Why do so many people insist that LPN'S AREN'T REAL NURSES!!??

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2006

Do any other countries have LPN equivalents? How are they treated in other countries?

Canada has LPNs.

sayitgirl · Sep 21, 2006

I mean, the title does have "Nurse" in it.So why are so many people insisting that LPN's arent real nurses? When I go to the hospital, I see these people giving medication , care, comfort and other services to their patients, isn't that what nursing is all about? What do you think about this issue? Do you think LPN's aren't real nurses?

It is not a matter of opinion, LPN's are ancillary staff. I had to take a LPN transition course the first semester that I returned to school for my RN. And I was shocked, angry, etc...but soon accepted it. If you are going to school for your RN, if you have not taken that class yet you will.... Nothing against LPNs they are bedside nurses, but limited in their scope and education. I was an LPN for ten years, I value my education now and respect both levels of nursing, but it is what it is.....:monkeydance:

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2006

im not sure if your trying to say lvn's are ancillary staff or bedside nurses.

it is not a matter of opinion, lpn's are ancillary staff. i had to take a lpn transition course the first semester that i returned to school for my rn. and i was shocked, angry, etc...but soon accepted it. if you are going to school for your rn, if you have not taken that class yet you will.... nothing against lpns they are bedside nurses, but limited in their scope and education. i was an lpn for ten years, i value my education now and respect both levels of nursing, but it is what it is.....:monkeydance:

mixyplixy · Sep 21, 2006

Does that mean CNA's are nurses too? The public doesnt know the difference with them either.

rambisisking · Sep 21, 2006

How do I say this....

See here's the deal...

I became a nurse so I could care for and nurse people who needed someone to care for and nurse them.

I have been doing that since 1974.

Being an LPN has not prevented me from doing that.

Getting an RN would not have allowed me to do that more.

It matters not to me if I get paid as much as an RN.

It matters not if you think I am a nurse.

It matters not if you don't think I am a nurse.

It matters only that I can still care for and nurse people who need cared for and nursed.

I can make boo-boo's go away, big ones and small ones and as long as I can do that what else could possibly matter?

mkeep74 · Sep 21, 2006

I've been a LPN for a year now, and work in LTC. I do everything that the Rn does. The Rn just has to sign off on my work. I chose to got to school for LPN because it would have taken forever to get into school as an Rn because of waiting lists. I love being a LPN, but I choose to go back to school to get my RN because I realized that I also love education. Many of the LPN's I work with are more knowledgeable, insightful and kind than the RN's I work with. There's good and bad in each title.

Some people in this thread (she know's who she is) think there is no excuse for not going for BSN and instead starting off as LPN. I am a single mother who couldn't afford to wait to get into RN programs in my area, not to mention the closest BSN program is an hour away, and that doesn't include clinical affiliations that are even farther.

My LPN program was 18 months of 32 hour weeks, not including studying and extra hours at clinical sites researching patients. I also worked part time. My teachers were STRICT!!!! More like drill seargents, but I grew to love and respect them them because they taught me soooo much. Don't tell me I'm not educated. I love being a LPN. I intend to get my RN because I love learning more everyday. I love my patients and their families. I work hard to get them the best care. I sit with them and hold their hands and comfort their loved ones when they pass away. I am a nurse with all of the responsibilities of a nurse, and I carry them out with pride that I am helping people. Anyone who thinks I am not a nurse is a zero in my book. That's just "MHO"

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 21, 2006

Nothing against LPNs they are bedside nurses, but limited in their scope and education.

If i had a dime for everytime that someone said this....

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2006

What is going on here, is it National hate LVN month or something. I keep seeing new post going up everyday about how "LVN's a phasing out" or "I really want to be a RN should I settle to be a LVN right now". I know there has always been a thread or two about LVN's but this has become unreal.

Laurie Kay · Sep 21, 2006

As a nurse who was an LPN for 18 years, I have seen the trends go back and forth on the pendulumn. The whole "phasing out" of LPN's was in full swing when I became one in 1988. it never happened. In fact we now have 2 or 3 LPN schools in town, and they work everywhere. As for Lpn's bieng "bedside nurses", are we not all that when it comes down to it? Did we all start out any different? I chose to go on and get RN licensure because I could see that I was critically thinking beyond what my charge nurses were. Then one night I had a client ask for something for "heartburn". There would have been absolutley no issue in calling the doctor, as he is good to deal with and the clients personal friend. The charge nurse said to me, "if she wants maalox she can wheel herself down the road and get it herself." I was so angry, I shoved my med cart and vowed that day that would go on to school.

I work with some the best LPN's you could imagine.

Within the LPN and RN ranks there are some I would never want to touch me in a medical setting. I have to say there are more RN's in that than LPN's. We all work with them and know who they are.

LPN's are awesome. The amount of hours in school that they put in are comparable to what and ADN grad does, as they go to school every day in my state from 8-4 for 18 months unless they are in clinicals which they put in an 8 hour day. Their schooling is just geared differently. As someone who has done both, I can say that RN's go into a more depth as well as have more leadership training. :yelclap: for RN's & LPN's let us unite!!! :icon_hug::cheers:This is just my :twocents: .

~~Laurie~~

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2006

It is not a matter of opinion, LPN's are ancillary staff.

You might as well say that all nurses are ancillary staff, LPNs and RNs included. Here's my reasoning.

Nurses tend to be the least-educated professionals in the hospital setting. Do you, the RN with the associates degree, actually believe you're a true 'colleague' with the physical therapists, doctors, occupational therapists, finance people, and lab analysts? The physical therapists and occupational therapists have master's degrees and some even have doctorates. The average physician has 12 to 15 years of post-secondary education. The finance workers have a minimum of a B.A. in business or finance. Lab analysts usually have B.S. degrees in biology, chemistry, microbiology, or some other challenging science major.

If people used my fallacious reasoning, then you would be lumped in with the rest of the 'lowly' ancillary staff due to your lack of education. Please get off your high horse.

I'm yawning. :yawn: This is becoming tiring.

Jabramac · Sep 21, 2006

I love and highly respect the LPN's that work at my hospital. I feel some regret for them that they work just as hard as the RN's on the same floor, have years and years of experience, and get payed less. When the more marute LPN's come ask little wet behind the ears me to do a task LPN's can't do at our facility I feel like it isn't fair there isn't an easier way to combine years of clinical experience to advance to higher titles. I know where I live there are waiting lists for RN programs, and waiting lists for LPN to RN programs, but I think LPN programs are a lot easier to get into. The trouble is, the LPN prereqs here do not always transfer over to RN schools and many an LPN has had to retake courses because they would not transfer.

lindarn · Sep 21, 2006

You might as well say that all nurses are ancillary staff, LPNs and RNs included. Here's my reasoning.
Nurses tend to be the least-educated professionals in the hospital setting. Do you, the RN with the associates degree, actually believe you're a true 'colleague' with the physical therapists, doctors, occupational therapists, finance people, and lab analysts? The physical therapists and occupational therapists have master's degrees and some even have doctorates. The average physician has 12 to 15 years of post-secondary education. The finance workers have a minimum of a B.A. in business or finance. Lab analysts usually have B.S. degrees in biology, chemistry, microbiology, or some other challenging science major.
If people used my fallacious reasoning, then you would be lumped in with the rest of the 'lowly' ancillary staff due to your lack of education. Please get off your high horse.
I'm yawning. This is becoming tiring.

That is exactly the reason that the entry into pratice should be a BSN, and phase out, and grandfather in, all ADN and Diploma grads. Nursing is the welfare of the health care professsionals. We are paid, and treated as such. No surprise there. There are those of us who started out as Diploma grads, and saw the light within months after graduation. And went back to school and earned a BSN. I did it the hard way, working fulltime, and going to school for 6 years to earn my BSN. Now, you can go to school on line, in RN to BSN completer programs.

With no reward for my educational efforts at the bedside, I left and started my own business. When I am rewarded for my education, I will return to bedside nursing.

I have heard nothing but "sob stories", about all of those nurses who wouldn't have been able to become nurses if it weren't for ADN programs. Now hear this- there is a glut of nurses (500,000 not working in nursing- not counting the foreign nurses, who are being brought here to combat the "nursing shortage"), and that is causing salary depression all over the country. When I hear about the "tremendous nursing shortage in so and so state", I look at the pay,working conditions, and lack of respect, and, no surprise.

BSN as entry into practice would cut the number of individuals coming out of school, and by the law of supply and demand, salaries would go up. Just like PTs, OTs, pharmacists, etc. A hospital here in Yakima is ofering sign on bonuses of $20,000 for PTs.When was the last time you saw a substantial bonus for nurses, where the pay and working conditions weren't the pits?

We do not need to continue to confuse the public any further, with different "flavors" of nurses. We continue to confuse the public, and everyone else, and we wonder why there is an identity crisis in nursing.

Hospitals continue to encourage this confusion, and work it for all it's worth.

They love that nursing is split. And they are the ones who keep telling us, "you don't need to go back and become and RN. or BSN". And refuse to pay nurses more for higher education, and certifications. They are laughing at us, all the way to the bank. It is financial security for them and the insurance companies. And nurses just don't get it, and don't connect the dots. We need a unified educational entry into practice, that rewards nurses for their education, expertise, and skill.

There would also be available more time for "quality of life classes" for nurses, that there is no time for in ADN, and Diploma programs. Like Employment Law, Administrative Law, that provides nurses with the knowledge and skills, to protect themselves, legally, in the workplace. These changes would greatly improve nursing.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington