently an LPN and want to become an RN. I have all of my pre-req's for the RN program, but I am in burn out and do not want to sit in the classroom anymore. Has anyone completed the RN program online? I can not decide which online school is best. I love being an LPN, but I feel so limited as an LPN. Does anyone else feel limited being an LPN? I live in MO. and the hospitals, home health, and lots of other places are no longer hiring LPN's. I currently work in LTC which I enjoy, but I want more!! I feel I could take on more as an LPN, but no jobs are available.

[Fiona59]

I often feel that I am limited only because the RN's are represented by a much stronger union and professional governing body than LPNs in my province. But having said that, the LPNs in my province work far further to full scope level than in many other provinces.

IV meds and starts are practised by PNs in most rural health authorities. Nobody with any nursing license gets to push IV drugs on the floors, its a skill restricted to ICUs in my hospital. Even Psych. RNs don't do IV starts because its not used in their line of nursing.

Just look at how large and strong RN professional bodies are in your area and then look at how limited you percieve your practice to be.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I often feel that I am limited only because the RN's are represented by a much stronger union and professional governing body than LPNs in my province. But having said that, the LPNs in my province work far further to full scope level than in many other provinces.

IV meds and starts are practised by PNs in most rural health authorities. Nobody with any nursing license gets to push IV drugs on the floors, its a skill restricted to ICUs in my hospital. Even Psych. RNs don't do IV starts because its not used in their line of nursing.

Just look at how large and strong RN professional bodies are in your area and then look at how limited you percieve your practice to be.

That is true in my state as well. The nursing associations for the RN are much stronger for them than the LPN associations are for us. It is felt that we are not considered to be nurses, or 'not nurse enough' for others. But, I am a proud LPN, regardless of what. I have thought on several occasions that (and this was based on what others felt more than myself), that maybe I should become an RN...but my spirit says "NO"...because it wouldn't really do anything for me as a person. I wouldn't be satisfied. When the patient says to me "Thank you", that means more to me than any degree or accolades that higher education would give me. A client that is afraid, sick and confused really doesn't care about my title; and those that claim to do it because society has made them believe that more is better. They want a person who knows what is wrong, can give a simple explanation, treat them and make them comfortable. I am in the middle of the chain, I can do what the nursing assistant does, and have the knowledge of the RN, yet, have the time to deal with them. So, no, they have not limited me; they have given me time to learn and care without the hassle.